China Day 1: Beijing

We made it to China late last night.  We started today by going to the hotel's breakfast buffet.  It was definitely unique - spicy haggis, marinated eggs, fried rice, noodles, and ice cream were some of the more unusual selections.  There were lots of traditional breakfast foods too.

After breakfast we met our guide Alice and went to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City.  It was very neat to see such icons of history.

As you can see from the picture it is very smoggy here today.  We saw a news report just a little while that said that the pollution levels are extremely high today.  We've seen a lot of people with masks on.  

The Chinese people seem to think Camden's pretty neat.  So far he's had his picture taken,  been pointed out by lots of people and had his hair and face rubbed.  We were warned that this would be the norm in China.  Apparently they think anyone with blond hair is probably a US celebrity. ;)  Camden's not minding the attention so far.  

After the Forbidden City, we went over to the hutong area and ate lunch at a traditional hot pot restaurant.  Think Asian fondue.  Camden liked cooking the food in the boiling water, but he and I weren't huge fans of the sauce that you were supposed to dip everything in.  We also learned that Jim is a chopsticks pro!  He used them throughout the whole meal. Camden and I stuck with forks.  

After lunch we went on a rickshaw ride through the hutong area.  This an older part of Beijing where many people live in neighborhoods.  This was a more authentic view of China.  Jim didn't really drive the rickshaw.  ;) 

We're now back in the hotel room and working hard to stay awake.  We only slept a few hours on the plane ride and even though we slept all night last night with the help of some lavender and melatonin, we're still sleepy today.  Good thing we have another day to adjust before we get Benjamin! 

Tomorrow we go to the Great Wall and then we fly to Guangzhou.  We get Benjamin the next day!