Tiananmen Square, walking up a storm

May 9

Once we finally get up, Paulie and I go up to the 6^th floor restaurant for a cup of fresh brewed coffee and to get ourselves awake enough to decide where to go today to get our bearings.  We opt to walk to the nearby Tiananmen Square and on the way we find some fresh fruit and a wonderful pasty maker where we stock up on all sorts of goodies to the tune of around $2. Once we finally figure out how to cross the street (this IS our first rodeo it turns out) we get in the groove of how to correctly walk through the huge gates that lead to the square. We realize that the government really regulates every aspect of the ordinary person’s life down to the type of clothing they can wear.  There are warnings in the guide book we have saying that any Tshirts bearing the message “Free Tibet” will be dealt with swiftly by the police that patrol every square inch of the square.  There are guards all around and you get the creepy feeling that you are constantly being watched.  That thought is quickly put out of your mind as we are constantly approached by photo-taking Chinese people who want our children to pose with them for photos.  Its gets kind of weird after a while, but Annie does not want to be mean, so she acquiesces to each and every request.  We walk around for a very long time and go through the Gate of Heavenly Peace where the large portrait of Mao Zadong hangs proudly overlooking the square.  At this point, we decide that instead of continuing on to see the Forbidden City, we will turn around and walk back in the direction of our hotel in order to try to find something for lunch.  By the time we make it back to the walking street near our hotel, our feet are killing us and we are all so weary in the legs that we have to find a restaurant quickly in order to sit down.  It is now nearly 3:30 in the afternoon and we are starving.  We dart down a small alleyway that is lined by neon signs and make our way towards a succession of restaurants, some with women on loud speakers announcing their delicacies.  I would never eat in one of those restaurants because I would be forced to listen to this loud woman screaming in Chinese into a microphone and I might emerge from the restaurant even more insane than I am currently feeling.  We quickly pass by the loudspeaker lady and opt instead for a quiet family type restaurant.  Here we go again, gesturing and pointing and, once again, enjoy a great meal at a bargain price.  After lunch/dinner, we return to the hotel, exhausted and settle in for a power nap.  We awaken around 4 hours later, ready for our next feeding and since we are incredibly lazy people, we sloth our way to the 6^th floor bar/restaurant for burgers and salads….no pointing and grunting here.  We play a few rounds of pool after our dinner and then turn in for the night and a very restful one at that.