WOW - What a first day in Beijing!

Today was an incredible day. We started by going to a shopping district here in Beijing and then we went to The Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square for our group activities. We followed-up a GREAT day by having an unbelievable dinner with a friend who is now living here in Beijing. Both locations were so much more impressive than I could have ever imagined. The only thing that would have made this better was having ALL the kids here with us.

Here are some pictures from our shopping excursion (yes they do celebrate Halloween):

Here are some pictures of The Forbidden City. The description INCREDIBLE doesn't due this place any justice. (For those of you who didn't know - This location was the Chinese Imperial Palace for the Emperor and his household. It took from (year) 1406 - 1420 to build and is 720,000 square metres. For a guy (like me) who loves history and just the thought of being here and walking where previous emperors of China once did is remarkable. Here you go:

Then we were off to Tienanmen Square. The square is over 100 acres which makes it the World's Largest Public Square - let me tell you, IT'S BIG! Several significant events in Chinese history occurred at this very site. Here are some pictures of the square, Dawn, me, and the Grows family:

We finish the day with a dinner with a friend. We couldn't pass up the opportunity as we "just happened to be in the neighborhood". It was great seeing her again as we enjoyed the food and the time we spent together.


After 10 miles of walking and having a good meal it was time to call it a day. True to expectations, the people here are absolutely fantastic. I cannot say enough about their friendliness and willingness to help. Tomorrow's a busy day for us as we take a group day-tour.