China day 4

Today was a fun day.  We had a lot of down time to wander about.  

 The first place we went to was the Temple of heaven.  Just like with the other temples, the elderly can visit for free.  I saw a lot of clubs and dance classes.  My favorite was the ribbon dancing. 

 This is a class of Tai Chi Ball that we viewed.  

 After visiting the temple we had down time, so we went on a walk down a shopping lane.  I was shocked to see the delicacies that were being sold. 

 Yes, those are star fish, sea horses and scorpions. Yummo.  I did not buy or eat anything.

All in all, it was a pretty amazing day.

Love Always,

Meg

China Day 3

Today we went to visit the Forbidden city, this was just soooo exciting.  

I love that you can see the reflection in the water in front of the city.

We walked through the many small corridors.  I love the detail on the roof. 

In this picture the large basins of water that you see were strategically placed throughout the palace.  They held water and were there to extinguish any fires that should aries back in the day.

It's the little details that made this place so special. 

Now we started this tour going the opposite direction, then normal tours go.  Because of this we were able to take pictures without the crowds in the way.  Once we got to the mid way mark, we began to see large crowds.  This was just before the midway mark. 

 I could almost imagine what it was like when the emperors lived here. 

 This was where it became quite crowded.

 I love to take pictures of soldiers in the different countries that I visit.  I love how he is standing on these metallic, mirrored steps.  

 Next we had lunch in the most beautiful restaurant that I have ever seen.  

 Finally we made our way to the hidden Hutong Houses.  They are court yard houses.  They were once huge, now they are the size of a small condo. 

We did not go into this house, but I had to take a picture as the entrance was solo beautiful.

Love Always, 

Meg

China Day 2

On day 2 we went to see the great wall of China and the Summer Palace.  The section of the great wall that we visited was the Badaling section.  

I love this picture.  Our guide on the trip visited Germany once, and on that trip he assed by a monument that he wanted his picture taken with.  He waited for five to ten minutes but no one passed by who could take the picture.  He then went on to say, that this is not a problem that one ever has in China.  I love that a minimum of seven people are taking pictures in this snap.  Hahahah.

I am still in disbelief that I got to visit China.  I was able to walk on the Great Wall of China.  

There were two paths that we could walk.  If you walked to the right then the walk was easier, to the left the view was spectacular.  I had no choice but to go to the left and I am soooo glad that I did.  I love how the wall meanders over the hills in the photograph.

This photo was taken at the highest point that we climbed to.  You can see how steep the wall is in this section.  I was exhausted when we reached the top of the last hill.

I took this picture to show how steep the wall was.  I am taking a picture parallel to the landscape, and in the foreground you can see the angle of the wall.  :  )

We also got to see the birds nest, which was pretty cool. 

You can barely see him in this picture, but there was a man walking the tightrope across the stadium.

This is a picture of the man up close, by use of my zoom  :  )

That mattress is not for the tightrope walker, he walked without a safety wire.  I held my breath the entire time. 

Another tour group member was nice enough to take a picture of my father and I.

Next we went to the summer palace, I love this trellis with the vines growing on the top.  

This was the main structure that we saw, I love how it looks like a ship.  

This bridge was meant to look like a bat.  

I have to discuss the bathroom situation.  I used a Chinese public restroom for the first time in the Summer Palace, and it was anything but palatial.  I knew that in China most of the restrooms are not the standard western toilets, so I came prepared with toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and a positive attitude. That being said, over the course of the entire trip, all the women would rate the bathrooms on a scale from one to five stars.  

Love Always,

Meg

China Day 1

The flight to china was exhausting.  Thankfully we got in late at night so we were able to fall asleep on China time.  We woke up on day one and we made our way to Beihai Park.

Parks in china have free admittance for the elderly, so it was very common to see clubs of people taking ballroom dance classes or tai chi.  It was fun to wander around and people watch.

I also loved the exposed rock that we saw around the different temples.

This is the interior of one of the temples, I love how vivid the colors are.

We crossed the river to visit the pagoda, which was at the top of a very steep hill.  It was well worth the climb.  We passed vivid painted structures and beautiful gardens on the climb.  I love how muted the pagoda is compared to the bright colored structures that surround it. 

This was my favorite arch, I love this pictures, with the gardener in the background.

When I got to the end of my trip, I was positive that my pictures would all be muted due to the pollution that was extremely prevalent.  I was very relieved when I got these pictures on my computer and saw the colors that I enjoyed.  This tree is fabulous.  

In each of these structures, little shows or meetings were occurring. 

This group was dancing with vivid red fans, such a great people watching opportunity.  The next was a temple that we visited.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  The attention to detail was superb.

This is the exterior of the temple above, as much as I love this picture I have to say that it doesn't truly capture how amazing the decorations were.  I truly loved this day.

Finally I took pictures of funny signs when I saw them, I had to giggle when I saw the no burning sign.

Love Always, 

Meg