Day Two was just as busy as yesterday, just we had more sleep! Today we visited Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and a market.
Tiananmen Square was massive and very crowed. It made you feel tiny and was surrounded by different buildings, such as the National Museum. It was powerfully iconic. Fun fact: a dignitary from Israel was there. We know this because of the Israeli flag hanging in the square.
Across the way is the Forbidden City which was built during the Ming Dynasty. The best way to describe it is: it can give modern security experts a run for their money. By this I mean that it has so many rooms and passage ways, that any intruder could easily get lost if they didn't know where they were going. The Forbidden City, like the Llama Temple, had a blue and green motif on all of the buildings. We also came during the restoration of several of the different halls. The Forbidden City is overall massive and an excellent demonstration of imperial power.
After that it was time for lunch, which was very filling. Then we sojourned to the Temple of Heaven, which was actually larger than the Forbidden City. It was lush green everywhere, but the temples themselves were still adorned in the blue and green jeweled tones. It was also one of the tallest points in Beijing, which was stunning view.
Next we journeyed to a market, where we tried a host of different foods, including scorpion and snake. FYI the snake was my favorite. The guys will have more in the food blog! The majority of us got to practice our bartering skills, which I am sure will improve immensely in the coming week (I still need some more work, but Kelsey is great!). We also did some shopping; Alysse and I bough shoes. Yes, I flew 13,000 miles and bought shoes. We also went to the largest bookstore in Beijing. Books smell good in any language. After that it was dinner and a subway ride back to the hotel.
Even after two days here, many of us are already becoming more confident speaking Mandarin and trying new things. Thus far it has been pretty amazing and I can't wait to see what is coming up next.
Total miles walked today. 11.6.
Tomorrow we are off to the Great Wall! Have a great night! - Tori
Tiananmen Square was massive and very crowed. It made you feel tiny and was surrounded by different buildings, such as the National Museum. It was powerfully iconic. Fun fact: a dignitary from Israel was there. We know this because of the Israeli flag hanging in the square.
Across the way is the Forbidden City which was built during the Ming Dynasty. The best way to describe it is: it can give modern security experts a run for their money. By this I mean that it has so many rooms and passage ways, that any intruder could easily get lost if they didn't know where they were going. The Forbidden City, like the Llama Temple, had a blue and green motif on all of the buildings. We also came during the restoration of several of the different halls. The Forbidden City is overall massive and an excellent demonstration of imperial power.
After that it was time for lunch, which was very filling. Then we sojourned to the Temple of Heaven, which was actually larger than the Forbidden City. It was lush green everywhere, but the temples themselves were still adorned in the blue and green jeweled tones. It was also one of the tallest points in Beijing, which was stunning view.
Next we journeyed to a market, where we tried a host of different foods, including scorpion and snake. FYI the snake was my favorite. The guys will have more in the food blog! The majority of us got to practice our bartering skills, which I am sure will improve immensely in the coming week (I still need some more work, but Kelsey is great!). We also did some shopping; Alysse and I bough shoes. Yes, I flew 13,000 miles and bought shoes. We also went to the largest bookstore in Beijing. Books smell good in any language. After that it was dinner and a subway ride back to the hotel.
Even after two days here, many of us are already becoming more confident speaking Mandarin and trying new things. Thus far it has been pretty amazing and I can't wait to see what is coming up next.
Total miles walked today. 11.6.
Tomorrow we are off to the Great Wall! Have a great night! - Tori
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