Topic: Beijing
Another wildly fun and exhausting day. Met up with many of the families at breakfast with no real plans in mind. Some of us finally decided to try to walk to the Forbidden City, since we hadn't gone in yesterday. At least one of the parents in the group has been to China several times, so we felt like we were in good hands. And it was terrific to be able to do something unstructured; I enjoyed the walks to and from enormously, just being able to see the people and sounds and sights of everyday China.
I meant to mention this in yesterday's post and forgot - the weather the past two days has been gorgeous and the sky absolutely blue. The environmental work that was done here in preparation for the Olympics really paid off; it's far less hazy from pollution than when I was here three years ago.
The Forbidden City was big and imposing and awe-inspiring, but with our less structured pace and the little girls chasing each other around, the pace was very relaxed. We kept to many of the side Halls, which had fabulous names like "The Hall of Mental Cultivation." And the Imperial Garden was so lovely with its rockery and trees - I could have stayed there all day.
Liann was a joy to everyone, and entertained countless people with her impressive skill at looking and the map and telling people where we were, all while walking. Something I could not do at all.
Now, sadly, I was having a wee bit of gastrointestinal distress, despite all my precautions. So my favorite part of the Forbidden City was not the Imperial Garden, or the Throne Room, but a smaller throne room. . .
Let me just say, it was well worth every star.
Upon returning back to the hotel, we enjoyed a brief respite, then sojourned back out, this time to the shopping mall connected to the hotel - nine floors of chaotic consumer sensory overload. It was magnificent. Best of all was the knowledge that even when you travel halfway around the world, some things remain the same.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard of the mall, someone was putting on some kind of dance competition. There was a pole involved, but let me reassure, participants remained fully dressed. As Liann watched the dancer below, she asked the question for the ages: "Can Daddy do that?"
After finding dinner at the mall (Dairy Queen was involved), all the families met at a brief orientation that outlined some of what is to come. Tomorrow, in addition to scaling the Great Wall of China, we will also be participating in a Homecoming Welcome Ceremony at the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It is a very big deal, and one I will be excited to report about tomorrow.
Until then. . .
