i have never...

...seen as many people in my life in one place as i did yesterday! Friday and Saturday were a national holiday, and we happened to be in Beijing. Friday morning we travelled back to Beijing by fast train - a trip less than 2 hours. When we arrived, we took a taxi to and checked into the Red Hotel. Then we walked around the corner for Subway and McD's for lunch. It was already getting quite warm but lunch in a second-story Mcd's was pretty toasty! Then the guys and gals went separate ways. Trichelle and "I took the kids and went shopping in the Pearl Market - what a COOL place It's much like the Dalian markets except larger and most of the salespeople speak some English. "Hey lady, you want bag?" "No thanks - I just bought one." "You need two!" "Actually, no I don't!" The bargaining's also part of the fun. Prices start WAY ovre the top - for example 460 yuan for something that you'll end up paying 40. Quite funny. Trichelle's line was "I live in Dalian. I need a good price. In Dalian, I could get that for a much better price!" While we were in the Pearl Market, Dave and Brian went into the Temple of Heaven (a large park area with a temple in the middle). They, of course, didn't go for the touristy temple, but for the birds in the trees. And Dave was quite impressed when he left with 4 lifers! Brian got a few more than that.

In the evening, we went to an acrobat show while Dave and Trichelle took Breyden and Chelsie for dinner and back to the hotel. The show was very cool - i took some video clips and pictures. Think 10 young guys flying from vertical poles, jumping through rings, and doing handsprings faster than you can imagine. There were also female acrobats who were true contortionists.

Saturday we took a taxi to get breakfast - a truly Western breakfast (at Western prices too). It was a delicious treat. Then we went our separate ways. Brian and i had to catch an afternoon flight to the Philippines, so we stayed closer to the hotel. The plan was to tour the Forbidden City and see Tianamen Square. This is when the number of people comes in...Because of the national holiday (thus Dave's week off), the line-up for tickets into the Forbidden City was over an hour. The line-up to enter Tianamen square was over a line-up. We walked around in the very crowded square area by the city entrance, but didn't go in due to the incredible line-ups. Having a blonde child does clear a path through the people, but it doesn't get you tickets faster! We paid an entrace fee into a tulip festival in Kum Chen Park next door, and walked in the shade of the trees instead. There were people here too, but nothing like the crowd by the City. As Chelsie strolled around exclaiming 'oh!' ovre the tulips, just as many pictures were taken of her as the flowers :) quite hilarious.
Saturday afternoon we headed to the airport and flew via Xianen to Manila where we were picked up and brought to the Matabungkay Resort in Lian, Batangas. Here we are enjoying the heat and the water for a few days. We'll return to Beijing on Wednesday for a few days of sightseeing there. Hope you're all doing well! Thanks for reading :) I'll try to get pictures on one of these days (since I'm renting a laptop for 100 Philippino pesos ($2.50) for an hour).