I lied, and have a lot of ground to cover

When we last left out readers Emily was located in Beijing, and had just completed Mothers day. Since then much has happened, let us first travel back to that point and fill everyone in.

May 12th I come to the fascinaqting discovery that taking a night person half way round the globe does in fact make them a morning person. After another starch filled breakfast we hop on the bus with Winston, the best tour guide in Beijing (and possible China) and head to Tienanmen Square. The walk from the bus stop to the actual square itself was harrowing. As we dodged, peddlers, pedestrians, and bikes, all crowded onto the sidewalk. then we actually saw the site, I would describe it to you, but I have a picture

(which will be updated late, due to the fact that I'm on a campus computer that is reportedly infected with many nasty virusus that would wipe clean my memory card, sadly ther is no wireless so I cannot do this from the comfort of my own computer)

We got to walk undr the street to arrive inside the square, where we stopped for another group photo, which was attended by many gawkers, a fact that I will leave out from now on because trust me, even when we're not posing we get pictures taken. The square is the largest city square in the world, and can hold up to a million people, but it'd be crowded. there is Mao's mosoleum, which was closed becasue it was Monday, so we said our hello's from outside, yes Dad I told him hi from you! I could go on about how vast the area felt especially after the long bus ride, or how you could feel the history reverberating in the people and from the ground but then we'd never get to the Forbidden City.

The archetecture (?) alone was breathtaking, also there was bright colors all around us. As were walking through Winston is explaining the difference of Inner and Outer court while Dr Renolds is explaining the historical significance. We saw where the soldiers lived, where the concubines and eunics were housed and the Emporors thrown room, complete with replica thrown. Although we couldn't go into any of the buildings we did get to see into many. Also while walking through we got to see some soldiers training, whick I have to say was really cool!

Wee drove back to the hotel Peony, stopping to take pictures of the Olympic statiums, which I won't post, You can find much better ones on Google. Then we headed home. We had some time to relax and wash up before we loaded back onto the bus and headed to dinner!

On the bus Dr. Guo stood and made the announcment that there had been an Earthquake and that he'd recieved a text message from the government warning that there may be a sever after shock that would shake Beijing. At the time we had no idea what had really happened, we didn't realize the scope of the desaster until a few days later.

We ate at a minority restaurant that was reputed to serve really spicy foods. I have to say throughout the dinner I never notied the spice until right at the end. One dish (that was delicious!) stung my lips terribly! I'm certain they'll be some big lip photo that I don't want anyone seeing show up among the groups photo collection.

Back to the Hotel, shower, blog, and blessed sleep.