Beijing, China

Over the Veteran's Day holiday we took a 4 day trip to Beijing, China. It turned out to be a great time to visit as the APEC conference was being held; factories were shut down and traffic was being controlled by odd/even license plate numbers to drive on opposite days. This meant the smog level was fairly low and traffic was very light. This trip was through the travel agency on post, which was nice to have transportation, food and hotel all taken care of. The downside was we had a packed schedule of touring everyday, leaving the hotel at 8:30a.m and not returning till around 8:00p.m. I'm pretty sure we convinced a newly wed couple to hold off on any baby making plans. Overall Zach and Lilly did very well and we got to see a lot of different tourist spots in a short amount of time.

 

 

We took a bus from Daegu to Busan, which is where our flight left from.

As soon as we got off the plane we headed to dinner (not pictured) and then to this place to watch an acrobatic show. Lilly clapped after every performance.

 

Inside the theater. Photos were not allowed during the performance.

Lilly on the phone in our hotel room and baby sleeping on the bed.

Heading out for our first morning of tours.

We bought this backpack for Lilly the night before we left, thinking it would be great for her to carry her own stuff. It was great.. for the first 30 minutes, then it became ours to carry.

 

Ramon's backpack works great for a little while too.

In the middle of the Forbidden City, which was the Chinese imperial palace for about 500 years. Now it's a museum/tourist spot.

Chinese soldiers guarding the flag.

The stragglers- our group was always waiting on us.

Lilly looking into the water and me looking at how uneven her part is.

Taking a break.

There are two lions like this in front of most temples. We learned that one is female, one is male and they are used to ward off evil. The female has a baby lion under it's left foot and the male has a ball under his. Go figure.

And there goes Lilly taking off with Zach, who she usually stopped pushing and left him while she ran to something else.

 

 

Of course these tours have to stop at the markets. This is the silk factory, where we learned how silk is made (from silk worms) and how they turn that into comforters, scarves, clothes, etc. It was educational but not enough to feel the need to buy something.

 

Made a stop at Starbucks!

Zach's first time in this carrier

The Silk Street Market where 6 floors are filled with fake shoes, purses, clothes, watches, etc.

 The next morning we were going to the Great Wall. This was what we really had wanted to see. It was a nice day, other than being a little chilly. Climbing the stairs was no joke. They were uneven, steep and very little hand rails. We really enjoyed it though!

 

Lilly was having a clingy mommy day, but with some convincing and snacks we were able to get her to ride with daddy. There was no way I was going to "wear" her up that mountain!

Daddy's "almost there" pose.

Our "almost there" pose.

This is where we stopped and turned around.

We made it to number 9.

Poor Zach, had a hard time with his hat

Father like son... that face!

Next on the tour was a tea house where we sampled various tea. Not really the best place to take a toddler.

This is what you get when asking Lilly to take a picture next to Buddha.

The typical attention Zach receives in foreign countries- Ramon enjoys it too.

Temple of Heaven

Pearl Market.. another tourist trap..and of course I got sucked into that one.

 We have been to many airports and I have to say the China airports are awesome! They have numerous play areas for the kids. It is great to be able to let them expend some energy before the flight!