The “Left Bank” Neighborhoods of Paris France

There are numerous neighborhoods in the beautiful city of Paris France. Although all should be explored in depth Lindsay and I feel in love with the Latin Quarter and St Germain neighborhoods which are on the “left bank” of the Seine river. We were there with Lindsay's mother and sister and we happened to be staying at a beautiful little hotel right in the heart of this district. Our first introduction to the area was stepping out of the metro on to Saint Michele Square. It was late fall and the trees all had yellow leaves and black trunks. This mixed with the large fountain, beautiful architecture and overall Parisian feel was truly a travelers high. This was Lindsay's Mom and Sisters first international trip and Lindsay and I watched them closely as they stepped out of the metro station for the first time. They both had the “deer in the headlights” look and were simply blown away by the beauty. After checking into our hotel we began to explore the neighborhood. Some people consider this area a “tourist ghetto” but because it was the low season we were surrounded by locals. Each little café and corner store was packed with locals going about their daily business. We found one little café in particular that we must have hit up 10 times during our stay. They would make crepes on the street and all of us would line up to get our Coke Light and Nutella/banana crepe. We would then take this back to our hotel room and eat it on the balcony overlooking the street below. Numerous times during our stay we would simply wander the narrow cobble stone streets just taking in the amazing scene of these two neighborhoods. They have been described as a “small village” within a big city and we all agreed that this description fit well. There were numerous small churches, a café on every corner and narrow cobblestone streets for miles…it truly was the perfect Paris neighborhood. We were all very sad to leave but will never forget the amazing neighborhoods of Saint Germain and the Latin Quarter on the left bank of the River Seine in Paris.

Tiananmen Square – Beijing China

Few places in the world have the name recognition that the infamous Tiananmen Square has. Whether or not a person knows the history of this amazing square almost everybody recognizes the name. Because of this I have always wanted to visit this amazing place and luckily we got the chance during our 2010 trip to China. We arrived in Beijing via a long and exhausting flight from Moscow Russia. Thanks to hours of studying google earth and maps of Beijing I was able to get us from the Airport to our guesthouse (deep in the Hutongs of Beijing) in only minutes. When we checked into our room we decided to take a quick power nap before hitting the streets. 4 hours later we woke up and couldn’t believe how hard we had crashed. :) By the time we started exploring Beijing that day it was late afternoon. We only had one destination that night and it was Tiananmen Square. We new the general direction so we just started walking the streets to get a feel for the city. Within only a few minutes we hit a corner of the amazing forbidden city. By this time it was early evening and the pink sky was the perfect backdrop against the red structures of the Forbidden City. We continued along the wall surrounding the Forbidden City as we knew this would eventually take us to Tiananmen Square. However, we actually took a wrong turn and ended up smack in the middle of the forbidden city and had to take quite the detour to make it to Tiananmen Square. By the time we made it their it was getting dark but there were still thousands of people hanging out. It is difficult to describe how it feels to be standing in this iconic square. First thing that impressed us was its sheer size. It is a HUGE expansive square with very few places to sit and people watch. Because of this we found ourselves wandering around quite a bit. The first structure we came upon was the famous Gate of Heavenly Peace which is very recognizable. This large structure is built in classic Chinese architecture and is the entry point to the forbidden city from Tiananmen Square. There is a large painting of Mao sitting right in the middle of the gate. After admiring this we made our way further into the square and noticed two gigantic screens that had been set up right in the middle of the square. These screens were promoting Chinese tourism and flashed beautiful pictures of China. We had plans to continue exploring but all of the sudden the police starting rounding everybody up and pushing them out of the square. It turns out that June 4th (the day we were there) was the anniversary of the famous student revolt that took place in Tiananmen Square (think of the famous picture of the man standing in front of the tank). The government feared another revolt on this anniversary so pushed everybody out of the square for the evening. We headed back to our guesthouse but first thing in the morning we were back at the square ready to start our exploring. This time we entered from the other side right at the large and impressive Zhengyangmen gate (a large structure built in classic Chinese architecture). It was early morning and the summer haze/dust of Beijing was just starting to form. We spent another hour just cruising around the square taking pictures of the numerous landmarks within it including the Monument to the Peoples Heroes which is a large pyramid structure built entirely of stone. As the morning drew on the thousands of Chinese tourists started to show up. These groups are very large and are instantly recognizable because they all wear brightly colored hats or carry colored umbrellas so that they can all stay together. Exploring Tiananmen Square in Beijing was a wonderful experience. There is nothing like setting foot on ground that has had so many historic events take place on it.

