The Summer Palace was beautiful. It was built by the emporer as a gift for his mother. One of the most beautiful parts is the marble boat which is a tea house.
It also has a huge man-made lake. We walked along the lake under a covered corridor filled with paintings of Chinese folk tales.
I was surprised at the number of people that were at the Palace today. I truly believe there were more there today than at the Great Wall yesterday!
After lunch we headed to the Beijing Zoo to see the pandas. They have a couple of panda houses and an outdoor area for the pandas. We saw about five pandas. One was busy eating his bamboo, but the rest were pretty lethargic. Signs said they are fast, but we weren't seeing it today.
An unexpected hightlight of the visit was the discovery of some unique ice cream bars. They had some incredible mixtures, like the raspberry and chocolate, and the unusual: corn and pea ice cream bars. The corn smelled just like buttered corn, and had a corn taste. It was really unusual.
We also went to the drum tower and got to ride in a rickshaw. I've got to say, I've been watching the interaction between cars, buses, pedestrians and bicycle riders and the thouight of being in a rickshaw was a little intimidating. But, everything went fine, and I'm glad I had the opportunity. We stayed to the the side streets and all was well.
During the rickshaw ride, we were invited into a local woman's house. She greeted us wih tea and told us a little about her life. The house was not very big. It had a large living area and a small sleeping area behind a curtain. There was also a small cooking area in the front. It had a primative feel, and yet she had a TV, computer, and microwave. I'm sure she was much better off than many of the people we saw in the ride through the neighborhood.
We've boarded the train and are preparing to fall asleeep, rocked by the movement of the train car.
Sounds like you are having a wonderful time! A little surprised that she has a computer, but I guess technology pervades all.....For the next blog or tow, can you try to incorporate a group shot? Would love to see my son!
ReplyDeleteIcelander13
我希望每个人都拥有一个美好的时光！
ReplyDeleteEnjoy reading about the activities. Thank you for all your efforts Karen
ReplyDeleteStill amazed by all the visualizations you give us. It's the next best thing to being there with you. A book or a picture written or taken by an unknown would not be the same. Thank you. Ditto on the group picture :)
ReplyDeleteThanks again Paula, Talked to Cam and he is having a GREAT time. These blogs help out alot to know what all they are doing. Thanks again
ReplyDeleteA group picture would be nice to see :)