Yesterday was another day of touring Beijing, but this time with the guide from our agency, Michael. There were seven families total with us, three of which are going to Jiangxi, counting us. It was nice to finally meet one of the families we had met online since receiving our referral. All of the families traveling to Jiangxi are getting babies from Fuzhou.
So, after breakfast, we met in the lobby of the Poly Plaza Hotel before hopping on a tour bus, headed for Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City. OMG, it was so cold! It was going to be a long, cold morning of walking so Nana opted to stay on the bus.... it seems she got a little tour of the city:) We were greeted by some serious vendors, ready to sell their items, and fortunately, it was hats and gloves. We were so cold and we had just gotten off the bus. Cupcake was already complaining about the cold... it was going to be a long morning.
Everything looked pretty much the same as the last time we were there. Areas of the Forbidden City were being renovated and it was not too crowded as many families are preparing for Chinese New Year which starts here on February 2nd. Michael told us that nearly 40% of Beijingers would be leaving the city, headed back to their hometowns. It is still mighty crowded here!
We finished our tour of the Forbidden City... I wish I had more to say about it, but when it is as cold as it was, it is truly hard to thoroughly enjoy where you are and what you are seeing. Shame on me!
We made it back to the tour bus and Nana where we had an hour drive to a jade store and restaurant. We had a nice family style Chinese lunch. It was good. The sweet and sour pork was really yummy and we had some fried milk? Sort of like a tapioca but smoother as one of the guys in the group said. Cupcake thought it was quite good!
Then we were off to the jade store for a little demo on jade and what to look for when purchasing... which we did. I love jade and this time I was thinking lavender jade. We bought Cupcake a jade monkey and Sweet Cheeks, a jade ox. It is interesting to see how many of the Chinese people, try to speak to Cupcake in Mandarin. She is getting good and telling them, "I don't speak Chinese,,,"
Next stop and with a little less money in the pocket, was the Great Wall of China. Super Dad and Cupcake climbed to the top of the tower and were HEROES! I was so proud of Cupcake, but more importantly, she was proud of herself! She got her picture at the top and Dad bought her a little plaque. They both made it back down, all in one piece.
We had McDonald's for dinner and spent the rest of the evening packing up to leave for Nanchang and Sweet Cheeks... melts my heart that we are now hours from her.
It is around 3am Sunday morning... we go to bed around 7pm and wake aroud 3am and we are leaving in a few hours to head to the airport. We will fly to Nanchang and we have been told that we will get the babies this evening around 4pm... epidural time!!!! Stay tuned!!!
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