(Letter written from China 8/9/8)

So we just got back from our 2nd day of touring China - and I can't believe all that we have already done and seen. Yesterday morning we woke up to the hugest and most diverse buffet breakfast I have ever seen (this is included with our package). They have everything from fresh made omelets, to congee, (a Chinese dish that is a cross between grits and rice soup). They also have yummy fruits, half of which I still don't know the name of. Wow we get this every morning:)
With our bellies full, we went out to explore the town. We saw Olympic volunteers at every corner, just sitting there to answer any questions you may have. security is also heightened because of the Olympics, however most of the security guards were sleeping, so I'm not sure I feel much safer. On our walk, Seven fell asleep, so we headed back to the hotel to work out in the gym, much needed after a full day on the plane the day before.
We then headed to Beihai park which was so neat. You may have seen the pictures with the lotus flowers and riding on the boat. Seven has become quite the celebrity among the Chinese, she gets her picture taken everywhere. The smog has still been pretty bad which makes the heat so much worse. Our diet during the day consists of water and Popsicles:) We met a fun Canadian girl at Beihai who is going to join us at the gymnastics tomorrow - we had an extra ticket and she has been trying to get tickets to see the gymnastics.
We then headed to the Beijing zoo. Seven loves the pandas. We got to see the babies that were born not too long ago, however they are already so big, but so cute to watch. We didn't have time to see all of the zoo as we had dinner and the opening ceremonies to attend to. Our tour guides arranged for us all to have dinner at the Peking Duck and watch the ceremonies on a large flat screen.
What an adventure in food. The restaurant serves everything "family style" on a lazy Susan. So we got to try some pretty interesting things. I stayed away from the squid, but tried everything else. No crickets or bugs, but some pretty strange tastes. I can't say I enjoyed them all, but the adventure of it was fun. Seven and I fell asleep watching the opening ceremonies (remember we had been up since 3am), so we headed back to the hotel.

This morning began at 7 am - (Yes, Seven slept until 7, hallelujah!) We feasted again at breakfast and headed out to Tienanmen square and the Forbidden City with our group. The Forbidden City stretches for miles and miles of temples and courtyards where the Emperor held his concubines and castrated all of the other men in the compound so they could not sleep with his girls. Wow. Again, Seven was such a trooper, she loves walking up and down all of the steps and eating ice cream and popsicles. As the rest of the tour group headed back, exhausted after so much walking, we decided to press on for more. We took a rickshaw ride(bicycle with a chariot thing on the back) around old china and went to the Coal temple which sits on a huge hill and can be seen from most of the city. I just want to say, thank goodness for breast feeding - I was able to nurse Seven on the rickshaw (of course none of the locals here care), so she was refueled and ready for more sight seeing at our next stop. We hiked to the top of the hill and enjoyed a beautiful 360 degree view of the city.
What a day. We hope you enjoy the pictures and we will have more for you in the days to come.
God Bless,
Kristen