Lucy was nice enough to brave the cold and run to a French bakery to get coffee and fresh, hot pastries while we got ourselves ready for the day. Boy were they scrumptious!
We moved our wash into the dryer and headed out on foot. All bundled up, Karla's toes got chilly quickly but Alicia stayed toasty for at least a little while! We walked to the famous CCTV tower, a skyscraper that was built in a sort of broken-arch form. From the front, it looks "M" shaped, but the middle part is parallel to the ground. We marveled that not only does the middle part stay suspended in mid-air, but people actually have enough faith in the structure to work there!
Taking one last glance at the tower, we found our way to the nearest metro station and headed to Tiannamen Square. It took us a little while to find the square, and we first walked in the wrong direction. But when we turned around, we realized that the subway had dumped us out so close to those famous red walls that we couldn't see the bigger picture!
The square was huge and mobbed (mostly with Chinese people-theres just so many of them!). We walked a ways before we had to pay an admission fee, which was a pleasant change. But we paid the fee and gained access to the Forbidden City. We're lucky we weren't born in the previous centuries, because it would have been, well, forbidden!
The City was magnificent - it was a huge red palace with traditional Chinese architecture and impressive halls where the emperors and empresses would make important decisions and entertain important guests. And it went on forever...we ended up walking around the complex for four and a half hours! There was so much to see: throne halls, bedrooms, gardens, the treasury, the Clock Museum (Alicia's favorite - there were dozens of elaborate-to-the-point-of-being-gaudy clocks in all shapes colors and sizes!), and passage-way after passageway of buildings that are no longer in use or off limits to the public. Every explanation of a different section or hall in the city started by saying how many times it had been burned to the ground and then rebuilt. Clearly the hundreds of giant vats they used to put out fires weren't very effective.
We paused about halfway through our visit for lunch and were shocked to find a great little cafe that was far from overpriced and had delicious food. It was perfect because we needed a little break from the cold almost as much as we needed lunch!
After thoroughly visiting the Forbidden City (or maybe when they kicked us out) for over four hours, we walked across the street to what turned out to be more Tiannamen Square. There we saw a crowd gathered around the flag waiting for something to happen...but we had no idea what or why and didn't stick around to find out (later we learned it was a flag ceremony). Instead we checked out the Monument to the People's Heros and the Front Gate, which at a mere 48-point-something meters high is the tallest gate in the city. We also meandered across another street to check out another gate, and ended up in what appeared to be deserted, yet crowded, modern yet traditional, shopping center. It was very bizarre and we couldn't figure it out! Maybe it was built for the Olympics.
Speaking of the Olympics, the city is just full of left over advertisements and other physical evidence of the games. Tomorrow we'll go see some of the stadiums that were used.
We took the subway back toward Lucy's, and on the ride a young Chinese woman took the opportunity to clean Alicia's coat of the lint that had been covering it. It was weird, and we couldn't figure out whether she just really wanted to be nice or if she wanted an excuse to touch a white person. Whatever the motive, Alicia's coat is newly clean!
The walk home took a lot longer than it should have, due to the fact that we weren't quite sure where we were staying! If it hadn't been for the new translated signs, we would have had to take a taxi. That's definitely one disadvantage of not staying at a hotel or hostel: it's neither clearly marked on the map, nor is it something the average person on the street would have heard of. But thanks to our persistence and a good sense of direction (mostly Alicia's), we made it back in one piece.
By the time we got back to Lucy's it was time for tea and 'our' soap opera (yes, we're hooked already!). She had a conference call to make after the show, so Karla and I set out on our own to rustle up some grub. Luckily we were both pleased with our selections! All we have left to do tonight is plan tomorrow. And take our last load of laundry out of the dryer...
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