Part 2

We only had about 10 days together as a family, and in that time we did a ton, saw a ton of the country and overall had an excellent time. As our family tends to do, our major activities were centered mostly around the meals that we ate. We had a ton of good food in the time while only scratching the surface of the options in the cities we visited.

On the 3rd of August they arrived in Shanghai. After checking them into the hotel and our hostel (both nice, though the hotel was incredible). We made our way to a massage and dinner. After that they crashed and woke me up early in the morning since they were just a bit jet lagged. We went to the Urban Planning Institute (an awesome place, much better than it sounds even if it sounds cool) to get an idea of the layout of the city. This, like about everything I had planned, took a lot longer than I had anticipated. This was the hottest day we had during their time here and that, coupled with the jet lag made for a bit of a rough day. We had dumplings near Yu Gardens and then went back to the hotel for a rest. We capped off the night with dinner and drinks at Cloud 9, the highest bar in the world. It makes for incredible sights and a memorable night. The next morning we waited in line for the Shanghai Museum, did a bit of shopping and had a great lunch at a place in the French Concession. In part because of so many people we took a long time to eat (over 2 hours) and then separated to shop some more on our own. By the end of the afternoon we were all tired and ready for our second stop. For most of us this was Tibet, the Grandparents made their way to Guilin.

In Tibet we arrived and acclimated to the altitude with varying degrees of success. Making it more difficult was a number of unsettled stomach's. Almost everyone was affected but we cannot figure out a culprit. It seems to finally have passed though and by the end of our time here everyone was feeling better. In Tibet we just relaxed at our gorgeous hotel the first day. Dinner was delicious but I was the only one that had much of a appetite. I finished off my Mom's, both Sister's and Brother's meal (or at least parts of it). We had started the day at 4:30 so we had an early night to get ready for the next day. The following morning we went through the Potala Palace. This was my second time through my favorite building in the world, but I had remembered very little of the history of it, making the tour very interesting. It is a breathtaking place (literally and figuratively). In the afternoon we made out way to the Barkhor for a bit more retail therapy. The things we bought were by and large relatively cheap things, but they are things that cannot be found anywhere else in the world (or so I like to think). Even if you can, the fact that they were bought in Tibet makes it so much cooler. The next morning we went to a Monastery and the Tibetan Summer Palace. Both very cool and worth the time but by the end all of the Buddha's were beginning to run together. Oh well, it is just like cathedrals in Europe…after a while, they all look the same. The most shocking thing about Tibet was the amount of police and military that were stationed there. It was super intimidating at first, but by the end I was kind of used to it. Most of them had guns but almost without exception they seemed like they did not want to really be there. The Tibetan people were just as generous, friendly and beautiful as I remembered them. They are happy to see foreigners starting to return. Our guide said that last year he had 2000 tourists but this year we were only his 3rd tour due to the regulations set by the Chinese government. It is sad, especially since so much of their economy relies on tourism income.

I was sad to leave, but excited to show off Beijing to the family. Tibet was the most memorable for me, as well as my favorite part of the trip. I did not feel like I was in charge there and was happy to just follow along. I did not have an itinerary in mind which made all of lives better. I knew there were some things that I wanted everyone to see, but I needed a refresher as well since it had been four years since I was last there. I was amazed at the changes that were there and felt very fortunate to be back.

We got into Beijing late at night and had some issues meeting up in the giant Beijing airport. On top of that, we had two different places to go and no transportation arranged. This made for the first of a few stressful situations for me, but it all worked out in the end. The weather in Beijing was less than ideal, rainy but not too hot. It seemed like every site we went we could only see a little part of it, though my family assured me that they still loved every minute of it. Our first day consisted of the Temple of Heaven, lunch at Café Zarah (my families favorite in Beijing), a trip to the Tailors and then Rowing tickets. Rowing was a bit wet, in fact, it got delayed because of thunder towards the end.

This first taste of the Olympics is still my least favorite of the events I have seen. It just was hard to get excited about watching a 2 km race when you could only see a bit of it because the humidity, fog and rain which made visibility almost nonexistent. After this we went out to Duck with my Tutor Han Yang, her husband and May (my co-teacher). To help us (me) relax we went for another massage after dinner.

The next day we went to the Summer Palace, had a delicious lunch at the Olive and then went to White Water Kayaking. This was awesome. We had great seats, it was exciting to watch and I finally felt like I was getting into the Olympic spirit. This was one of the highlights for me and I know that my Dad really enjoyed it as well. After this we went for a bit of shopping, braving Wangfujing street and the Olympic Store. The next day they tried to go to the Forbidden City while I had Field Hockey tickets but they had problems meeting up and ended up only having about 45 minutes to see this gigantic site, a trip that normally takes between three and four hours. We had a great lunch and then broke into two groups. The girls going with my friend Annie and Mamie, for a bit of shopping and a trip to the Chinese Salon while the boys went to Soccer. I had a great time at the games and we had great seats.

Wednesday was spent shopping, eating, a second trip to the Tailor for fittings and finally out to the 798 Art District. We had a great dinner helped by a bit of wine and apple brandy at a great French restaurant followed by yet another massage. The last day was spent at the Great Wall. It was a gorgeous morning, but on our way back it started to pour. We were supposed to visit my school, but it was raining too hard so we did a drive by and then headed back to Beijing to see my apartment and have a delicious normal Chinese meal. The bill came to about 25 U.S. for the 8 of us and it was one of the best meals that we had. Another good day and a good way to end their time here. I said goodbye to them at the train station and they are now in Xi'an, hopefully enjoying it there. It was great having them here and hard to say goodbye. I am pretty sure that they all enjoyed their time here even if there were times where I did not make the best tour guide.

I feel like I have taken enough of your time so I will save more Olympic stories for the next day or two.