Beijing (Bay-jing)

Coming off the train from Dalian was probably the most overwhelming moment of the trip. Overwhelming can mean many different emotions: joy, sadness, or anger. For me at that moment it meant just overcome. Not with emotion but with the senses-smells, noise and heat.



I have to say that after 25 years of marriage, I have come to appreciate this man very much. He organized a beautiful trip for us in Beijing, where we would end our China journey, and found us a safe clean and luxurious place for us to stay.

and we're walking 

up an escalator

 inclined walkway

twenty minutes later we finally make it outside. We had hired a driver (Thanks Joe the Driver from Harbin!) 

got all our luggage into the back of the van. 

Turned right out of the train station and saw them doing construction on a storefront. #safetyfirst

There are 4 train stations in Beijing. We took the Beijing downtown line. Our driver took us to our hotel, the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Beijing, which was close to the business district and banking district. The hotel was within a few blocks of the subway.

Beautiful hotel. :)

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/china/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-beijing-BJSDTDI/index.html

Beloved had reserved a suite for us, with a small kitchen separating the two bedrooms. There was a master suite (above) with full tub and shower in the bathroom. 

Tank was still struggling with a cough/cold and we were grateful that he was willing to sleep on the couch in the living area. I worried that he would keep the girls up with his coughing. 

Girls' room. No tub, but their own shower and bathroom. 

We made it to our hotel and settled in with just enough time to spare to hit the Happy Hour. They had a full, self-serve bar and counters covered in trays of appetizers, cheeses and pastries. So here come the Americans with three kids and we took over the joint. ;) Thankfully few people were left.

After we ate our fill (embarassingly so) we decided we'd take a small tour of our surroundings. There was a lovely garden that had a footpath around the setting, lit by warm lights and with piped-in music. (Not sure what it is with the Chinese and piped-in music they seemingly can't have a beautiful outdoor setting without accompaniment).

On our way back up to our suite we passed by conference rooms. All of them were being used. At one there was a circular table with a man standing in the center of it and an overhead of some equation. By this point it was about 9pm. Businesses were still in conference, having meetings, making ideas. I asked Beloved "When you travel for business, when do you usually quit work?" He answered "Well we usually got out to dinner together. We would never be working together that late."

Not to say American ingenuity is hard at work. He spends many hours in his room preparing lectures and slideshows for his presentations due the next morning.

Off to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.