Charlie Eats Bugs

Ah, that's better.

I was sitting here a couple hours ago just staring at this screen and trying to find the motivation to blog.  Instead I said, "Screw it, I'm on vacation," and went downstairs to the spa for a foot massage.  80 minutes later I feel much better and am only $10 poorer.  Don't you love China?

...

Today (Tuesday), Elena had the day off thanks to the national holiday on May 1st which was Labor Day here.  We took a cab out to the Forbidden City.  This was the Imperial palace for about 500 years during the Ming and Qing dynasties.  This was their main residence and they hardly left except to go to the lovely aforementioned Summer Palace across town for a little getaway.  This place was freakin' huge, I tell you.  We spent a couple of hours in it and really only saw the main halls.  It just keeps going and going.  You could spend a couple of days there if you wanted to be really thorough. There were a b'zillion people out today and it was hot, so we endured only as much as we could. 

Here we are walking toward the front entrance, bearing the likeness of Chairman Mao above the door.

Four bridges carry us out of the main entrance building and into the first of many wide plazas.

Proceeding forward through the first plaza, you wind up at the Gate of Supreme Harmony.  I think the coolest thing about this structure was the ceiling.  There were big-screen T.V.s on the walls inside showing images of the Forbidden City, which I found to be annoying and ugly.

Once you pass through the gate you end up here:

This is probably the most ginormous effin' courtyard I have ever seen.  Unlike the Great Wall, you might actually be able to see this from space... if you have a telescope... and if you squint real hard. The big building in the center is the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony.  Pick a stairway.  Any stairway.

Inside the Hall of Preserved Harmony.

I have no idea what this is, but it's cool.

The concubine's quarters.  Doesn't look so bad to be a concubine.

Next we wandered into the Imperial Garden, which was my favorite part of the whole complex.

Neat gold dragon at the entrance to the Imperial Garden

Rock formation with a pagoda on top in the Imperial Garden.

A pagoda in the garden.

The ceiling of the pagoda

Another shot

A green pond with koi

One koi offers himself to the dragon as food.

Knotty tree

More rock sculptures

By the time we made it this far in the Forbidden City, our tummies were rumbling so we decided to call it good and head out in search of food. 

Before we left the complex, we stopped into a little bookstore where an artist who hand painted silk scrolls was selling his wares.  Charlie bought me this charming scroll depicting oxen because, well, I just really love cows.

Leaving through the rear exit of the complex we were met by half a dozen or so beggars, shaking their little plastic cups so that the coins in the bottom would jingle.  Up until now I had only seen a couple of beggars and was surprised that there were suddenly so many in one spot.

We caught a cab and drove to Wangfujing, a busy shopping area in the Doncheng district of Beijing.  Elena said it had an extensive local food vendor section but you wouldn't know it by looking at the area from the edges.  Traffic is blocked from entering this area and for blocks on all sides it is surrounded by schmancy upscale retailers like Armani and Gucci.  If you walk far enough, you find the goods, right at the heart of it all. There are a couple square blocks of food and souvenir vendors smashed right in next to one another.  There are even little hole in the wall establishments somehow carved out of the tiny space where you can sit and enjoy a bowl of noodles, which we did.

Charlie was particularly excited about this part of our adventure because the entire time we have been here he has been planning on eating scorpion on a stick.  We did indeed find scorpion on a stick, along with cicadas on a stick, starfish on a stick, seahorse on a stick, lizards on a stick, snakes on a stick, whole baby birds on a stick and the innocuous mystery meat on a stick.

The scorpions that Charlie intended to eat, as we saw just before he did, were still alive while skewered, thrashing their little claws around in vain as they waited to be seasoned and grilled.

 A boy and his bugs

Big black scorpions and grasshoppers, along with some unknown meats.

*Shudder*

Here are a few street shots where you can see hoards of people walking between rows of shops:

These guys are smashing the hell out of some nutty sweet treat.  You can see the finished product on display at the end:

Charlie also bought this new toy:

By the time we had found food and did a little souvenir shopping we were more than ready to go home.  We caught a cab back to the apartment and there Elena and Charlie took naps while I got a nice foot massage.

Later, when Tony got home, we hopped in a car and drove across town to the National Centre for the Performing Arts (also known as "The Egg") to see a performance of Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Ravel by the Philadelphia Orchestra.  I can see why this orchestra is famous because it was really good.

The Egg.

Inside the egg:

 

 

The auditorium:

Nice organ.

And thus, Tuesday faded into the night (or "The End")