An enjoyable day touring Beijing...

We really enjoyed our day today! 

We set out at 9am with the 10 other families from our agency 

to tour Beijing. Our first stop was called the Hutong tour. 

Hutong in Chinese refers to narrow streets or alleys. 

The first part of the Hutong tour was the opportunity to ride 

in these little bike-pulled carriages. We felt like newlyweds again!

  

 

Our individual drivers took us to a local family's house 

in the HuTong area to give us a taste 

of what life is like in this older part of the city.

Each family has a small square courtyard with a kitchen, 

a dining room and several bedrooms making up the border around it.  

 It was really nice to be able to take in some of the culture 

and to meet the lady who lived there. 

 After visiting this particular family's home, 

our drivers took us around more of the area.
It was hard to believe that cars, scooters, bikes and carriages
could all share that tiny road!

This frozen lake was really beautiful to ride by. 

You can see how strong the wind was, though, 

and how it actually ripped the canopy 

part way off of the carriage in front of us.

Even the dogs were cold. :)

 Next we visited the silk factory. 

It was really interesting to learn about how silk is woven 

from a single moth cocoon. 

Our third stop was Tiennanmen Square. 

The wind was whipping, so we did not stay long.

I forgot to mention that the high today was only in the mid 20's 

and the humidity in the air made it feel even colder, 

not to mention the strong winds. 

We have not been used to that cold for over 5 years. :) 

Our last stop was the Forbidden City. 

It was the palace built 500 years ago for the Emperor.

Our day ended in a very blessed way. 

We went to dinner with the Leong family 

from Colorado Springs, CO. 

We were really excited to meet them, 

as we have been corresponding with them online 

for the past several months. 

They are here to adopt two little boys, 

one of whom lived in the same foster home as Joshua! 

We were able to meet him and give him a hug for them 

back in November. 

Here is little Isaac during our visit.

Completely adorable, huh. :)