Forbidden City

Wow! This place is awesome. We walked for two hours straight and only saw about half the place before Chloe went into melt-down mode and begged for a nap. It is so large that we walked about a mile through a park and several outer courtyards before we even reached the South gate into the Forbidden City. It is a busy Saturday and the place is very crowded with tourists, mostly Chinese.

Daisy and her mother took us and then hired a private tour guide to walk us around the place and tell us about each of the rooms. It was built in 1406 and completed in 1420, only 14 years, an amazing feat. Many of the buildings have been recently restored and others will be restored before the Olympics. It is incredible to see the detailing in the paintings on these lovely structures.

Daisy and her mother helped out oftentimes pushing Chloe in her stroller or just managing the stroller while Pete or I carried her. The guide told us that a typical day like today sees 40,000 visitors. I only saw 3 other strollers and 2 wheelchairs. I am not sure how someone can carry a toddler for this entire tour.

Tonight we will get a second chance at the dinner theater. We had to cancel out last night as we were not feeling well. It should be quite an experience. Tomorrow afternoon we will get on a plane and travel to Chengdu to meet Pearl, now only two days away.