Beijing

Our first day in Beijing was not too eventful. We spent most of the morning trying to check into our hotel room and arranging for coffee. Getting coffee for the group can take a long time, because we tend to wander off while waiting for others. Its like herding cats. It was so bad today that we ended up taking our tour of the hutongs by rickshaw instead of individually driven bicycles. Our leader felt we would be easier to guide that way, and he was right.

We saw Tiananmen Square, and looked at the outside gate to the Forbidden City. We had lunch at the home of someone who showed us how to make dumplings, let us roll a few, then fed them to us. As usual, there were eight other dishes accompanying the dumplings. The meals are always huge, because we are always wanting to try everything. However, it is always healthy food, not junk food, and I had lost 10 unwanted pounds so far on this trip.