Been There, Done That...day 2

Today was another day of getting our bodies and minds over the jet lag. We did some familiar things and tried a few new ones, too.

First, we took a tour of a hutong by rickshaw. Considering that we had watched snow showers outside our hotel as we ate breakfast, it was quite a bit colder than it had been on our previous visits.




We stopped at the courtyard home of a nice man who raised racing pigeons,




and he told us about his life there (his family has lived in the same home for over 50 years).

After the hutong tour, we were taken to the "silk factory", where we were given an interesting presentation on how silk is made and how the fibers were processed into quilts. The girls even got a chance to help stretch a layer of the fibers.




After the lecture comes the "hard sell". We gave in "a little", and now our major souvenir has been obtained :-)

Lunch was at a neighborhood restaurant where we had one of our favorites....hot pot.




Everyone in the place seemed to be eating something that was steaming, perfect for a day that didn't rise above freezing temperatures.

The afternoon started with a tour of Tiananmen Square...




and the Forbidden City.




Our guide George knew we had been here three times in the past, so he took us into some of the "less-travelled" areas to make it more interesting for us.

To warm us up after our walking tour, we stopped for a "tea ceremony". We were given the details about and samples of 6 or 7 great teas.




One started out as a ball of Jasmine tea and "bloomed" into a flower when the water was added.




After the purchase of a few more souvenirs, we headed back to the hotel. But because this was our last night here, we decided to not just spend it in the hotel room. Instead, we walked to a nearby shopping street




and explored a 6-story shopping mall.




On the way back to the hotel (after a dinner at that traditional Chinese restaurant.....Pizza Hut) we walked thru a night street food market




(didn't see Andrew Zimmern or Anthony Bourdain, but they probably just got there earlier than we did). We also came upon a large group of very normal-looking Beijing folks line dancing to Chinese rock music in the courtyard of a vaguely "church-like" building.




Was it a"flash mob" or some strange Chinese exercise program? We will never know. But it certainly was fun to watch.

Today was a full day, but tomorrow is the day we are REALLY here for. We are supposed to fly to Harbin and arrive by about noon. Sometime after that, we will be introduced to our new daughter. Our bodies and minds have been helped by our short stay here in Beijing, and we are VERY ready to move on.




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