While drinking green tea we bought in China I have gone through our photos and uploaded a large selection to Picasa. Take a look at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/102526380860843893580/2012China?authuser=0&feat=directlink
By the way, after sitting through what was effectively an infomercial at the green tea factory I now firmly believe that green tea can cure all ailments! It's the tea polyphenol you know. I'm drinking mine, and you can reuse the leaves five times. :)
And another note on China. Our best weather and clearest skies were in Beijing and we were very lucky to have that. And, as hot as it was there, the humidity was much lower than what we endured the rest of our trip.
Thank you China Highlights for putting together a great tour and to each of our guides and drivers for getting us here and there while helping us undertand what we were experiening and seeing.
Showing posts with label Beijing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beijing. Show all posts
Friday, August 10, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
China Tour 2012 - Day Two
Today on our agenda the Temple of Heaven, Cloisonne factory, lunch, the Great Wall, and a Peking Duck dinner.
The Temple of Heaven was where the emperor went to pray for good crops and weather. We had good weather and all of our meals have been great! The park around the Temple of Heaven was magical. It was full of people doing Tai Chi, dancing, playing board games and card games, sitting, and strolling, and singing. It seemed very relaxing and filled with happy people. The Temple of Heaven was pretty but the people in the park were where it is at.
The Cloisonne factory tour and store were fun. This took us out of Bejing and into the country and the feel of the area is much different. We drove past fruit tree farms and fields of vegetables, past people fishing, down lanes of trees along the river, and to the factory. This is a State owned and operated facility, interesting. Our guide, Jay (hos western not his Chinese name) showed us the process step by step except the gold plating which is a secret! Then we went into the store. Sharon and I both eyed, were drawn to, and eventually purchased a beautiful cloisonne vase. We also picked out some little goodies for each of us plus items for Anika and Avery. The rest of the crew also picked beautiful cloisonne pieces and everyone was happy and with lighter pockets.
To lunch! We really enjoyed this lunch in a "tourist" restaurant between the factory and the Great Wall. Each of us found favorites and no one was disappointed. Vegetable dishes, beef dishes, pork dishes and plenty of them.
And on to the Great Wall! Up and up we drove and then parked close to the chair lift/toboggan run. We road up on the chair lift and planned on coming down on the toboggan. That did not quite work as planned because rain started just as we were to get on the toboggans. Darn. Chair lift back down in the rain. But, it was cool hearing the rain hit the canopy of leaves below us, just not thrilling like the toboggan would have been.
The Great Wall. How in the world did they get this built? how many thousands of people carried, bricks, mortar, food, and water up to these heights? As I walked it and looked at tower after tower over the hills i was awed, not only for the construction of this bit the number of people it took to maintain it and man it. I do want to learn more of this wonder. We only walked the distance of a few towers but the up and down was intense and took a toll on our legs. We were done after about an hour and headed back to were we came up to the wall.
I'm typing this while on an airplane and the guy in front of me just flully reclined his seat. A westerner, damned rude I would say.
From theGreat Wall we headed back to Beijing for a Peking Duck dinner. It took us about two hours through heavy rain. Our driver is very good. He gets us where we need to go and seems to know where hei going all the time. I would not like to drive in Beijing.
The Peking duck dinner was an interesting experience and the dishes were all duck based. They were good, but I think we enjoyed lunch more. One of the jighlights was what our guide described at Chinese wine. It was a 112 proof clear distilled spirit. Dave and I got imto it toasting each other. I found it bearable with a beer chaser. Pretty rough stuff.
After dinner it was back to the hotel in what seemed like even heavier rain. We ran into the hotel, well I walked because of my running vs. walking rain theory, and found a water fall running down the stairs to our room. Luckily there was an alternate route! A little bit after getting back to our rooms were joined by a team of foot massagers. Each of us got a foot massage in our rooms. What fun! After the massages sleep.
From theGreat Wall we headed back to Beijing for a Peking Duck dinner. It took us about two hours through heavy rain. Our driver is very good. He gets us where we need to go and seems to know where hei going all the time. I would not like to drive in Beijing.
The Peking duck dinner was an interesting experience and the dishes were all duck based. They were good, but I think we enjoyed lunch more. One of the jighlights was what our guide described at Chinese wine. It was a 112 proof clear distilled spirit. Dave and I got imto it toasting each other. I found it bearable with a beer chaser. Pretty rough stuff.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
China Tour Day One.
This is our first full day in China. Our first "day" was yesterday but there was only 30 minutes before it was gone!
We were busy. Sharon and I slept until about 7:00am and then showered, dressed, and went for a walk. We met the rest of the gang back at the hotel for breakfast and then loaded in the van with our tour guide, Ada, and our driver. Off to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The square is huge and packed with people. Actually not really packed, because they could have gotten a lot more in there. We were amused when more than one family asked to have pictures taken with us. We were quite the celebrities.