The Lenin Mausoleum – Moscow Russia

What is the best way to remember the father of communism? Embalm his body and put him on display in the heart of the capital city. It sounds a bit extreme but that is exactly what the Russians did with the body of Vladimir Lenin. During our 2010 trip to Russia I couldn’t wait to go and experience the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Lenin's body. The Mausoleum itself sits right in the middle of Red Square and is surrounded by some of the most beautiful Russian/Classical architecture I have ever seen. However, the Mausoleum Structure itself is built in classical modernism architecture with straight lines and larges square pieces of granite. This juxtaposition of architectural styles is actually very cool. Lenin's body has been on display here since shortly after he died in the 20’s. There used to be extremely long lines to see his body but nowadays you can simply line up early in the morning on one side of the square to get in. After an intense security checkpoint (they do not want any cameras) you end up walking the path that leads up to the Mausoleum which is lined by numerous statues of the great communist leaders of Russia. When you eventually reach the Mausoleum you end up walking down numerous steps before reaching the embalmed body of Lenin. It is dark, cold and extremely quite inside the tomb. His body, which looks very much like plastic, lies inside of a large glass case. Within a matter of minutes we were in and out of the Mausoleum as there are guards making sure you don’t loiter. These guards are extremely intense and the only thing we ever heard them say is “SHHHHH.” Any time someone would attempt to talk, or step to loudly, you would hear a very stern “SHHHHH” out of one of the guards. The entire experience only lasted about an hour but it is something that Lindsay and I will never forget.

Chilling in “New Delhi” India

During our travels through India/Nepal we found ourselves with an entire day to burn in the capital city of Delhi. We had just arrived via a short flight from Kathmandu and were scheduled to take a night train to the city of Varanasi. About a week earlier we had already spent some time in Delhi but had focused our time on the exciting and busy section of the city known as Old Delhi. This time we were excited to see the wide streets, organized layout and beautiful monuments of “New Delhi” (which was designed by the British). We took a cab from the airport to the Red Fort and from their worked our way to the brand new, and incredibly efficient, metro system and took it to the heart of New Delhi. We came out of the metro near the beautiful Secretariat complex which is a group of government buildings designed in very strong classic architecture (looks very much like government buildings in Washington DC, etc). We enjoyed the view of these buildings for a few minutes and then wandered the beautiful park complex nearby. There were large trees, ponds and open patches of grass which is not something you see everyday in a busy Indian city. We set up shop underneath a tree and simply laid on our backpacks and read, laughed and relaxed. After a few hours we negotiated with a rickshaw driver to drive us down the road to the beautiful India Gate monument. Our rickshaw driver kept telling us that “it was his birthday” which was for sure a ploy to get more money from us. However, I appreciated is ingenuity so we gave him a good price for taking us the short distance. :) The India Gate monument is a beautiful large archway made of golden stone. It is a spectacular structure and looked beautiful as the late evening sun was shining on it. We were just starting to enjoy it when we began to be annoyed by the numerous touts walking around. We were constantly being asked if we wanted to buy something and it was just exhausting. One particular lady came up with little flags of India and said that they were for “the poor school children.” We knew it was a scam and when we said “no” she said “let me at least pin this on you for free.” Because we were too burned out to resist we let her do this and sure enough the minute she pinned it to my shirt she began forcefully asking for money…the worst kind of tout. :) Despite the touts we were able to enjoy the beautiful monument and by that time we were getting hungry. We decided to splurge a little and hit up the Parikrama revolving restaurant that sits atop an office building in the heart of New Delhi. This restaurant is nearby Connaught Place which is an area full of shops, restaurants, etc. The restaurant itself was beautiful and it was so nice to relax, eat some good food and watch the beautiful city of Delhi unfold in front of us. The only thing interrupting us was the occasional loud burp from the Indian businessmen nearby (this is totally accepted in India and is quite amusing). We ate and drank as slowly as we could as we were loving the experience. After at least one full rotation of the restaurant we left and headed towards the chaotic train station to catch our night train to Varanasi. It ended up being a wonderful and relaxing day in New Delhi that we will never forget.

