China

Well, we did it!  We finally made our way across the world to tour China and visit Nick's mission in Taiwan.  

We'd been talking about going for quite a while, and made the trip a reality when we found a semi-deal on Groupon. 

We recruited our families and a couple of friends - before we knew it we were on the airplane!  

The 14 hour plane ride was a killer, but once we landed we were wide awake and ready to go.... 

and it was only 5:00am in Beijing (3:00pm in the US). 

on the plane...

Our trip was purchased as a tour - that means we looked like total tourists with lanyards/nametags and all! 

Our flights, hotels, food, and traveling while in China were all included in the trip, which was awesome!  

Each day was packed and we were worn out when bedtime rolled around.

The first day we arrived, we did a little bit of exploring and tried to get our sleep schedule adjusted.  

We hunted for breakfast and found some "rou bao's" to eat.... they're kind of like a meat filled bread.  

For the most part, people eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in China...  

Thank goodness we had "american style" options most days.  

I couldn't make myself eat rice for every meal!

Tour Day 1

Our first tour day we went to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City (home of Chinese emperors), the Capital Museum (nothing special), and the Pearl Factory.  

Lots of fun sight seeing and a little shopping. 

Tour Day 2

Our second day we visited the Great Wall, Jade Factory, Olympic Games Site, and attended a Chinese Tea Ceremony (we weren't able to participate too much.... 

a big thanks to Nick and Cameron for using their Chinese to find out which tea we could drink!)

That night, we ventured to the Silk Market so the guys could get some suits made.  

Long story short, we made it about 5 minutes before the stores were closing - 

there wasn't much negotiation with each suit purchase due to our unfortunate timing getting there... 

but they guys still got custom suits for $160!

getting suits

Tour Day 3

Day three we went to the Temple of Heaven, an exercise park where the retired hang out,  the Summer Palace, the Silk Factory, participated in some Tai Chi, ate lunch with a local family, and saw an incredible Acrobat show.  

One of my favorite parts was the exercise park.... it was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen!  

People stretched and exercised in the weirdest ways!

Tour Day 4

We spent our free day at the market doing some "shopping" which actually turned out to be quite the ordeal. 

This experience was like no other - we named our price and bartered until we got close to it.... 

at the market items are marked up to 800% of what you should really pay... 

it was a process that was draining and took soooo long.  

But that's okay - we think we got some good deals and continued to remind ourselves that it's all part of the experience!!!