A Year Ago Today || November 10, 2017
November 10, 2017
Our day started super early. After a decent first night sleep, we headed downstairs to the hotel dining room for breakfast where we re-connected with all of the families touring in Beijing. For months prior we had all been communicating via Facebook as we discovered who would be traveling together. It was so great to meet everyone in person and connect.
This was our first full day of sight seeing in China. And it would be a long, but incredible day. We went to the Tiananmen Square where Mao, the former Communist Dictator’s mausoleum is located. The Forbidden City, Old Beijing for Lunch, a Tea House, and Acrobat Show. I am so grateful for the first few days to visit these incredible places. To experience the culture my son is from and learn and have an eye witness experience to these amazing places.
As mentioned, our Adoption Agency has a guide meet you at the airport and they are with you until you fly to your province. Tom was our incredible guide. In fact, I was so sad to say goodbye when we parted ways from Beijing to Shanghai. He was a gift to us in Beijing! So knowledgeable and just a wonderful person!
The Ancient History of China is truly incredible. It is so difficult to take it all in in just a few short days. But the glimpses that we were able to partake, were breathtaking. I am forever grateful for the time we spent in China and truly hope to go back one day. Below are some of the sites we saw at the Forbidden City.
I loved that the people of China shared my love for portrait photography. LOL We often participated in random acts of picture taking. Haha!
Potty Break!
Squatty Potty Tip: To not get pee on one’s clothing, one must squat all the way down to the ground and perform said procedure. It’s not as bad as one may think.
After our time at the Forbidden City, we boarded rickshaws and took a really fun (and somewhat terrifying) ride to old Beijing to experience how the city and families once lived. Truly beautiful!
Brooklynn may have said “This is not safe. This is not safe! I need a helmet!” a few times. Haha!
While in Beijing’s Quadrangles, we ate lunch at a local home now restaurant, which was such a treat! Here are some of the families and kids that we traveled with throughout Beijing.
This is the kitchen where they prepared our meal. Truly amazing!
Next we ventured to a lovely Tea House. We had the privilege of sampling many lovely teas and hearing the history of tea to China.
Up next was the acrobat show. And let me just preface this by saying, this was NOT any normal acrobat show! These people were doing things with their bodies that were surreal! It was quite the show! But first, STARBUCKS! That’s right! LOL
I truly love these people!
To say we were exhausted after a full day of touring was an understatement. We all headed to dinner together and later crashed into bed for another full day of touring.
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