Beijing, China

As a last hoorah, Drew and I set off to the far east in early April. It was quite an adventure and not just because I was 36 weeks pregnant. Beijing was absolutely amazing with its exotic culture, bustling streets, savory flavors, and of course its long history spanning back thousands of years.

To become better acclimated, we stayed at the Double Happines Courtyard Hotel which was situated on a hutong (aka. an alley where courtyard style houses housed several Chinese families. These alleys often have local necessities such as bathrooms, showers, police stations, bakeries, and barber shop). This was what it looked like inside the hotel grounds.

Here's what it looked like inside our hotel room.

We toured so many famous sites. Here I am at the Forbidden City which was the Imperial Palace from the Ming to Qing Dynasty.

Drew is standing at the foot of the Temple of Heaven which is a Taoist temple where the emperors would make yearly sacrifices for a good harvest.

One of our favorite places was the Summer Palace which means Gardens of Nurtured Harmony.

It contains the longest corridor in the world measuring at 728 meters long.

The Lovers' Tree...

Tianamen Square which is known to be the largest square in the world and of course a reminder of the 1989 pro-democracy protest which we weren't encouraged to talk about. Luckily, my great grandfather immigrated to Hawaii before communism set in.

From old to new... China shows how modern and innovative they are with the 2008 Olympics. Here's the Bird's Nest:

The Water Cube:

Yes, it was that cold!!!