Back to Beijing

A while back we decided that we wanted to take the boys to China before we moved back to the U.S. Seeing as they had a nice, chunky Fall Break we thought that would be the best time to take them. When we purchased the tickets, we thought we had bought them for 1pm on October the 14th. However, a week before departure, we realized that we had bought tickets for 1am. Joy! Scott thought it best not to change the time because then we would get an entire extra day out of trip.

I spent all of last Tuesday trying to tire out the boys (in hopes they would sleep on the plane) and packing our family. I actually had to have my mom ship out pants for the boys for the trip. (Yes, it's true, my children do not own a pair of pants). At 11pm, we called a taxi and set off for the airport. We made in record time seeing as we had the fastest cab driver in all of Singapore.

When we got on the plane, Jacob was more than thrilled to find that they were showing Transformers 2 on the flight. As I guessed, the boys hardly slept on the flight to Beijing. They finally decided they were totally exhausted when the pilot announced we were coming in for a landing.

Since we got to the hotel at 8am, there was obviously no room in the inn. We meandered around for a while and got something to eat while we waited for them to scrounge up a couple of rooms. Since none of us were feeling up to par, we decided to catch a quick nap before setting off to see the sites. I woke up refreshed, but with a giant, swollen red eye. Sexy!

Our first stop: Tiananmen Square. Super cool - except for the fact that everything was corded off and we could not get near the main official building. Needless to say, it took a whopping 30 minutes of aimless wandering before the boys started to complain they were bored. We gave up on Tiananmen and decided to go to the Temple of Heaven.

By this point, Andrew was so hungry that tears were rolling down his cheeks (I must admit I felt similar). The only place we could find was a gift shop. Lucky for us, they sold ice-cream.

Jacob was very concerned that we had not seen any "old buildings," so he was ecstatic to get to the Temple of Heaven.

We spent about an hour and a half walking around the temple and gardens. It was during this time that the boys got their first taste of being "famous" in China. About every 15 minutes, they would be surrounded by a crowd who wanted to take their picture with the boys. The best part would be when the boys would say something in Chinese and the people would flip out.

The next day started bright and early with a visit to the Forbidden City. We prepped the boys by telling them get eat a big breakfast because we would be doing A LOT of walking.

Walk, walk, walk.....

Walk, walk, walk.....

Jacob loved the lions in front of the many entry ways in China. Behind him is a females lion (you can tell because she has a baby under her left paw).
Some lady had turtles with her at the Forbidden City. Andrew could not resist stopping by to hold one.
Cool ceiling.....
Andrew and this little girl became immediate friends from the second they saw each other. They literally spent the last 20 minutes of our tour chasing each other around (neither of them speaking the other's language). When he finally had to say good-bye, Andrew kept tell me that he wanted to have her in our family. I told him the most likely way that would happen would be if he married her in about 20 years.

After lunch we headed to our next tour destination: the Drum Tower followed by a rickshaw tour through a Houtang (aka: an old Chinese neighborhood).

Here are the lofty steps we were expected to ascend. Ouchies for the pregnant woman. I seriously thought I was going to go into labor once I reached the top (those steps were freaking steep). However, the hike was well worth it because we were able to witness a drum performance when we got to the summit. It was super cool.

Once we descended from the Drum Tower, we hopped into our trusty rickshaws.

During the Houtang Tour, we had the opportunity to visit one of the homes. I was so excited to see the inside of one of these hundreds year old residences - the boys were excited about the dogs....ewww. (I literally showered them with anti-bacterial once we left).

The tour ended with a visit to a porcelain factory. For those of you who know my boys, you can probably guess that this was the most stressful portion of the day. I was anticipating a game of tag to be ended by one of them crashing into a giant display case. Luckily (through a lot of hovering and threats) we made it through without any damage. Andrew liked the potter's wheel.