Thai Boxing in Bangkok

When traveling to Thailand one of the essential experiences every traveler should have is taking in a round of Thai boxing. Lindsay and I decided to do this during our first night in Bangkok. We made our way up to the Lupinee boxing arena and got our first taste of Bangkok traffic. I heard a statistic once that says 3 people every hour die in Bangkok traffic and after trying to cross the numerous busy streets to make it to the arena I believe it. There are very few, if any, pedestrian signals like in other major cities so it is a bit of a free for all. At one point we stood at the intersection of a street and waited over 10 minutes to cross (eventually just making a mad dash between cars). After braving the traffic we finally made it to the arena and found a very nice women at the ticket office to help us. She was a short pudgy Thai women who spoke great English and loved to say “Okaaaayyyyyy.” To this day Lindsay and I still laugh about the way she said this. :) She helped us get some tickets and before we knew it we were entering a very busy arena full of thousands of locals yelling, betting and watching the fights. We purchased cheap tickets so were up high and there was a chain link fence between us and the lower levels of the arena. There were no assigned seats and it was hilarious because the locals literally ushered us to a particular area that they wanted us to sit in. They all just kept smiling and pointing towards a particular area in the arena. We finally took our seats and began to enjoy the fighting. Thai boxing is not at all like regular boxing and it is all about style and technique. There are certain kicks/punches that the boxer can do which gives them more points. The more complex the kick the more points they get. Every time one of these kick/punch combinations happened during the fight the entire arena would erupt in a loud yell. We watched 2 or 3 fights and were absolutely loving the atmosphere and experience. However, it was our first full night in the country and we were still exhausted with jet lag. We both kept nodding off asleep and every time we would look at each other we would pretend to be awake and cheer…it was hilarious. Despite being so tired we spent hours at the arena watching this fascinating sport. Watching a real Thai Boxing match in the heart of Bangkok is an experience we will never forget!

Hotel Mandaloun – Aleppo Syria

It is no secret that Lindsay and I love the city of Aleppo Syria. In fact, throughout all of our travels we both still consider this our favorite. One of the reasons we loved this place so much is because of the beautiful guesthouse we stayed in. It is called The Mandaloun Hotel and is located in the ancient “Christian Quarter” of the city. This district is characterized by old narrow stone alleyways, beautiful mansions with wood shutters, etc. The Mandaloun Hotel has a very unassuming entrance with one simple stone archway and a heavy wooden door. However, when we stepped inside we couldn’t believe our eyes. It was small building but the interior had one very large atrium with a fountain in the middle. The rooms were organized on 3-4 floors and all faced the atrium. Aleppo was our first stop in Syria and we were both a little nervous for how we would be treated as Americans in Syria. However, the staff welcomed us with bright smiles and a friendly “hello” and were extremely helpful during our stay in Aleppo. As we made our way up the old stone stairway to our room we were both so excited to see what it looked like. We were not disappointed as our room was made entirely of old stone, had antique furniture and wooden window shades. It truly felt like we were staying in one of the old great mansions of the Middle East. The next morning we woke up and went down to an old cave looking room for breakfast…it was very cool. As we walked through the atrium that first morning we noticed that there were two turtles roaming freely around the fountain and atrium grounds. They were very cute and added to the charm of this beautiful guesthouse. Although the building, room and staff were wonderful it was probably the location of Mandaloun that was the best. You stepped outside and you were literally right in an old alleyway of the Christian Quarter of Alepppo. It was the perfect spot for exploring one of the most beautiful and unique cities in the world. As I write this I am well aware that it sounds like a review on TripAdvisor. However, sometimes the places you stay when traveling dictate how you perceive and experience a particular place and the Hotel Mandaloun in Aleppo is one we will never forget.

