It was shortly after the Olympics and the crowds had left. Yet the normal traffic in Beijing continued with its busy pace. Not too far from our hotel was the main throughfare with several pedestrian crossings and even a Mc Donald's. After our visit to the Forbidden City we had a tour of the older parts of the Beijing and enjoyed lunch with a local family and a rickshaw ride.

The tour bus had dropped us off near some narrow streets and we walked to the courtyard where we had a nice and simple Chinese lunch cooked by this lady in her kitchen. We thanked her and left a little extra tip. To be sure, our lunches and dinners were not like this during the rest of the three weeks. This happened to be the simplest and yet most interesting meal that we just did not expect. To see some of the dishes we consumed during the rest of the trip, go to the Chinese Cuisine page.
PS. Notice the young man towards the back trying to sell postcards to Glenda. No matter where we went we would always be pestered by these vendors trying hard to sell you something. Some were fine, others a big pushy problem. Pretty soon we were all saying, "Herlo, one dollah, one dollah!"

After lunch we strolled some more through the old neighborhood and visited a local food market.

There were some rickshaws in the area. So now it was our turn for a ride through the narrow alleys.

As we walked back to the tour bus, there were some ladies performing a fan dance. They were accompanied by a drum and gimbles and looked quite professional. We watched for a while and then were invited to try it.

Sharon, who loves to dance, did pretty good. However, our dear friend, Loren, although a good sport, needs a little more attention to the rest and practice with his fan.