The sun was intense as was the heat. We walked from about 10:30 until almost 1:00 when we took a break for lunch. Seeing the Forbidden City was quite the experience but it took a lot out of all of us and we needed a respite. Lunch was in a local restuarant and we had an assortment of dishes. We described them as a sample of tastes and flavors from around the world. Chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, fish, and many vegetables.
After lunch we went to the Drum Tower - wow what a climb. Seventy steps and big steps up to the top. That did us in, but we were entertained by drumming and views before we grabbed the rails to head back down. Before the tower we had a rickshaw ride and learned of how the locals lived and visited a private residence.
Our day concluded with a performance of Chinese Acrobats. All I can say is "Wow!" Acrobatics, and juggling, and even motorcycles in a cage. Dinner was noodles in a place close to our hotel and then we retiredto our rooms. Sharon and I showered and collapsed!
We were busy. Sharon and I slept until about 7:00am and then showered, dressed, and went for a walk. We met the rest of the gang back at the hotel for breakfast and then loaded in the van with our tour guide, Ada, and our driver. Off to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The square is huge and packed with people. Actually not really packed, because they could have gotten a lot more in there. We were amused when more than one family asked to have pictures taken with us. We were quite the celebrities.
The sun was intense as was the heat. We walked from about 10:30 until almost 1:00 when we took a break for lunch. Seeing the Forbidden City was quite the experience but it took a lot out of all of us and we needed a respite. Lunch was in a local restuarant and we had an assortment of dishes. We described them as a sample of tastes and flavors from around the world. Chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, fish, and many vegetables.
After lunch we went to the Drum Tower - wow what a climb. Seventy steps and big steps up to the top. That did us in, but we were entertained by drumming and views before we grabbed the rails to head back down. Before the tower we had a rickshaw ride and learned of how the locals lived and visited a private residence.
Our day concluded with a performance of Chinese Acrobats. All I can say is "Wow!" Acrobatics, and juggling, and even motorcycles in a cage. Dinner was noodles in a place close to our hotel and then we retiredto our rooms. Sharon and I showered and collapsed!
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| We Picked Up A Few Kids |
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| Crowds Of Umberallas |
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| Ada And Sharon |
 |
| Beautiful Buildings |
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| It Was Good To Be Emporer |
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| Rickshaw Ride |
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| The Drum Tower |
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| Kids Posing |
 |
| Juggelrs At Acrobatics Show |
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| Acrobatics Show |
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Off We Go To Beijing!
The day of our flight was really hard for Sharon as she was on the telephone working from 6:30am to 6:00pm. We had originally planned on leaving for the airport by 5:30pm but we were packing Sharon's suitcase a few minutes before 6:00 - she was throwing things out of the closet and I was putting them in her suitcase as fast as I could. We were in the car and out of the driveway just a few minutes later.
We were checked in at O'hare by 6:40 and then headed to our gate. We met Claire, who is on our flight, and we all went into the Flagship Lounge. That was great. Comfortable seating, nice drinks - wine, beer, spirits, and also snacks. I had read there was a Flagship buffet dinner but that never happened. There were some warm appetizers but nothing approaching dinner. We had a nice visit with Claire, watched some of the London Olympics opening ceremonies, and then boarding for our flight was announced. All good!
We boarded with Claire, us to the front of the plane and Claire to the back. We had scored first class seats. This is the way to fly internationally. Loads of room and comfy seats, except, BIG failure for American Airlines. There was a sticker on my seat controls, INOP. Yep, the touted fully adjustable seats with electric recline and foot rests, and lumbar support, etc. was inoperable. American will hear from me on this. The flight attendant was able to at least get the seat to swivel and says she can make it manually recline to form a bed. We shall see. Bottom line is my seat will not operate as advertised and the Flagship Experience is not so great.
On the plus side, I am drinking Gossett Reserve Champagne and will soon be dining on salmon. I've got pajamas to change in to and I am wearing slippers and have on Bose headphones.
Dinner was wonderful, starting with nuts or hummus, then Sharon and I both had smoked salmon with sour cream and capers. Then a salad and then we each had pesto crusted salmon. I am watching a movie based on one of the best books I have read in years, Salmon Fishing The Yemen. I picked up the book on our last trip to London, at least five years ago. It was at Sheena's and I started reading and could not stop! The movie resurrects the same enjoyment. This with a Lange Arneis and life in first class is good.
After putting on my pajamas it was time for bed. The attendants attempted to manually recline my seat and flatten it but had no luck. It would partially recline and they could get the foot rest up partially. I suggested one of the two vacant first class seats but was told they were for crew. I said this was unacceptable, the attendant went away then came back and said I could use one of the other seats but if one of the crew needed it they would wake me up and I would have to move. This is really hard to believe.
