Beijing Day 2

 Sea Date March 11, 2024

Breakfast buffet at the hotel.

Off to the Great Wall. There are many ways to access the Great Wall but our tour company suggested, The Mutianyu Great Wall(with round way cable car).  We arrived just as the park was opening so again very lucky because it was not crowded.  As we left the crowds were arriving.

From there we drove through Beijing to the Temple of Heaven. It is a complex of Taoist buildings erected in 1420. The Ming and Qing Emperors would arrive here a few days a year to pray for good harvests and security for the kingdom. To see such a major complex but to know it was rarely used was surprising.

Tonight we went to another famous acrobatic show. It was amazing. Jim was aahhing out loud. Very unusual.


                                               Breakfast buffet - what a wide selection.



    


                                                            I LOVE THE GREAT WALL




    

                                                          Karen, Monica, Kevin, and Henry


    

                                                            Jim, Cathy, Dana















    

                                    The Wall and the Mountains presented quite the obstacle to invaders.



    

                                                               Shopping and lunch.


    

                                                               Loved the artistic Coke can.


    

                                                               Great food, again!


    

                                                                Modern Beijing.




    

                                                   

                                                     People who wanted their picture with Jim.



    

                                                 The park we walked through had unique trees.




    

                                                                  Temple of Heaven.




    

                                                       

                                                      View of the new city from the Temple.









                                                            The advertisement was true!












    

                                                     

                                               Four motorcycles are whizzing around in this ball!




                                                     Good night. Sun reflected on the building,


    

                                                                        Sunset.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sea Date May 10, 2024, Our Last Day

Image
 Sea Date, May 10, 2024  Our LAST Sea Day I toured the ship early in the morning to say goodbye.  It seems so strange to be leaving. Lots of Goodbyes. Farewell from the crew on the Main Stage. Last lunch. Our Goodbye Party. Bounce Reveal. Captain Frank's Goodbye Video. Karen and Monica's hysterical photo and video montage. Award ceremony.   Last No Bounce gathering at Seaview. Many tearful goodbyes. You really become family!                                                                                             Rangga                                                      ...
Read more

Sea Date, May 11, 2024 THE END

Image
 Sea Date May 11, 2024 O, what a once in a lifetime, around the whole world adventure! Departure Day Good morning Ft Lauderdale - 128 days, 38,000 nautical miles around the world, 44 ports and 24 countries !  What a trip 😎 (Thanks, Elizabeth. ) Port of Fort Lauderdale.  So many goodbyes. Arlene and Pierce couldn't fit her collection into the 2 seater. He left her and 3 bags, drove the one hour home.  Unpacked,  then returned for her. Hopefully,  home and rearranging her museum. Lots of shoving suitcases into our rented SUV. Last lunch with Kevin and Monica Bruning Bradlee on 5th Avenue. Dolce and Salato. Sunset on the home balcony. Cloud cover.                                                            So long to our supercalifragilistic crew!
Read more

Naha, Okinawa, Japan

Image
 Sea Date February 25, 2024 Day 2 Our tour concentrated on the Ryukyu Kingdom, the Imperial rulers prior to Japanese control. The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a tributary state of imperial Ming China by the Ryukyuan rulers and treated as a vassal state of Japan at times.  They were the trading intermediaries between China and Japan . In 1879,Japan sent a military unit and annexed Ryukyu. Suiko, our talented, kind tour guide was back with us. It was a gray day with an off and on drizzle but still pleasant for touring.  We started at Syuri Castle Park.  It is the most famous landmark in Naha.  The G8 Summit that President Clinton attended held a large banquet here. It was the castle for the Imperial rulers of the Ryukyu kingdom.  Unfortunately, most of it was bombed in 1945, rebuilt and then burned in 2019.  The government is in the process of rebuilding trying to use authentic material and...
Read more