We have had a very busy few days -- so sorry for the delay in updating the blog!  Last Saturday we took Pat to see the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, as well as Beihai Park and the Wangfujing Night Market.  We all loved seeing the Forbidden City (Hannah and me for the second time) -- and Beihai Park was breathtaking.  But the Night Market was something else.  More than 100 food stalls line the street right off of Wangfujing and you can buy everything imaginable there -- on a stick.  They have lots of noodles too, but it's the stuff on the stick that people come to eat.  You can see in the slide show below what they serve.  There's squid, and crab, and shrimp, tofu, and (mystery) meats -- and then there's scorpion, and beetle, and centipede!  Yikes!!  There's also something that looks alot like brains, but I'm not really sure what it is.  Needless to say, we didn't eat much -- just a little scorpion and squid.  Ha!  Seriously though, how do you eat a scorpion?!

Before the Night Market, we had a lovely tour of Tiananmen, the Forbidden City, and then Beihai Park.  You can see those photos below too.  We found a very interesting collection of 200-300 year old clocks at the Forbidden City (all gifts to Chinese Emperors and Empresses in the 1700s.  My favorite is the rhino clock!  After the Forbidden City, we walked over to Beihai Park and visited the Round City -- a very small walled city that was established in 1264.  You can look for its huge chia pets in the shape of dragons (okay, I think it's called topiary).  Then we walked up a few hundred steps to the white pagoda at the top of the hill -- just in time to reach it as they were closing the doors for the day!!  Bummer.  So, we'll have to go back (and climb up all those stairs again!) to get a peek inside.

On Sunday, we visited the Silk Street Market -- an absolute must for anyone visiting Beijing.  It wasn't at all what we expected!  We were thinking it was an outdoor market, but it is actually a 6-story mall with thousands of stalls where you can buy absolutely everything imaginable!  There are clothes of all kinds, most of them designer brands (made at the same factories that make our designers things for home, but sold here for much, much less!).  There are shoes, purses, jewelry, luggage, sporting goods, watches, toys, traditional handicrafts, souvenirs, and, of course, lots of silk.  I have never seen so much stuff in one place -- or that many people!  It was such an experience.  Much like the electronics store I reported about earlier, there are hundreds of salespeople all trying to get you to buy their stuff -- they grab at you, paw at you, scream at you; anything to get your attention and get you to look at whatever they are selling!  It is an exhausting experience, actually.  You can't stop and browse, unless you are ready to bargain and then buy.  You just have to keep walking through very narrow and crowded walkways looking all around while everyone is yelling at you to buy their stuff.  But, the prices are amazing!  We'll definitely go back, once we know what we want and can just go straight to the right stall and get it.  This place, we discovered,  is not for the leisure shopper.  You have to be on a mission!

The big news for the week is that Hannah started school! Ah, the saga of the school!   I have lots to say about that, but I will give a full report (and provide some photos) later in the week.  I hope all is well with you -- and until next time, zai jian!