Our 25th anniversary dinner was very late! Duane didn't get finished at work until 9:30PM - so our original choice in restaurants was out... so we got a suggestion from the hotel desk. It was quite nice - nothing particularly special though at 11pm! We'll have to do it again in the states (Duane would prefer some American food at this point anyway!!)

I did enjoy mine - some crispy coconut shrimp was a highlight. Fun to eat with just chopsticks! (And I think handling your food with your hands is a no-no in China!)


That was last night - this morning I started the day with the breakfast of champions - McDonald's!! They don't have apple pies - so I got this Taro Pie - kind of a purple sweet potato. Actually pretty good!

Then it's off to visit the Summer Palace - a 40 minute taxi ride north of town. Actually, it's still in town, but so is everything around here!

It apparently was a "getaway" built in the 1700's for the royalty. Torn down by various sects and invaders. Rebuilt in the 1800's. So, it's not as old as a lot of the things around China. It's really just a great big park in the outskirts of town. A local /tourist spot, for sure.

Pretty cool covered walkway around the edge of the lake. Can't let the royalty get in the sun, can we?

This was one of the few rooms they had visible to visitors. They put this plexiglass up - and it's dirty and a bit foggy. You really can't see much. I found a trick with the camera - put the camera lens up to the plexiglass - turn off the flash - and you'll be able to see what's inside! Unfortunately, what's inside is a bit dirty and dusty....
The stuff on the floor that looks like dust - well, it's dust!


View of the temples from the bottom of the hill.

Very cool looking...looks very intricate from a distance. Up close, not so intricate. Still pretty cool.


Pretty tiles on the outside but a little beat-up looking. These are all Buddhas.
This was one of the main attractions at the temple on top of the hill. Sorry, just a little disappointing considering what it looks like in the distance!


This is the view from the top - looking from the railing of the temple in the previous photo. A pretty good size lake....I walked all the way around.....crazy, I believe. So, I exited the temple on the hill to the right and walked all along the shoreline all the way back to the left. Took about 3 hours. Felt like several miles. About 1/2 way I was wondering about my sanity! I wanted to be sure and visit the "island" in the middle....

Maybe 1/2 hour of walking later.....here I was experimenting with my "wide-angle" function on my camera. I was trying to get more of the shoreline included in the shot. I don't think it made much difference.
Looks like a peaceful postcard photo, doesn't it. I can imagine strolling down the willow-shrouded lane with a breeze blowing across the lake in the pre-air-conditioning days. Very nice.
This is the farthest point I walked, I think. See the temple far, far away in the middle. Wow, my feet were complaining!

I guess I look like a friendly tourist, because I was asked 3 times to take peoples photos today. This nice Chinese man handed me his camera and motioned for me to take his photo with the temples in the background. I, of course, then motioned for him to take my photo with the temples in the background!! If you look closely you'll see I have my Beijing 2008 hat on - purchased the other day from a street vendor of a buck - it was so windy it flew off several times today.

I finally made it around to the "island" I first saw from the hill - nothing much really there. Just more buildings.

I'm pretty sure this sign says: this tree is very old. It was propped up in several places. They had some other trees (willows along the water) with signs in English that said the trees were over three hundred years old.

I don't rant much, but you know my amusement/feelings about the "squatty - potties" - they really need to fix this issue with the upcoming Olympics!! American ladies just won't be able to cope..... with the splatter, no handholds - I can see it now, the headlines will read - "Millions came to the Olympics - 1/2 of them had to be rescued from the crouch position in the squatty-potties"

Almost finished with my million-mile march, I spied these "porta-potties" -China style....if figured, they must have real potties inside!! Am I lucky, or what? There are two "attendants - so they're probably nice & clean!
Well, I refuse to show you a photo - it just would insult your senses! Inside was, indeed something that looked somewhat like a toilet. It was, however, a toilet seat on top of a structure that held a plastic bag. UGH! Needless to say, I closed the door and departed the area towards the nearest squatty-potty! I guess nothing more needs to be said about what the attendants are for!!

On to brighter scenes - the area that was apparently a stage for the royalty was being used by a couple of "fighters" - I'm sure it all had meaning. Just not sure what the meaning was. It was pretty cool to watch - they really came close to each other with the swords.

I know these aren't too terribly clear, but it shows what the dancer's faces looked like. I'm not sure if they were guys or gals...



That's about it for now - I probably won't be able to post again - tomorrow (Thursday) is a travel day - and so is the next day if I can't get my reservations changed to better flights. I will overnight in Vancouver by myself on Thursday night - Duane has much better flights - but his tickets are done by IBM's travel agency. I'll be at the mercy of the American Airlines ticket agent. We'll see if we can convince them to put us on the same flights! Zaijian! (see ya!)