They made up the bed and I tossed and turned for a while but finally fell asleep and was out off an on until 6:00am Chicago time. That's 7:00pm Beijing time so a quite a bit of sleep for me.
As I write this we are 800 miles from Beijing and less than two hours to go. The cabin has been dark since bed time and most of the passengers here in first are still asleep. I dressed and went to check on Claire, found her fast asleep. This sleeping will be a problem for all of us when we get to Beijing as it will be 11:30pm there and we have a full day tomorrow! Will we be able to get any sleep our first night in China?
In our hotel, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel. This is really cool, old, and cozy in an old neighborhood. Tiny room but we like it. Sharon is repacking her suitcase to see what she ended up with! She is missing her glasses.
We had quite an adventure at the airport. We got through passport control quickly and the got our bags and exited customs to the arrivals area. We looked for someone holding a Dunivan sign. Nope. Then we got a text from Larry, "Where are you?" It took us almost an hour of texting and phone calls and going up and down elevators before we figured out we were in different terminals!
The van with Larry, Dave, Ginger, Audra, and our guide picked us up at 1:00am. We got to the hotel around 2:00 and here I am typing. I'm uploading this with all of its errors and calling it a night. Oh, VPN is the only way to get to Facebook and to Blogspot. Good thing I signed up!
Good night!
We were checked in at O'hare by 6:40 and then headed to our gate. We met Claire, who is on our flight, and we all went into the Flagship Lounge. That was great. Comfortable seating, nice drinks - wine, beer, spirits, and also snacks. I had read there was a Flagship buffet dinner but that never happened. There were some warm appetizers but nothing approaching dinner. We had a nice visit with Claire, watched some of the London Olympics opening ceremonies, and then boarding for our flight was announced. All good!
We boarded with Claire, us to the front of the plane and Claire to the back. We had scored first class seats. This is the way to fly internationally. Loads of room and comfy seats, except, BIG failure for American Airlines. There was a sticker on my seat controls, INOP. Yep, the touted fully adjustable seats with electric recline and foot rests, and lumbar support, etc. was inoperable. American will hear from me on this. The flight attendant was able to at least get the seat to swivel and says she can make it manually recline to form a bed. We shall see. Bottom line is my seat will not operate as advertised and the Flagship Experience is not so great.
On the plus side, I am drinking Gossett Reserve Champagne and will soon be dining on salmon. I've got pajamas to change in to and I am wearing slippers and have on Bose headphones.
Dinner was wonderful, starting with nuts or hummus, then Sharon and I both had smoked salmon with sour cream and capers. Then a salad and then we each had pesto crusted salmon. I am watching a movie based on one of the best books I have read in years, Salmon Fishing The Yemen. I picked up the book on our last trip to London, at least five years ago. It was at Sheena's and I started reading and could not stop! The movie resurrects the same enjoyment. This with a Lange Arneis and life in first class is good.
After putting on my pajamas it was time for bed. The attendants attempted to manually recline my seat and flatten it but had no luck. It would partially recline and they could get the foot rest up partially. I suggested one of the two vacant first class seats but was told they were for crew. I said this was unacceptable, the attendant went away then came back and said I could use one of the other seats but if one of the crew needed it they would wake me up and I would have to move. This is really hard to believe.
They made up the bed and I tossed and turned for a while but finally fell asleep and was out off an on until 6:00am Chicago time. That's 7:00pm Beijing time so a quite a bit of sleep for me.
As I write this we are 800 miles from Beijing and less than two hours to go. The cabin has been dark since bed time and most of the passengers here in first are still asleep. I dressed and went to check on Claire, found her fast asleep. This sleeping will be a problem for all of us when we get to Beijing as it will be 11:30pm there and we have a full day tomorrow! Will we be able to get any sleep our first night in China?
In our hotel, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel. This is really cool, old, and cozy in an old neighborhood. Tiny room but we like it. Sharon is repacking her suitcase to see what she ended up with! She is missing her glasses.
We had quite an adventure at the airport. We got through passport control quickly and the got our bags and exited customs to the arrivals area. We looked for someone holding a Dunivan sign. Nope. Then we got a text from Larry, "Where are you?" It took us almost an hour of texting and phone calls and going up and down elevators before we figured out we were in different terminals!
The van with Larry, Dave, Ginger, Audra, and our guide picked us up at 1:00am. We got to the hotel around 2:00 and here I am typing. I'm uploading this with all of its errors and calling it a night. Oh, VPN is the only way to get to Facebook and to Blogspot. Good thing I signed up!
Good night!
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