Break Dancers in the New York City Subway

One of the very first trips Lindsay and I took as newlyweds was to New York City! Like most people in NYC we took the subway everywhere we needed to go (which fit in nicely with our newlywed budget). We would hop from station to station checking out all of the sights of the city. On one particular night we found ourselves exiting the busy Times Square station. We noticed a group of people making a circle and heard loud thumping music so we knew we were about to see something cool…and we were not disappointed. We had stumbled across a NYC icon; the subway break dancing performers. This group of guys gather in the subway, start the music and start dancing and within minutes a large crowd gathers to watch (usually in awe). Neither Lindsay or myself are break dancing experts but we were blown away at what these guys could do. We saw flips, head spins, etc, etc. After watching in amazement for probably 30 minutes, and burning up the very small memory card we had in our camera, we continued on to Times Square. We will never forget these funky dancers and the unique flare they give to the subway stations of New York City.

The “Secret Waterfalls” in the High Uintas – Utah

When I was young my father took me to the Uintas numerous times. The wild nature, surrounding peaks and numerous lakes made this one of our favorite places to spend a weekend or Saturday afternoon. When Lindsay and I got married we continued this tradition and made our way up to the Uintas numerous times a year. One particular memory I have as a young child was hanging out at these beautiful waterfalls with my family. I remember vividly playing in the little pools of water that were created as the water cascaded down numerous short and rocky cliffs. As our family played our golden lab “Annie” jumped into the water and was swept away by the current. We all watch in horror as she tumbled down the waterfall. We thought for sure there was no way she could have survived the fall and were shocked to see here eventually crawl onto the banks wagging her tail. :) That was the first and only time my family went to those waterfalls and for the rest of my life I wanted to go back. Once Lindsay and I started making our trips to the Uintas I frantically began looking for the falls. For years I looked and looked and was never able to find them again. I asked rangers, did Internet searches, etc, etc. Finally one day while looking at Google Earth I pinpointed what I thought were the waterfalls. Lindsay and I took a drive up to see if my suspicions were right and sure enough they were. After a short hike through the trees we stumbled right into the waterfalls I had been searching for ever since I was a kid. However, there was one small problem…there was no water. It was late in the year and they had diverted the river that usually created the falls. This meant we were going to have to wait another year to come and enjoy the falls. So we waited another long winter and even most of the next summer before we made it back to the falls (Lindsay was pregnant at the time). It was a sunny summer afternoon when we headed back up to the Uintas to my “secret waterfalls” and this time the water was flowing! The sun was shining and we spent the next few hours just swimming, chilling, relaxing and taking in one of the most beautiful spots in Utah. We took our dog Sundance along and she was having a blast running up and around all the pools of water. She did an incredible job of never getting wet so a few times I had to just throw her in. Some of the waterfalls make perfect natural water slides and I was having a blast sliding down the rocks and into the freezing cold pools of water. Lindsay was pregnant at the time so she simply watched on in envy. Nowadays I can drive directly to my “secret waterfalls” and we can’t wait to go and enjoy them again this summer.

