July 5th

We woke up around 5:30 am again. Nick and the boys slept for 12 hours. I was thankful they caught up on some sleep. I know they were really tired.

Since we had no set plans, we asked Candy if we could get around on the subway. Candy doesn't have a car, and we were curious how she normally got around this huge city. So, off to the subway we went!

The subway is of course so crowded but we enjoyed trying it out. 

Nick was interested in seeing Olympic Park, particularly the Bird's Nest. It was an impressive complex.

 We headed towards the center shopping area of the city. My friend Shannon suggested we try a restaurant called Hot Pot. They are all over the city, it was a fun and delicious experience a lot like fondue.

• After lunch we shopped on Wangfujing street. Wangfujing is famous for souvenirs, and mostly food booths. There were many choices that we had seen only on TV before. Scorpions, snakes, lizards, beetles, the list went on and on. Jake ended up trying a fried tarantula and fried scorpian, they were about 7.00 US dollars a piece! I think Candy was shocked by his bravery. She said "He really like to eat!" I said yes. I also asked him if they tasted like chicken and he said yes. :-)

After touring we headed back for a rest at our hotel. Since it was our last full day here, we decided to try the Peking Duck (another Beijing special) before leaving. 

Candy wanted to take us to a famous restaurant for Peking Duck that was pretty far from our hotel. Since we were tired she chose one in our area. Let me just say it was delicious! For dinner we had duck, which you could wrap in paperthin homemade pancakes, seemed more like crepes to me and came with a delicious dipping sauce! Homemade dumplings, spring rolls, and our favorite green beans. I was so thirsty craving a COLD Sprite, but since they gave it to me warm, I asked for cold water in a bottle. Instead, they brought out a really cold soda called Arctic Ocean. It was better than Sprite or 7up. I loved it! Candy said it's very popular with the Chinese. Upon leaving the restaurant everyone smiled and said goodbye and the owner gave me a 2 liter bottle of Sprite to take home, with a big smile. 

I haven't really mentioned this but we get quite a few stares. People watching us eat with chopsticks, and I guess they are cracking up at our lack of skill. People taking pictures, even while we eat. Grant's red hair attracts most peoples stares. Little kids are really fixated on staring and so are the senior citizens. But it is fun to watch them. 

We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow!