Goodbye Backpack, It Was Nice Knowing You

You served me well for the few hours you were mine. Hopefully you will be treated well where ever you turn up. I am sorry I didn't get back to pick you up in time. How was I supposed to know I never had to check you to begin with? This is all part of traveling to a land where you know exactly 3 words, none of which are "is this where you buy tickets for the Forbidden City"? If I knew, I wouldn't have purchased tickets for the Tiananmen Square Museum, which requires said bag check. Goodby also to lip gloss, tissues, library book (I guess I will be making another "donation - something I consider all of my overdue book fees actually are.) and other non valuables.

The Forbidden City is one of my favorite place on earth. I could look at the rooftops for days. 9,999 1/2 rooms of ancient history. The textures of the buildings, the walkways, the walls are incredibly detailed, requiring thousands of craftspeople to create and now, maintain.

We hired a guide on the spot, a woman who seemed to be on fast forward. I got maybe half of what she said and rushed to keep up with her. We did learn a lot from her about the history of the city.

After the city, we made our way to a fabulous restaurant called TRB - built in what was an old temple.

There is also a gallery with the temple grounds

this was my appetizer - fois gras covered in green apple jelly 

After a failed attempt to  retrieve my poor backpack, we made our way back to the hotel, realizing the Beijing air had gotten the best of us.

they are not kidding (cough, cough)

Tomorrow, the Great Wall- minus backpack.