For reasons that were never explained to us, our train was about two hours late getting into Beijing. After loosing and then finding a few members of our group (luckily none of them were children), we checked into our hotel and got cleaned up (yes, Chinese trains are just as gross as Russian trains) then headed to lunch - where we were served Turtle soup.
Cam was brave and tried the a big bite with some of whatever was in the broth (real turtles?). I tried one little sip of the broth and decided to forgo soup that day. Then it was off to Tienanmen Square.
Remember, this was October 1st - the first of seven days of a huge national holiday - the place was PACKED!
But because it was a holiday, they also had big TV screens set up and new decorations out which was fun. Our first stop was a group picture with the Forbidden City in the background.
This was also our introduction to the Chinese Paparazzi. Apparently people from all over China travel to Beijing for this holiday and most of them have never seen Americans before. The minute we stopped for picture we had 20 people pulling out their cameras to take pictures of us.
The guy that took our picture (in the yellow and red jacket) started going around selling the picture to random people in the square!
We would also have people come up and ask to get a picture with us! We felt like celebrities!
The crowds were what amazed me though, it was just wall-to-wall people.
We left Tienanmen Square through an underground crosswalk and there was a line of people extending through the entire crosswalk just waiting to get through security and on to the square.
After Tienanmen Square we went to a park next to the Forbidden City where David O. McKay dedicated China. After wandering in the park for a bit (and posing for a lot more pictures) we headed back to our bus and to our hotel for an early night. A group of us decided to brave the "Pizza Hut" near our hotel for dinner.
I was very excited to see that they had "Tuna & Mush potato with Vegetables Salad". But those who really know me, know I was ecstatic to see Banana Pizza on the menu! :) No, I didn't try either. We split a plain cheese pizza. The only exciting thing I had was a surprise soda - I thought I was getting Mirinda orange, but what they served me was green and non-carbonated. Welcome to China!
Cam was brave and tried the a big bite with some of whatever was in the broth (real turtles?). I tried one little sip of the broth and decided to forgo soup that day. Then it was off to Tienanmen Square. 
Remember, this was October 1st - the first of seven days of a huge national holiday - the place was PACKED! 
But because it was a holiday, they also had big TV screens set up and new decorations out which was fun. Our first stop was a group picture with the Forbidden City in the background. 
This was also our introduction to the Chinese Paparazzi. Apparently people from all over China travel to Beijing for this holiday and most of them have never seen Americans before. The minute we stopped for picture we had 20 people pulling out their cameras to take pictures of us. 
The guy that took our picture (in the yellow and red jacket) started going around selling the picture to random people in the square! 
We would also have people come up and ask to get a picture with us! We felt like celebrities!
The crowds were what amazed me though, it was just wall-to-wall people. 
We left Tienanmen Square through an underground crosswalk and there was a line of people extending through the entire crosswalk just waiting to get through security and on to the square. 
After Tienanmen Square we went to a park next to the Forbidden City where David O. McKay dedicated China. After wandering in the park for a bit (and posing for a lot more pictures) we headed back to our bus and to our hotel for an early night. A group of us decided to brave the "Pizza Hut" near our hotel for dinner. 
I was very excited to see that they had "Tuna & Mush potato with Vegetables Salad". But those who really know me, know I was ecstatic to see Banana Pizza on the menu! :) No, I didn't try either. We split a plain cheese pizza. The only exciting thing I had was a surprise soda - I thought I was getting Mirinda orange, but what they served me was green and non-carbonated. Welcome to China!
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