BEIJING DAY 3+4

We started off switching rooms because there was a weird smell coming from the mini-fridge.  I think I was the culprit when I blew that fuse.  Oh well.

The family took a taxi to Summer Palace and walked around.  This was probably Mr. Ho's favorite place.  It is an expansive area with temples, living quarters, a huge body of water, and lots of green.  Empress Dowager Cixi had this place built, I believe.  Now that is a HBIC if I've ever heard of one.  We took many pictures that day and I ate about 4 pineapple popsicles, because, you guessed it - it was so hot.  

We ate lunch at Shanghai Spring where they had even better xiao lum bao and then took a mini-break, where Mr. Ho and I watched With Honors on HBO.  We tried to make it to the changing of the guards at Tiananmen Square, but we were a little late.  We were going to eat peking duck/real Beijing cuisine at this restaurant inside the Grand Hyatt but they were completely packed.  So we had some drinks in the lobby lounge and had food at our hotel instead.

The next morning, we all hopped in a cab to

 Forbidden City, which is was the imperial palace for several dynasties (thanks, Wikipedia!).  This place was humongous!  After every temple/courtyard we went through, I was amazed at how many more we still had to see.  My favorite part of this place was the Imperial Gardens, where they had these really old trees that were gnarly and twisted.  My second favorite part?  Seeing ALL the tourists!  I love checking out fob fashion!  We then walked over to Tiananamen Square again.  It is literally a square, so not much time was spent there.  

Mr. Ho and I had some sushi at Wa Ki Zen where I got this huge meal for only $11.  We watched You Got Served back at the hotel and then met up with the parents to have peking duck at the aforementioned place, Made in China.  This was probably one of the top 3 meals I had on the entire trip.  It was SO Delicious.  The peking duck was SO tender and SO juicy.  That peking place in Arlington pales in comparison!  

There was a ridiculous wait for the taxi and when we got back, I fell asleep watching Moulin Rouge.