Day 5 Forbidden City

Today we awoke to a surprise...about 6 inches of snow in Beijing. We are on the main road in Beijing and so the snow was not an issue because they cover it with salt pretty quickly, but that does not mean that all was well outside of Beijing. We had a 9:30 trip to the Forbidden City planned but since our guide lives outside of Beijing, traveling for her would be more difficult. So, we took a later breakfast so Eddie could sleep in. During breakfast once again he showed his comedian side. We are in the hotel restaurant with dozens of empty seats. Eddie and I have found a seat but while waiting on our food, Eddie saunters off to a not too distant table to take up by himself. With his arms thrown back over the back of the chair and his legs out in the middle of the aisle, he looks at me gives me a playful wink as if to say I am "king of the world."



After breakfast, we waited in our room for our guide before we ventured out. But, after getting out, I quickly realized that I was under dressed for the cold of November in Beijing. Expected high temperatures for the week are only around 35-40.

Eddie has already told me on several occasions how he loves history so I thought a day spent looking at the history would be appropriate. So, our trip started with a stop at Tienanmen Square. This is the largest open area public square in the world and will hold 500,000 people. If you remember, this was the location of the student uprising several years ago. The square is a bustling people with tourist from all over China and the world. It has a distinctly guarded appearance with lots of military and police.


But as much as Eddie loves history, he loves snow more. The guide did share a lot of interesting things about the history, but Eddie had one thing on his mind...snow and making snowballs. One of his snowballs was tossed at me with surprising accuracy. Usually Eddie likes to do a lot of the videos with the Flip camera that he is using, but not today. The only thing that he wanted to film today was a snowman inside the Forbidden Palace. He truly is a kid at heart.


From here at the square, one can see the Great Hall of the People which is the parliament building for the National Chinese government. Prominently displayed close by is a very large picture of Chairman Mao who is revered here in China. Also next to the square is our next destination, The Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City is very beautiful especially with the large snow covering of this cold November morning. For over 500 years, this was the home to two Chinese dynasties. The name comes from the fact that it was "forbidden" for common people to visit, unlike today as it is full of people from all walks of life and from countries around the world.


After leaving our tour, we made a stop at a grocery store to get some things for supper. Eddie is already tired of the restaurant scene. Lastly, we settled in for the evening. One thing that I should mention is that, yes, I am aware that Eddie seems to be wearing the same clothes a lot, but he is wearing different clothes. He really likes taking care of the good things and changes out of them pretty quickly when he arrives back at the hotel. So mom, don't worry, I am keeping Eddie fed, bathed and happy and of course clothed in different clothes. I look forward to sharing more with you all. Thank you for the prayers sent here and for the prayers for our family back home. We love you all.


Eddie and Jimmie