Day 2 - Sightseeing and Shopping

Rise and shine - it's breakfast buffet time.  Started our day with a delicious buffet.  Met our guide and rest of our entourage at 8:30 to begin Tour Time.  Our tour began at Tienanmen Square and then onto the Forbidden City.  With the amount of walking required - I would just as soon prefer the Forbidden City Stay Forbidden.  But the architecture and history were amazing! A culture of dynasties compared to decades is overwhelming. Our tour guide was a wealth of information before during and after each visit including teaching us some important Chinese phrases to help us get by.  We also learned that a star-rated bathroom is as important as a star-rated hotel (maximum stars = western toilet!!)   Our final tour spot of the day was the Summer Palace.  Upon completion of the sightseeing...let the shopping begin.  Our first port of call was the pearl shop.  There was a brief tutorial regarding the making of, harvesting of, types of and price ranges of the pearl, including the differences between the real and fake.  Our next destination was the silk shop.  See above...just insert silk instead of pearl.  After getting suckered into our pearl and silk purchases, we made a brief visit to an authentic tea room.  Our final activity of the day consisted of a Peking Duck Dinner.  Ginger would be very proud of us for trying the duck!  Our day finished up around 6:00 so we can chillax in the hotel before tackling the Great Wall tomorrow.