0745 and all is well.
I do hope we are not getting soft....staying at a hotel that has a view that has stars: that has a meal in the morning that is not a free for all at the trough.....there is no way, independently that we would be paying $250 a night to stay anywhere.
Summer palace is really a big park with a big lake in the middle. Two hundred and ninety three hectares. It was built in various incarnations from about 1400 through to first opium war. 1860 the French and English pillaged the palace and to cover up their malfeasance they burnt the whole park, palaces and all as well, so the dragon lady had it rebuilt bigger and better. However the British tell that it was destroyed in retaliation for the torture and murde of a couple of envoys, a journalist and their escorts. Now the story goes that the Dragon lady (mother of the emperor) had it rebuilt in1864 and used it to imprison her son the emperor. Makes the Kardashians seen positively dull...whoever that are.
But the biggest bonus here was a large group of local people who has created a communal singing group met in one of the (square) rotundas and sung their hearts out......it was lovely...
The choir with clarinet, sax, cymbal, and base drum..they were having a great time
Still quite chilly, and off to one of the hutongs, which is the traditional village living, small alleys, courtyarded houses and several generations living in the same place. Had lunch in one of the houses here, and then we met the Cricket man....not Shane Warne, or Sachin Tandukur, it was Mr something or other. He breeds crickets to use to showing and gambling. 
And no he wouldn't appreciate them being eaten.
Number 25 and 26 left the tour.....you were there in spirit Rod....(work it out) it was their first trip overseas so watching the novelty was great.
Went to silk street, like DFO but in bejing..,could have well done without it. We were expecting a Bangkok type mad street type market...alas not.
One thing we have noticed here, is that they do the China town theme far better than any,of the other cities we have been to, maybe with the exception of little Bourne street in Melbourne.
Dropped off at the hotel in time for dinner so we went for a wander into the 'burbs nearby, and found a long line waiting outside a street food vendor cubby hole....chinadimsum.com so we thought well worth the effort to line up as well.....no English signs, and they certainly didn't speak English, so a chap in front of us with the help of his iPhone was able to translate we needed two veggie and two pork. No veggie just yet so got pork, with a view to returning later for more. Best dimsum/ pork roll ever. For about .25 cents each then we then found a place that cooked up sweet potato at 50 cents a kg. back to the dimsum place with lots of pointing and showing the attached picture we got two veggie and two beef pork polls. Tea for about $5.00 
Back to the hotel, where two ladies met us in the room, and for $46 ea we got a pretty good massage. After that off to sleepy byes .
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