Sightseeing Experience

Today we signed up for an extra tour and traveled with about 27 other CHIers first to a HutongHutong in Chinese means alleyway and the hutongs are an example of old Chinese architecture, when homes were encapsulated by walls and contained courtyards and extended families lived together. At one time there were over 6000 hutongs in Beijing but most have been destroyed to make way for the high rises. Recently the government has made an effort to preserve some of the remaining hutongs. We rode in rickshaws through the narrow streets and alleys in the neighborhood committee of "Liu Yin Jie." Lily enjoyed the ride in the rickshaw. We went to the local drum tower of this Hutong. The drum tower was used to let the people know what time it was. We climbed nearly straight up into the tower and watched a drumming demonstration. You would definitely know what time it was after hearing that.
Our rickshaws next took us to a kindergarten. We got to observe the children during their morning play time. Lily just watched wide eyed. I think it was probably amazing to her that there were so many children her size who looked a lot like her. She did get to try out the playground area. Next we took the rickshaws once again to a personal home for lunch. The house was part of a Hutong and the hostess told us she and her brother and a sister and her father all lived there. The house was over 150 years old and her family had lived there over 40 years. We ate in two rooms and were served several dishes; sticky rice, potatoes, dumplings, several vegetable dishes, meatballs. Lily actually ate pretty well but spent much of the time encouraging the family dog over to her side. The family also had a cat and when Lily had to use their restroom, we found a very large bird in a cage.
After lunch we went to the Temple of Heaven. I don't think China knows what ADA is because many of these attractions are not user friendly if you have a 3 year old in a stroller! We did a lot of walking and I did a lot of carrying a very sleepy Lily. I must say she has been a trooper through it all. It started to drizzle rain on us at this point and the walk-ways and stairs became very slippery (no hand rails of course) but we made it safely back on the bus. Lily actually fell fast asleep during this part of the tour and I don't know what makes a sleeping child heavier than an awake one but I swear there is a difference!
We are now in our room drinking hot tea and trying to warm up a bit. Lily made the transition back into bed quiet easily and is fast asleep. While my coughing has improved John's suspected allergies have turned into a full fledged cold. It's a stuffed up in his head and so he has now taken a hot bath and is resting. We are supposed to be ready to head to the acrobats in an hour but I'm thinking we need a bit more time to recoup from a busy day. We still have plenty of time to sight see in the days ahead. Monday is our family reunion day where we will finally meet Luke. I've decided to strike "gotcha day" off my vocabulary. I think family reunion day sounds much more warm and fuzzy.
I will have John download the photos from today later but wanted to jot this down while it was still fresh in my mind.