Hot Day at Temple of Heaven

We walked down the street in front of our hotel, and about a mile down the road is the Temple of Heaven. It was interesting to see the gawking... for Chinese, seeing a blonde girl is strange enough, let alone Becca's curly brown hair, and my red hair and beard, accompanied by a Chinese girl that (strangely) doesn't speak Chinese. There were several kind-hearted people we spoke with, and got to chat with several of them, but mostly got out-and-out stares and gawking. I'd love to know what they were saying.

We got into the Temple of Heaven for 105RMB and walked around, checking out some of the alters and shrines. We got to watch a small (impromptu??) choir practicing with some instruments, while Rachael danced and laughed. Lots more to tell about today, including a minor slip and fall while carrying the stroller (with Rachael in it) down stairs, and the noodle shop "fast food" restaurant for lunch. We're not sure what some of it was, including "meat on a stick" that we hope was pork, but could have been about anything. Kayla said, "Mmmmm... good cat!" After lunch, we came back to the hotel, showered and crashed for a good 2 hour nap.

Tonight, I attended Toastmasters at a growing, strong club in Beijing, which was very interesting. The structure was all the same and familiar, but they did a few things differently, which permitted some good idea exchange. It was a two-hour meeting, and most of the participants were there to work on English (and their English was pretty darn good).

Leaving the training room where the meeting was held, I was traveling by myself, walking back to the nearby hotel to catch a cab back to our hotel. Apparently I looked lonely, as several pimps and mama-sans offered services, rather persistently. Their English was also very good, and they apparently are paid to troll for customers -- I wonder how many of them were also working a con for ripping tourists off. Telling them emphatically "Bu shang, Bu shang!" (don't want!) didn't seem to dampen their spirited offers, but jumping into a cab finally gave them the picture that I was high-tailing it out of there. After a 45-minute cab ride in traffic, I made it back to the hotel for some blogging and quick dinner of Chinese buns and rolls we'd purchased, along with some green tea... $1.15 for the meal.

Now off to bed. Everyone is very tired, and we have some more walking tomorrow.