Peking Duck, anyone?

The last full day in Beijing was certainly a busy one. We visited Tian'anmen Square, the largest space in the world. At an impressive 110 acres, I still found it a bit solemn. Even with the crowds of people everywhere and Ella dancing and jumping around, I thought about all of the people who lost their lives protesting in that same square 20 years earlier. Sad, right? I couldn't help it though. It is still a jaw-dropping sight to see and the fifty-six pillars lining the area is dramatic. They represent the fifty-six different ethnic minority groups in China. (I would have never known they had that many different groups of people there!) They were put up in time for their 60th anniversary of National Day in the beginning of October. It's still being decided if they will become a permanent fixture to the Square. I thought they were massive! I've been to Rome and I can compare their size to some of the ancient Roman columns. I liked them though. Word on the street is...the Chinese HATE them. We didn't venture to see the mausoleum which houses Mao's body in the middle of the Square. I didn't think Ella needed to see dead embalmed bodies just yet. Besides, the poor soul asked to be cremated and no one followed his wishes. Someone played a cruel trick on him;)

St. Joseph's Church right near our hotel.

Our hotel was located on Wangfujing Street which Tom informed me is "the 5th Ave of Beijing". He knows his stuff. Gucci, Fendi, Prada, Cartier...you name it, it was there.

Mao's Portrait. But I took this photo to show you the CROWDS. It was insane in this area.

Awww so cute in Tiananmen Square

Ella breaking the law again and trying to get under the rope to touch the columns.

Tom catches her before security does;)

After T-Square, we traveled across the street to the Forbidden City (doesn't seem like a big deal, but good God it was an eight lane highway!). So we went took the underground walkway:) I always thought Mao's picture would be much larger than it was, but I guess anyone who has their giant portrait hanging up for the world to see shouldn't complain. The Forbidden City is surrounded by walls which are twenty-six feet high! ( I had to look that up because it seemed even higher when I was there). Apparently the Chinese really like their walls;) The palace reminded me of a much, much larger version of the palace we visited in Seoul. It was very beautiful once inside with the Imperial Gardens and temples. I couldn't imagine ONE family living there, but that's how the Emperor of China lived. (PS Ella slept through the whole thing...I think she was overwhelmed;) )

Next up was a quick stroll through Jingshan Park. Ella woke up for this one! I wish the day was nicer when we went here. It is such a nice area to explore, but it was so hazy that day we didn't spend a lot of time here. I did find someone writing with water calligraphy and that was an interesting to watch. Ella enjoyed looking at all of the boats out on the lake and we had to peel her off the railing to leave the park or she would still be there staring at the damn boats. (what's with her obsession? Tom says he thinks she's a future tug boat captain...tell me he's wrong.)

The art of water calligraphy

We walked to the Bell and Drum Towers and shamelessly along the way stopped at McDonald's for lunch. I told Tom I wouldn't reveal that secret, but when you travel with a toddler who won't eat anything but lollipops, it's time to settle for a Happy Meal (and the toy keeps her occupied for quite awhile). Is McDonald's more nutritious than a lolly? Probably not. But at least she ate finally! After the Towers, we headed to the enchanting Temple of Heaven. It's not only a beautiful temple, but it's set in a vast park area. We saw people dancing and exercising in groups, playing hacky sack and musical instruments, wedding photos being taken, models being photographed...it was full of this energy and excitement. I can see why they say not to miss it!

They love their dried fruit...it looked like bags of candy

Bell and Drum Towers

A jaunt down an alley way with real hutongs (chinese homes)

RIP MJ

At the Temple of Heaven

Afterwards, we stopped at the Pearl Market and haggled a few deals and then headed to our delicious Peking Duck dinner at DaDong. When I say delicious, I mean the duck literally melted in your mouth. It was neat to have the chef come to our table to carve it...Ella kept screaming "ducky ducky ducky" so if she is totally traumatized, I'm sorry, but the duck was that good. It was pretty humorous too when Tom tried feeding her the duck and she wouldn't take it because he told her it was "duck". But when I tried feeding it to her I told her it was chicken and she ate it like a champ. Silly daddy. What two year old wants to eat "donald?" The duck is eaten with very thin soft tortillas and you wrap it up with sliced onions, radishes, cucumbers, sugar, garlic...whatever you want to stuff it with (and you do this all with chopsticks!) For dessert, they brought us out a plate of fresh fruit on dry ice. Yum, yum, yum. Such an amazing experience.

At Pearl Market where Ella thought she was so cool because they kept trying shoes on her...such a girl

DaDong Duck Restaurant

Don't worry. She didn't drink the whole thing. But it kept her quiet for the most part...When she wasn't screaming "ducky" or "quack quack".

Daddy feeding Ella duck which she promptly spit out after.

Mommy feeding Ella "chicken" which she promptly asked for MORE:)

Ella playing with the radishes. *note* the red marks on her face are mosquito bites. She was bitten a week before the trip and at one point I counted 18 bug bites on her face alone. When she finally saw herself in a mirror she looked shocked at her face and started picking at them:(

Once dinner was over (seriously can this day or post be any longer??) we went to the Chaoyang Theater to watch the acrobats show. You know the little Chinese kids that are sent away at like age three to become famous acrobats?...yeah it was spectacular. It was over an hour long show and Ella sat though it and stared, clapped and loved every second. She never took her eyes off the stage. I didn't either though.

Look at everything on this guy's bicycle. I have no idea how he saw in front of him.

Ella trying on a few of her new prizes from China when we returned home.

All in all, Beijing was absolutely a trip I will never forget. I love traveling and exploring new cultures and to watch Ella enjoy a whole new world was a most memorable joy in itself. Xie Xie, Beijing! (Thank you!) To see more photos, click here.