settling in....

We finished our first full day here. Ben is doing great. He already adjusted to the time and is wanting to just walk around and take everything in. Me well I'm trying to be adventurous. I am not comfortable in the US just walking around cities I don't know so this is about as far away from my comfort zone as possible. I found 2 dishes that I like so I think I'll be sticking to those :-).

We have an amazing guide. She is like a walking history book (dad you would love listening to her). We went today to visit the Hutong villages. We took the rickshaw there. We loved it though it was a bit cold! The area has the old original homes that have passed down through generations. Some of the homes are over 600 yrs old. They just recently got electricity in them but still have no bathrooms. They have only been open to the public since 2008 and are worth millions because they are the only homes that can be owned and passed down. Other buildings/home you can only own for 70 yrs and then you need to start paying the gov't for them......I don't understand it all but what I can tell you is these 4 buildings connected by a court yard in the center would go for 5 million. It is just crazy to me.

 

 

This is the dining room.....

This is the honeymoon suite. A couple from the US decorated it and spent a month there for their honeymoon.

And to all of you who are wondering. Yes I was polite and didn't absolutely freak out when they put this on my head while thinking....oh my word how many heads has this thing been on!!!!

This man is the owner of the home. He is the 3rd generation and his grandfather paid 2000 silver coins for it.

We then headed to the silk factory to learn all about how they make silk items.

Finally we headed to the Forbidden City and Tienemen (don't know how to spell it and this is taking so long to download so sorry) Square. Cindy, our guide, gave us the complete history of it all. It is amazing how every single thing has a meaning. From where walls are built, to what animals are on the roof or the color something is painted. It is crazy! Here are some pictures....enjoy and I hope you truly can see how beautiful the buildings are.

There is a male and female lion that guard the gate. These are the largest ones anywhere in Ch*na

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we are visiting the Great Wall and then Sun we take the train to Zhengzhou!!!

Here is one of the meal we had------ Don't mind my face I thought Ben was only taking a picture of the food...lol. The plate on the left is our favorite. Kung Pao Chicken. Ok I have to say....see how I have a fork. There was actually one on the table when we sat down. Now tonight when we went to dinner it took two girls, some cherades and them laughing to get us our forks....but....we got them :-)

Thanks again to everyone for your love and support.

Nathan and Katie this last picture is for you. Look how HUGE our airplane was!! It could fit around 300 people.