The Burning Ghat – Varanasi India

There are some places in the world that are almost impossible to describe and Varanasi India is one of those places. This is one of the holiest cities in the world and sits on the banks of the river Ganges. It is considered one of the holiest places in the Hindu religion and it is believed that a person who dies in Varanasi can have their soul free of continual reincarnation. Because of this belief it is also a city where you are constantly confronted with death. There are numerous funeral processions (groups of people carrying a body decorated with flowers, etc) that come through the narrow alleyways of the city on their way down to the river. Because cremation is so important to faithful Hindus, and because Varanasi is the preferred place to die, there are constantly cremation ceremonies happening day/night on the banks of the river. Most of these cremations are done at a place called “The Burning Ghat.” Nothing can prepare you for your first glimpse of this fascinating place. It is a collection of old buildings (most with no glass on the windows) that are very worn down. Surrounding these buildings are thousands of pieces of wood (for the cremation fires) stacked neatly into large bundles that rise well above 6ft. At the base of the buildings are steps that lead down towards the river where all the cremations are performed. Being a westerner there is nothing more shocking then when you get your first glimpse of a cremation in Varanasi. The body of the deceased person is wrapped in white cloth and placed on top of a large pile of wood which is then set on fire. Eventually the fire grows so large you can no longer see the human body as it is engulfed in flames. However, before this happens you can clearly see the body (wrapped in white cloth) being consumed by flames. Although this ceremony is very sacred to the Hindus it is extremely foreign to a westerner and no matter how many times Lindsay and I saw this we never got used to it. Because there are so many cremations happening day/night in Varanasi there is always a blanket of smoke hovering over the banks of the river. When Lindsay and I first realized we were smelling/breathing the smoke from a cremation fire we became a little ill. :) During the day it is actually quite difficult to get close to The Burning Ghat as there are numerous touts and vagabonds waiting to bug you for money. However, we hooked up with a local named “Papu” who showed us around. Although it was fascinating to see this from land nothing compares to the late evening boat ride we took on the Ganges and seeing the fires on the shore. The sun had set and nighttime was falling over Varanasi and it was quite eerie to see the cremation fires on the shore from out on the water. I mean no disrespect when I say this but The Burning Ghat is one of the scariest places we have ever seen. Not only is the public cremation such a foreign concept but the look and feel of the buildings and surroundings is dark, run down and eerie. Once we got past the initial culture shock we could begin to appreciate the religious and cultural beauty of what we were seeing. One thing is for sure…there is no place in the world like The Burning Ghat of Varanasi.

Snorkeling in the Red Sea – Israel

Lindsay and I plan very hard for our international trips. Most of the destinations we go to require serious planning but no matter what we always leave a little room for the unexpected. Sometimes the “unexpected” is bad but most of the time it is once in a lifetime opportunities that present themselves and spontaneous experiences that could never be planned for. This happened to us during our one night stay in the Israeli beach town of Eilat. I had always heard that the diving/snorkeling in the Red Sea is incredible but I didn’t think this was something we could actually do…I didn’t “plan” for it. However, Lindsay and I were able to do this thanks to a little luck and spontaneity. We were staying at the beautiful Isrotel Yam Suf hotel in Eilat which is right across the street from the ocean. Immediately adjacent to the hotel is a coral reef preserve that costs money to enter. However, someone had told us that you can actually rent snorkel gear from the hotel and then simply sneak into the coral reef preserve for free. Looking back on it we probably shouldn’t have done this (honesty is the best policy) but it actually ended up being an incredible experience. We rented some snorkel gear from our hotel and walked across the street to Cocoa Beach. From here we could see a large steel fence that projected out about 20 yards into the ocean. We were told to snorkel along this fence until it ends which then allows you to get into the preserve. The ocean scenery at Cocoa Beach, and along the fence, was nothing special. However, once we made it to the end of the fence and crossed over into the preserve we were blown away! All of the sudden we were surrounded by hundreds of bright colorful fish and tons of unique and colorful coral reef. We spent hours just swimming around trying to take in the beauty of what we were seeing. Eilat Israel is such a unique landscape because the desert hills eventually make way to the turquoise waters of the Red Sea which is home too acres and acres of some of the most beautiful coral reef we have ever seen. Looking at the brown desert landscape surrounding the Red Sea you would never expect that the water had such colorful and diverse ocean life. Eventually we were exhausted from swimming and had to call it a day. Our one afternoon snorkeling in the Red Sea is something we will always remember.

