We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break with Cork in Beijing. We saw many famous sights and spent much quality time together just chatting and enjoying ourselves.
There are a ton of pics and they are in reverse chronological order but doesn't matter to the story. Enjoy Beijing!
Bei Hai Park north of the Forbidden City. It has a huge lake with beautiful grounds surrounding. One thing we really loved about Beijing were the older folks just out in the morning strolling, singing, laughing, and having the best time in the world. This picture is of some ladies dancing around. This is pretty early in the AM.
The older ladies love to twirl the cloth around. I don't know the name of it.
Same park.
Beautiful roof lines and ornate decorations. Same park.
This is the courtyard where we stayed in town. What a neat place!
This is at the Summer Palace. This is the Empress Dowager's house. The stage is for Chinese Opera.
This is the temple on the hill at the Summer Palace.
This is the groovy new area of Beijing called Wangfujing. It's just a couple of blocks from our hotel.
Here is a Chinese rickshaw. It looks different than the Thai or Indian rickshaws.
The entrance to the Ming Tombs.
Cork enjoying a hot yam off the street.
This is at the Great Wall. Starbucks is a shameless organization; no one would dispute that. But, so are we! We drink it every day without fail. (I'm sipping on it right now!) We loved having coffee and croissants at the Wall! Man, it was cold!!! Cork walking across the street.
On the Wall. We were the first people in the parking lot. It was pitch dark out and the entrance was closed. We just walked around until it opened. First tickets!
Amazing!
Sweetie posing.
I have 3 hats on. It's REALLY cold.
Daybreak at the Wall
Temple of Heaven.
Cork
Us
This is on Ghost Street in Beijing. It's a happening street with tons of restaurants.
This church looks hardly Chinese. It must be from a colonial period.
Enjoying breakfast at the hotel.
Cork and I outside the entrance to the hotel.
Inside the Forbidden City.
The infamous Chairman Mao. It's so interesting to see this picture. It's on the news so often and is an icon of Communist China. It's located at the north end of Tianenman Square and the entrance to the Forbidden City.
The symbol of China. This is at the entrance to the Great Hall of the People. It's basically the Chinese Congress Building. We went inside and it was mighty impressive.
This is the floor of the Congress.
This is in Tianenmen Square.
A soldier patrolling.
This is in front on Mao's Tomb.
This little guy was a bit frightened of us.
The Olympic countdown clock.
Thanksgiving dinner was Peking Duck. It was delicious. We decided it tasted like Turkey soaked in butter. A little on the heavy side!
They carve it right in front of you.
This is a corridor to another courtyard at our hotel.
The door to our room.
What a great holiday. Next holiday is Christmas in Europe. We have extensive plans...maybe too ambitious but we will try.
The schedule is-
Paris
Amsterdam
Nuremburg
Munich with daytrips
Salzburg
Innsbruck
Lucerne
Interlocken
Florence with daytrips
Rome
Best wishes on your holidays!
Brian and Jen
There are a ton of pics and they are in reverse chronological order but doesn't matter to the story. Enjoy Beijing!
Bei Hai Park north of the Forbidden City. It has a huge lake with beautiful grounds surrounding. One thing we really loved about Beijing were the older folks just out in the morning strolling, singing, laughing, and having the best time in the world. This picture is of some ladies dancing around. This is pretty early in the AM.
The older ladies love to twirl the cloth around. I don't know the name of it.
Same park.
Beautiful roof lines and ornate decorations. Same park.
This is the courtyard where we stayed in town. What a neat place!
This is at the Summer Palace. This is the Empress Dowager's house. The stage is for Chinese Opera.
This is the temple on the hill at the Summer Palace.
This is the groovy new area of Beijing called Wangfujing. It's just a couple of blocks from our hotel.
Here is a Chinese rickshaw. It looks different than the Thai or Indian rickshaws.
The entrance to the Ming Tombs.
Cork enjoying a hot yam off the street.
This is at the Great Wall. Starbucks is a shameless organization; no one would dispute that. But, so are we! We drink it every day without fail. (I'm sipping on it right now!) We loved having coffee and croissants at the Wall! Man, it was cold!!! Cork walking across the street.
On the Wall. We were the first people in the parking lot. It was pitch dark out and the entrance was closed. We just walked around until it opened. First tickets!
Amazing!
Sweetie posing.
I have 3 hats on. It's REALLY cold.
Daybreak at the Wall
Temple of Heaven.
Cork
Us
This is on Ghost Street in Beijing. It's a happening street with tons of restaurants.
This church looks hardly Chinese. It must be from a colonial period.
Enjoying breakfast at the hotel.
Cork and I outside the entrance to the hotel.
Inside the Forbidden City.
The infamous Chairman Mao. It's so interesting to see this picture. It's on the news so often and is an icon of Communist China. It's located at the north end of Tianenman Square and the entrance to the Forbidden City.
The symbol of China. This is at the entrance to the Great Hall of the People. It's basically the Chinese Congress Building. We went inside and it was mighty impressive.
This is the floor of the Congress.
This is in Tianenmen Square.
A soldier patrolling.
This is in front on Mao's Tomb.
This little guy was a bit frightened of us.
The Olympic countdown clock.
Thanksgiving dinner was Peking Duck. It was delicious. We decided it tasted like Turkey soaked in butter. A little on the heavy side!
They carve it right in front of you.
This is a corridor to another courtyard at our hotel.
The door to our room.
What a great holiday. Next holiday is Christmas in Europe. We have extensive plans...maybe too ambitious but we will try.
The schedule is-
Paris
Amsterdam
Nuremburg
Munich with daytrips
Salzburg
Innsbruck
Lucerne
Interlocken
Florence with daytrips
Rome
Best wishes on your holidays!
Brian and Jen
