Saying Goodbye to Beijing

Today was our last full day in Beijing. Tomorrow we leave for Shanghai for two days. After that it's Xi'an and Guilin. These past couple days ahve been pretty relaxing. We took a taxi out to the Summer Palace the other day which was just beautiful. Of course, there were the droves of people wanting pictures with Maya but overall it went well. The Imperial Summer Palace complex is huge with many beautiful buildings and temples the most beautiful of which was the Temple of the Fragrance of Buddha. There was also the beautifully restored Long Corridor which was a covered walkway spanning several hundred feet with over 14,000 intricate paintings on the ceilings.

Yesterday we accomplished almost nothing with the exception of going to the Silk Market. The Silk Market is know world wide for being the place to go for high quality fakes. They had fake everything from Polo Ralph Lauren to Dolce & Gabbana. Going there with Maya proved difficult as she wanted to say hi to anyone and everyone which just got them engaged in conversation. While we didnt stay long we did manage to score and incredible carved wooden mask. It's so awesome. I can't wait to hang it. Maya even got a four faced buddha out of the deal which she was very happy about.

Today was Hou Hai area and the Bei Hai Park area. Maya loved walking around and seeing all the fish. We even got her a little parisol to walk around with.

So far I've been a little disappointed in my findings for things for kids to do. I know there is stuff to do, but it's not as readily accessible as I thought it would be. We've shied away from the zoo and the aquarium just because of worries that the quality wouldnt be that good. Beyond that, Ive not seen one playground. It's really a shame. Hopefully, the other cities we visit will boast more kid friendly areas.