not so forbidden city

Our last full day in Beijing was a cold one. My mom stayed at the hotel (we wore her out the day before, but her staying in was probably a good thing because the day was so long and wet and cold) so it was just me, Somebody, and my dad. We went right to the Forbidden City and spent a good six hours wandering around. The most amazing thing about the Forbidden City is how massive it is. We walked, and walked, and walked, and the pioneer children gave up before we did. After six hours we still had only covered about a forth of the complex. It was just building after building, after courtyard, after building. Amazing architecture. Amazing color. Amazing history. All the rain and cold and tiredness couldn’t stop us.





Things I want to always remember:
* How all the umbrellas were so pastel and colorful.
* How Somebody “accidentally” kicking up a piece of the pavement and then putting it into my bag for a souvenir.
* The five star bathrooms, where the smokers had a lounge inside and the non-smokers had to stand outside in the rain.
* My favorite exhibit—A Day in the Life of a Concubine
* That Haagen-Dazs was the only sit-down restaurant we could find.
* Taking a half hour taxi ride just to not see the lantern festival, which was cancelled because of the rain.