Yes, there was more spit on the ground (and by more I mean covering every inch), and yes, the dryness actually made us chaff just from our walking (the first time I've gotten chaffing since marathon training), but Beijing was still great. So great that we would consider moving there if the chance came up.
Every good post starts with airplane food. Here is a bun with mystery filling. We think it was some kind of plum/bean paste.
Eggs and sausage.
When we arrived we were ended up in the fanciest taxi I had ever been in. It looked like a brand new modern London black cab.
Our first meal in Beijing. BBQ pork with rice done in the Cantonese style. The pork was nice and tender, and overall was one of the best I've ever had.
After lunch, we walked around the back alleys of Beijing, or the Hutongs.
We actually arrived on Christmas Eve, so we decided to go out to somewhere nice for dinner.
So far, China sushi has been...not so good, and this was no exception. Rubbery, tasteless fish pretty much ruins it.
Outside of the restaurant in the lobby, a group of girls were caroling. Here they are greeting Santa.
More Christmas Eve, this time walking around the main pedestrian shopping area in downtown Beijing.
I found this book in the foreign bookstore, and realized that it represents everything I am against in Asian American writing. It's my kryptonite.
I'm still having trouble with blogger changing around my photos, but this says "Lindsay realizes that Chinese girls wanna have chow fun." No, really.
Christmas in China is a cross between Madi-Gras and Halloween, but with presents! Note the devil horns, which were the popular X-mas item of the day.
The hotel's breakfast was amazing. One order was enough to feed both of us.
This was the entrance to Spirit Way, which was maybe forty minutes away from the Great Wall and an hour and a half outside of Beijing.
The sitting animals are showing proper reverence and obedience, while those standing are protectors.
Mao enjoyed the walk as well.
A very confused animal.
Why won't my pictures stay in the correct perspective?
A general.
A scholar
The lunch included with our tour. The other people with us were from Germany, Norway, and the UK, and were not fans of the food. Cole and I stuffed ourselves. We've developed a very specific tactic for eating in China and it goes something like this, "What is this?" -->Hold up mysterious food--> shrug--> shove into mouth.
The entrance to the section of the Wall we visited. It wasn't the main part that most people go to, and apparently Christmas is not the most popular day to see the Great Wall, so we had it almost to ourselves.
A gang of cats live at the foot of the entrance.
It was unexpectedly amazing, and the pictures don't do it justice.
Inside one of the towers. Apologies for the spastic camera work.
On Christmas Day night, we ate dinner in our hotel. The buffet was really good, and I wanted to take pictures, but for most of the meal, only nicole and I were there, so all waitresses and chefs were watching us, and I felt too sheepish to snap my usual photos of food.
snuck this one in, showing the emptiness of the restaurant. food was great though.
Morning after Christmas breakfast: congee and bbq buns.
Next up, Forbidden City.
This is by the entrance. In the distance are the three main halls of the city. Further back and on both sides are the actual buildings were people lived (or rather, some actual some reconstructions).
Sideways...sigh. I think we were there on Mao's b-day, which explained why T-square was so crowded. We declined on viewing the stuffed, preserved Mao.
On our last full day, we visited the art district of Beijing.
And that night we made reservations for what I was told was one of the best Peking Duck restaurants in town; Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant. Above are the side items to go along with our duck, two types of pickles, cucumber, green onions, hoisin sauce, garlic (so good...), and sugar.
The restaurant was within it's own little walled off street. It had multiple extravagent rooms to dine in, and ours was no exception.
Fancy knife action.
The thin wraps were the perfect vessel to house the duck and accompaniments.
First, we were given by the waitress a piece of the fried duck skin, which she dipped in sugar for us. Strange but absolutely delicious. Sugar duck skin, that's right.
Each wrap was a pocket of ducky deliciousness.
Nicole was really sick that day. Nothing like perfectly cooked, not greasy Peking duck to cure the ailments.
Outside the restaurant.
Although we were full, we had to visit "food street" as it was called on our map.
The skewers looked good, but tasted...not so good. Fun to look at though.
And, start with airplane food, end with airplane food.
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