Summer Palace

Actually posted on Wednesday, September 12th at 11:15PM

Today we visited the Summer Palace. This is where the Emperor spent his summers. It was his cottage! It is beautiful with its lush greenery and is located on a wonderful lake. We walked along lakeside until we reached the marble boat. This is a boat made of marble (does not float of course) that was used for summer parties overlooking the lake. It must have been extravagant! We took a dragonboat from this point back to the entrance where we were whisked away to a wonderful lunch once again. I don't understand how I lost 10 lbs. on our last trip here. The food is stupendous. I guess I am a lot less stressed having already had a child before. Nothing is a surprise anymore!

After lunch, we visited the House of Silk. Here, we were explained how silk is made starting from the silkworm to the final product. Very interesting! We were, once again, lead through the different sections of the store selling everything from silk blankets, dresses, shoes, purses etc. Everything was exquisite and it was very hard not to buy everything in sight!

After a short rest back at the hotel, we were off once again, this time a smaller group, to see the Chinese Acrobatics Show. We took the Beijing Subway to and from the theater. The show was fantastic and Cara-Li and Alexia had a blast! Everyone is now asleep as it was another extremely long day.