The (not so) forbidden city

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Laura - On Tuesday we went to the Forbidden City, which apparently is not so forbidden now as it even has a Starbuck's!! It was a really crappy day, weather wise, and the sky was really misty. But it all still looked pretty spectacular. It was really cool to be in an enclosed space where all the buildings are traditional Chinese buildings (even the starbucks). We walked through the centre at first, where all the main buildings are and then got lost walking around the maze of alleys and temples, away from the tourist crowds. I think this is the part we really enjoyed the most, and it was cool because not all of the outer buildings have been newly redecorated, so they are more or less in their original form.

In the evening we went to an apparently famous roast duck restaurant (where the legend that is George Bush has eaten). It was really really nice, definitely up to princess standards! We could see into the kitchens, where they roast ducks over an open log fire. Then, they carve your fresh duck at your table. It was brilliant. Obviously we had Peking Duck, but we also stuffed our faces with spring rolls, speciality dumplings and egg fried rice! Plus a couple of Tsingtao beers of course. When we got out we realised there was a huge comic duck outside, hence the photo!

Paul - After all this we found a huge arcade with loads of retro games. Marr would have loved it. Spent a few yuan amusing the Chinese with our bad gaming skills (well Laura was poor, I was average compared to some of the master minds in there!)

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Comments

[Puzzled Mother]

Headgear
I see from the photos that have appeared that Paul (sensibly at last) is wearing a hat - but lo and behold Laura for some obscure reason has abandoned her head gear. Laura, I would have thought that by now you would have the hair washing time down to a fine art and have quickened up a bit (only joking). It all sounds fabulous - I hope the duck had a clean bill of health certificate that you checked before eating