Splurging on Hotel Marine Plaza – Mumbai, India

I have said it before and I will say it again…traveling through the magnificent country of India is exhausting. The sights, sounds, smells, chaos, touts, confusion, etc have a literal physical affect that simply drains you. After two weeks of following our ambitious itinerary through India Lindsay and I were hammered. We had one final night in Mumbai and decided to splurge on a nice hotel (it was about $200 a night which is very expensive for Lindsay and I). The nicest area of Mumbai is called Marine Drive. This busy half moon shape road hugs the shoreline and is surrounded by palm trees, art deco apartments and nice hotels. The hotel we settled on was called Hotel Marine Plaza and it sat right in the middle of Marine Drive. The main doorman for the hotel was a very large Sikh (religion) man who had a fantastic mustache and always had a huge smile on his face. The exterior of the hotel is quite unassuming but once we stepped inside we were blown away. It truly looks like a 5 star hotel and the interior is a full atrium that goes all the way to the roof of the building. The ceiling of that atrium is actually the glass bottom of the rooftop pool. It was very unique and very cool. After checking-in we sluggishly walked to our hotel room and when we opened the door we almost passed out by what we saw. The room was spotless and the AC was on full blast. The bathroom was huge and we had a gigantic clean bed just waiting to be slept in. We had a gigantic window in the room that looked directly out over Marine Drive and the ocean. Across the bay you could see the high-rises of the city. This room was 10X nicer than anything we had stayed in during our two weeks in India and we spent about an hour taking it all in. I just sat on the bed looking out the window and enjoying the AC. Eventually we made our way to the rooftop pool and bar to take a look around. We never actually went swimming but the view from on top of the hotel was spectacular. We only had one night in this magnificent hotel but it was the perfect ending to an amazing trip through India. We came home refreshed and exhilarated instead of exhausted and depleted (which is very common after traveling through India). Splurging for a night at Hotel Marine Plaza in Mumbai is something we will never forget and never regret.

