Beijing day 2 and 3

Sorry about the delay everyone! We are having trouble with our internet connection at this hotel- had someone in our room for an hour yesterday, they could not connect us. Luckily- we are back up tonight- was able to upload some of yesterdays pictures but it took forever, so

yesterdays pictures you can find here. The pictures on this page are from today, I will post the rest on shutterfly on Monday from home. Back to our time in Beijing- first off, the company we chose for touring has been amazing. We love our guide Echo- yes, thats her English name, she is wonderful. We have been riding around in a BMW van, really comfortable. Yesterday we began our day at the Summer Palace. Built in the Ming dynasty for the emperor that the Forbidden city was built for. Very similar structure to the forbidden city, but situated on a beautiful lake. The emperor and his family spent their summers at this palace as it was cooler. This palace has the longest hall of any structure. It was an outside covered walkway completely covered in beautiful paintings. I cannot remember how long it is, but seemed like we walked forever. We headed after this to the Forbidden city and Tianneman square, kids did great with all this walking, but really did not appreciate it, except for Kellan. He has really loved seeing everything we have seen. The others have been more interested in when lunch is, and how cold they are- and boy, is it cold here! Our travels from Guangzhou to Beijing are equivalent from traveling from Florida to New York. Kellan even bought a hat that covers his ears, a red army hat, but hey, keeps him warm. We have been carrying instant hand warmers in our gloves. Back to our touring yesterday, we headed in the afternoon to the Temple of Heaven, which was breathtaking. Pictures do not do it justice. If it was warmer I would have loved to spend more time there. There were many people flying kites, and many senior citizens all gathered on this walkway in their winter coats playing poker and various musical instruments. I kept thinking you would never see this at home. They were having a great time, and it was about 38 degrees outside. For dinner we had Peking Duck, which Kellan said was the best thing he has ever eaten. It was really delicous! Today we visited the Great Wall, Katie surprised us all and began climbing quickly on all fours up the stairs. She did very well and we all went together up quite a ways, when the girls, and quite honestly we, began to tire out. We headed down, Kellan and Patrick decided they wanted to climb all the way, which they did- we waited for about 45 minutes for them to come down- they were really proud of their accomplishment telling us how few people their were at the top and what could be seen from up there. This afternoon we toured a Hutong village, which is the oldest still functioning village in Beijing. Very few cars pass though, so after going over a small bridge we all hopped on Rickshaws to ride through the streets. We were able to visit with a local family in their home. A retired couple that proudly showed us around their small but very cozy home. They told us that the government gave them 3,000 Yuan to live on per month- equivalent to about $400 USD. Because of their simple life, they are able to save half of it each month, living off of less than $200 per month. The had three birds, one talking bird- funny to hear a bird speaking mandaring- and a pet chipmunk in a cage. Thought it was a hampster, but nope, a Chipmunk with a little wheel to run on and all! Went to a tea room, where we sampled for different kinds of tea- all wonderful. For dinner we ate at a incredible restaurant that serves the best imperial cuisine in China we were told. It was situated in a local park that was closed to nighttime traffic, so we had to park outside and walk through the park along a lake to get to the restaurant. We were greated at a cement walkway lit by two red lanterns lit with candles, and a woman dressed in traditional imperial dress who escorted us further along this lake to an absolutely beautful restaurant. We did feel a bit like royalty. The food was amazing. Patrick again, tried everything and has continued to be surprised with how much he likes the food! I am sure I am missing so many details I would love to share with all of you, but we are so very tired and ready to come home. Not sure if Megan Su Xue Wei has any idea of the significance that tomorrow holds for her. When we enter the US in Chicago she becomes an American citizen, but looses her Chinese citizenship. From then forward she will need to request a visa to enter the country that has been her home all her life. I am sure we will be back here with her in the future, but I cant help feeling sad for all that she is loosing. Tomorrow we head for home at 5:30 pm Sunday China time arriving in the Rochester airport just "four hours" later at 9:30 pm. If only our trip was that short! We are off to bed- our next post will be from home- with more pictures from our last day in China-

Love to all of you!