Off to the Summer Palace. This was probably my favorite spot so far. It was so beautiful and the pure size of it I just cant wrap my mind around. When we first walked it you see this massive lake that was man made. We got onto these beautiful dragon boats and sailed across the lake the Palace - which was so beautiful. We will add pictures so you can see. We walked up to the top of the palace which included which felt like about 600 stairs and the view was breathtaking. We ended up walking back thru the long corridor which was amazing. We of course learned more about the different emperors and their wives and concubines. The emperor also had the most beautiful boat I have ever seen - he had it made to go fishing on. However he made the boat out of marble which made it very, very heavy, in fact it was so heavy that it could never be taken out because it would sink. I thought that was so funny!!!
We then stopped at Uncle Nelson's house - his wife Nancy and his son Tom invited us for a snack and to visit. There are so many high rise apartment buildings in Beijing. He lives on the 11th floor in a very nice apartment. In China it is customary to take off your shoes - but you usually have something on your feet like slippers. His apartment had a long hallway the first right was a spotless kitchen with a stove with two gas burners and then a little bit of counter space and under the window was a small sink. They also had a decent size fridge. They don's usually have ovens in a standard apartment or house. His flat was spotless. There was also a small bathroom the next door down from the kitchen. At the end of the hallway there was a large narrow living space. They had a dining room table that fit four, a couch and two chairs alone with an entertainment center type built in. He had lots of books on his shelves some were albums that families had sent him of the children he has helped bring home. There was one book called When China found America - this one gave him a chuckle. Then Tom showed us his room - it was spacious with a large bed and a desk and night stand. They must like snoopy because he had a few things snoopy in there. Tom is 14 years old and also plays a traditional Chinese instrument. Cant remember the name - but have the name at home. Across from his bedroom is the laundry area where they have a washer and a nice counter space. Nelson and his wife let us see their room as well - again very spacious with a nice size bed and entertainment center. All the bedrooms had large windows in them. They also had a nice size bath off their bedroom. No bathtub here!!! Off the nice living room area they had a wonderful enclosed balcony that had plenty of room. They do not have dryers here so they usually hang dry all their things on their balconies. They treated us to some very yummy treats cookies and pastries. And his son Tom gave us a wonderful show with his traditional Chinese instrument. Nelson said that he started playing when he was about 3 years old. It was so wonderful that they opened up their home to us and a treat that we will not forget.
Then back to the hotel for lunch - today was peking duck!!! They way they eat thisis very interesting. They take a tortilla like shell - which is made of wheat, it is see through, then you load on the duck which I think is roasted then onion and cucumber and then a brown sauce and then you fold it up kind of like a burrito - but it is much smaller. This was a hit with the group. Of course all Madelin wanted was dumplings. That is her favorite.
Then we had about 1.5 hours to rest and start packing. We met downstairs again at 3:00pm to go to a local tea shop. They actually tell you about the history of tea and you get to sample about 6 different teas. We always find this so interesting. Madelin seemed to enjoy herself as well.
Tonight we went to a Acrobat show which was at 5:15pm. Once we parked we walked about 6 blocks to the show and on the way he showed us a kindergarden - as we were walking by we noticed that some kids were in there. I asked Nelson about it because it was Sunday evening - I thought that was very strange. He told us that a lot of children actually go to school 5 - 6 days a week and actually sleep there too. He said that families are very busy working and some people don't have a grandparent to help watch the children so they end up putting the kids in a school for long periods of time. Very sad to us - but I need to remind myself that just because we do something one way does not mean that it is right. We all have different ways that we live our lives - this one just happened to shock me. We had a wonderful evening and these kids are just amazing at what they can do with their bodies. We found it hard to watch at some points as they were bending and moving around. It was painful to watch but at the same time we could not keep our eyes off of them. This was probably Madelin's favorite part so far. She had a smile on the whole time. We met a wonderful group of women from Sydney Australia - they were great. The group of women have been friends for years and years and every year they pick another country to visit and explore.
Then back to the hotel to finish packing - we have a very early flight to Nanchang. Our bags have to be all packed and ready for pick up at 5am.
We get the babies tomorrow around 4pm. Hard to believe this is finally happening. Tonight will be a hard night to sleep I am sure. Tomorrow our lives are forever changed. We are praying that all girls adjust well.
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