Short “Trek” Through The Foothills of Kathmandu Nepal

One of the most popular things to do in Nepal is “trek.” These can range from major adventures, like the trek to the Everest base camp, or shorter treks through the numerous mountains and valleys. Lindsay and I were dying to do this but because we were short on time we could only take a small trek through the foothills surrounding Kathmandu. One major misconception about Nepal is that Kathmandu is very close to the major Himalayan peaks and that reaching them from the city is very easy. This is not true at all. Kathmandu is actually surrounded by green hills and the major snow capped peaks are a short flight or long bus ride away. We were well aware of this while planning for our trek so our expectations were just right. We made the arrangements the night before with the extremely hospitable owner of our guesthouse. We both went to sleep very excited but when I woke up something didn’t feel right. My stomach was queasy and I was very weak. We headed down to the lobby to see if breakfast would make me feel better but after one piece of toast I was speed walking back to the room to throw-up. Lindsay was not far behind and she said that as she was walking up the stairs towards our room she could hear me throwing-up…we got a good laugh about that later. Throwing-up did help a little and me being desperate for the experience decided to go on the trek anyway. Our guide came to get us and we loaded up in the car with another guest who was actually a very nice women from England who worked for the BBC. We drove to the outskirts of town and started our trek. At first I was feeling great and Lindsay and I were loving the scenery and hanging out with our new English friend. However, after about an hour into the trek I began to feel extremely weak. My stomach was queasy again and every step was absolute agony. We eventually made it to a very cool monastery in the foothills that was extremely colorful and had numerous cows roaming freely around the grounds. Normally I would have been eating this sort of thing up but I could barely appreciate it as I was feeling so horrible. The guide planned to take us further but I told him I simply didn’t have the energy to continue on. The guide and our English friend were both extremely understanding and we headed back down the mountain. However, instead of going back to the guesthouse we were meet at the base of the foothills by a man named “Steve.” He was a British gentleman who moved his family to Kathmandu and lived their full time. He owned a trekking company and it was actually his guide that was taking us around. He insisted we come to his house to get feeling better and to enjoy a good meal. As we made our way through the bumpy dirt roads up to Steve's house we both were getting very skeptical. However, upon arrival we were absolutely blown away. He had a beautiful home sitting high on a hill overlooking the valley. His living room had large open doors looking out towards the valley and we just sat in their looking at all of his pictures from previous treks (he also gave me a nasty but helpful drink to help ease by nausea). As we sat there we could hear/smell and amazing meal being cooked. It turns out Steve has a private chef and he was making us a world class meal. After only a few minutes the food was ready and we loaded up on rice, curry, meat, bread, etc. We walked out to the front patio/yard and ate on a table that overlooked the entire Kathmandu Valley. It was late afternoon and the blue sky and white clouds were the perfect backdrop against the green surrounding foothills. We just sat and ate our food (which was easily some of the best we have ever had) and enjoyed the company and view. We learned that Steve takes numerous treks with people into the Himalayas. His favorite way of doing this is to go from the Tibet side (much less crowded). Someday I would like to head back there to join Steve on one of his adventures. After the amazing meal we left Steve's beautiful home and made our way back into Kathmandu. Steve was running some errands with his family so we simply caught a ride with him. By this time I was feeling much better and was really sad that I had to stop our trek. However, even though the trek was stopped the friends we made and the afternoon we spent at Steve's house is something we will never forget.

Temple of Heaven Park + Hongqiao (Pearl) Market – Beijing

Beijing China is a fascinating city with numerous attractions. We had three days to explore the city during our 2010 trip and that was not nearly enough time. One evening we decided to head down to one of the cities most iconic structures: The Temple of Heaven. This large round temple, beautifully designed and decorated in the traditional Chinese style, sits right in the middle of a huge park of the same name (Temple of Heaven park). We rode the subway down to this area of the city and were immediately impressed with the size of the park. We wandered around for probably 20 minutes before we finally found the temple. Unfortunately the temple was closed by the time we got there but you could still see it well from outside the gates. In addition, the outer landscaping surrounding the temple was incredible. There were hundreds of colorful flowers laid out in a beautiful design and placed right in the middle of a large stairway. We sat around on these stairs just taking in the surrounding scene for probably an hour. We then continued to wonder through the park and found a beautiful rose garden to kill some time in. As the evening came to a close we decided to hit up the nearby Hongqioa (Pearl) Market as we had read so much about it. Although the name says Pearl Market this is actually a huge 5-7 floor building that houses thousands of vendors selling everything from Iphone knockoffs to little jade souvenirs. To get to the Pearl Market you walk across a pedestrian sky bridge which has numerous vendors selling small kites. The way these vendors show off their kites is fantastic. Although these kites are small once they take flight they turn into 30-40 smaller kits all held together with one string. The vendors would tie these to the sky bridge and they looked so cool flying in the haze of Beijing. Once we made it to the market we wandered level after level just taking in all of the amazing items to buy. This place is a major tourist attraction and it was actually very fun to see some tourists bargaining with the vendors for the best price. Eventually we found ourselves on the top floor of the building and I noticed a doorway which led out to the roof. We wandered out there and were immediately greeted by a friendly security guard and a beautiful view of the Temple of Heaven, adjacent park and surrounding city. The sun was just starting to go down and the haze/dust of Beijing glowed in the evening light. In the forefront was the magnificent temple and lush park and in the distance were large skyscrapers that you could barely see through the haze/dust. Needless to say it was a beautiful scene. We enjoyed this view for as long as we could before making our way back to our guesthouse to rest up for another amazing day exploring Beijing.