We had another early start on Friday as we decided to climb the Great Wall of China. I have to admit, taking these rickety ski lifts to the top is one of the scariest things I had ever done (especially with my extra "girth". Notice how the ski lift is slanted towards my side. In case you can't tell who I am, the purple hanging out of the back is my rear :S)

Please notice the steps on the Great Wall. Lots and lots and lots of steps. Steep steps, tiny steps, spaced out steps. My calves were burning!

As was the norm during our entire visit, the boys were once again surrounded by a group of admirers. We were able to get a shot of Andrew with all his groupies.

At one point, Andrew became very offended because we had teased him for hiding behind a trash can. The teasing was minor, but to Andrew it was monumental. The result: him curling up and refusing to move. Weird. We eventually coaxed him up and convinced him to come home with us.

After hiking the Wall, we took the luge (Alpine Slide) down to the bottom of the mountain, where we were greeted by the same two men who greeted Scott and I exactly one year ago. Aren't they cool!? They even shared their head gear with the boys.

After the Great Wall we went on a wild goose chase to the Bird's Nest that resulted in our non-English speaking driver being very confused, us stuck in traffic, and everyone just wanting to get back to the hotel. We attempted to take a picture somewhere off the freeway, but the Bird's Nest is so far off in the distance you can't tell what it is....so I didn't post it....though it may have been kind of funny. Too late!

The next day was the Summer Palace. You walk across this lovely bridge (as seen behind the boys) and then take a boat to the small island where the Palace is located.
Here is the very short line we had to wait in to get on the boat.... (yes, the line wraps around the bend).
The Palace grounds were jammed packed when we got off the boat. Trying to avoid the crowds, we went left while everyone else went straight. We wound up hiking up another steep hill and could only get views of the back side of the Palace. At least the grounds were really nice.

We were so excited to finally get back to the hotel and grab a bite to eat. We decided that we ought to venture out and get some authentic Chinese food at an authentic Chinese restaurant. After finding a respectable place, we sat down and started combing through the menu. I guess I should have seen the red flags when I saw dishes like, "sauteed pig kidneys" and "roasted frog entrails". Nonetheless, we were unfathomed and ordered way.

Our first dish was some kind of sauteed pork with green beans. It looked good except most of the meat had a white streak down the middle. I paid no attention and dug in. Mmmmmm, not bad. Then I inserted one of the stripped pieces of meat into my unsuspecting mouth. TENDONS!!! My noble teeth were no match for the mighty tendons and I had to spit out the gnarled piece of meat onto my plate. (Jacob followed the same maneuver seconds later). That kind of ended the pork for me.....and everyone else.

Next dish was green beans with minced pork on top. That was really good.

We were then served our duck. I was so excited to get some real Peking Duck while I was in China. However, we did not get Peking Duck. Instead, what was brought to our table was literally chopped up bones surrounded by layers of fat and skin. We all made a valiant attempt to partake of the dish, but gave in after the first attempt.

We also ordered a sauteed squid dish that came out next. It looked really good, so Scott and I eagerly dug in. Holy balls of fire!!!! The dish was covered in the hottest peppers I have every had in my life. We were left sputtering; grabbing for our glasses of water. After draining my glass I stole Andrew's since he had been smart enough not to try the squid.

Lastly came the fried rice which we all descended upon like rabid animals.

Let's just say....it was an interesting experience. I felt badly when we paid the check and left a table full of food. Upon exiting, we all ran to the nearest McDonald's and downed a few cheeseburgers. Literally. We did!

Sunday was our last day in Beijing. We decided to end the trip by treating ourselves to one last final foot rub. Heaven. Except for the part where the masseuse felt my tumor for the first time and kind of freaked out (a normal reaction I must say). She kept looking at it, poking it, and then talking to her fellow co-workers. I am considering having a note tattooed to the bottom of my foot that reads, "Not dangerous. Please treat me like the rest of the foot." I might have to have it written in about three languages, but it would be well worth it.

After the foot massage we all staggered back to the hotel, collected our bags, and went to the airport.

Farewell, China! We will miss you!!!!