China Adventure

This is Adeline with the paparazzi after we got off the plane in China. I later learned that Chinese people don't take their children out until they are around 2 (huh?!?!), so Adeline was even more of a celebrity than in Korea (if that is possible). In hindsight, we really didn't see many babies there, and everywhere we went, people kept insisting that she was cold. It didn't matter how many layers I had on her, we still got the look of, "poor baby, her parents are too young and stupid to know you aren't supposed to take your baby outside in the cold."

This is our tour guide, Susan, and our driver (very nice and a very good driver, but unfortunately a smoker).

Adeline slept as we walked through Tienanmen Square, and from there, we entered the Forbidden City.


This is some of the architecture inside the Forbidden City. The figures on the corner of the roof are different animals that each have a meaning. The number of animals also depicts the importance of the building (see I was listening to at least some of the tour).

The Great Wall

This was an amazing experience. We were all geared up to take Adeline with us in a backpack carrier, but our tour guide offered to stay with her in the van while we hiked. The wall is as long as New York to LA!

We had some great food. It turns out that authentic Chinese food tastes a lot like good Chinese food in the US.

This was one of the stops that was clearly planned for tourists, with merchandise that was grossly overpriced, but I really enjoyed it. We learned about different types of tea, what makes them special, how they taste, etc. For any of you who know me, and my love for anything tea related, this was one of the highlights for me.

We saw two shows (we turned down the opera on the third night because we were exhausted). The first was a Chinese acrobatic show. Amazing! They were able to get into positions and balance in ways that I never thought possible.

The second show (no pictures allowed) was a martial arts show at the suggestion/insistence of our tour guide. The tickets amazingly became half price on the second day when we didn't sound interested on the first day. We really did enjoy the show, and it made us feel a little better about not earning much commission for our tour guide at the Chinese tourist traps.

After so much excitement, Adeline and I had it! Goodnight everyone...