Let the summer begin!

Hi you there!

Hope you're all doing good back where you are. I know, It's been a while that I posted something. But I've been quite busy the last week, done a lot of sightseeing - most of the stuff that I already did before. The reason is because my cousin, Jin and my friend, Kim are here, we've been running around Beijing like real tourists. Last Monday (2nd of April) they arrived here at 10am in the morning. Like a nervous, little child that's waiting for some candy, I was waiting for them in the aiport. Once they got in my apartement, I took them out to a restaurant here in Dongzhimen were I usually go. The first day was quite calm, I took them to Wangfujing and later Ya Show, the clothesmarket nearby Sanlitun, followed by some drinks in the barstreet. 

Tuesday we went to the Beijing Zoo en the Zoomarket. The only thing they really wanted to see, was the Giant Panda. The weather was actually pretty nice, if I remember well, I think we made like almost 20°C. Later we went to the Zoomarket till 5pm. Had some dinner in Dongzhimen and followed by some drinks in Sanlitun, where I met up with my friends in a bar. Couldn't stay out late, because Wednesday we went to Lama Temple, in Yonghegong. Temperature went up a lot, I remember I was sitting in the sun and I felt the sun burning on my skin. Love that feeling. Afterwards we decided to go to Guloudajie, had some drinks on a rooftop nearby Drum & Bell Tower. We met up with my roommate, Carlijn, and had some Beijing Duck, 北京烤鸭, in Dongzhimen Nei. Thursday we went to Temple of Heaven and Pearl Market. Also that day, the weather was so nice. Knowing that loads of my friends had class and I was walking around outside in the sun, getting some tan, felt amazing. No wonder, after 4-5 months living in the cold, you really crave for some sunshine and to be able walking around in just a shirt. 

One of the hightlights: Forbidden City, 故宫! Friday we planned to go there, we woke up around 9 and headed out to Forbidden City. I do have to say - I've been there before like 12y ago - this time I really enjoyed it. Maybe because it wasn't 35°C this time! We walked around in the little courtyards and the different palaces. Much more interesting than the big ones in the middle. Those are swamped by tourists and actually not that interesting. Later, we met up with Romain on the Tiananmen Square and we headed to Qianmen. A bigass street with little hutongs - very touristic, where you could buy loads of crap.

AND THEN, the weekend could begin! Friday we started with some drinks in 3Rock and Red House, followed by a club, Mix - or is it Mixx? Quite weird night, but I tried to have loads of fun and the most important thing was: Jin and Kim having fun! I think it worked. Saturday we met up with some friends of mine and we went to Chaoyang Park. Sitting in the grass, drinking some, talking,... Always nice. Later, I invited some friends of mine to go to KTV with us. Till 6am we were singing - some half sleeping. 8 hours later, we headed to Chaoyang Park again. This time we were with like 20-25 people. Playing rugby, football, frisbee, jianzi and just enjoying the sun! This Monday we went to Summer Palace. This time, a friend of mine, went with us. We met up at 11am and took the subway to Summer Palace. The weather was pretty nice. Wearing shorts, that says enough huh. But after a couple of hours I needed to wear some stockings, getting quite cold because the sun decided to dissappear. Walking for like 4hours in the park, we were pretty tired and we headed back home around 5pm - it takes one hour to get home with the subway. Got some dinner and went early to bed, because ......

Another highlight: Tuesday we went to the Great Wall, 长城, 幕田峪! Just like 故宫, I've been there before, 12y ago. But also, this time I enjoyed way more than back in the days. We got up at 6am, got ready and rented a cab to take us there and bring us back. The drive with the cab was almost 1,5hours and we went to Mutianyu. This part of the Great Wall isn't that touristic like the other parts. Which I like a lot! We were hiking for almost 3 hours and in the beginning, it was basically just the 3 of us. We owned the Great Wall ;D We took the cablelift up to the Wall and came down a slide. Yay! We came back home around 2pm and one hour later I took the 2 girls to my school in Gulou, stayed there for an hour and went to Sanlitun to walk around. We were looking for an ear stretch, quite difficult to find here. When all of the sudden, it started to rain ... We walked into a mall and just looked around till the rain wasn't that heavy anymore.

Tonight we're just staying in and that's why I have some time to update this blog! ;) Only 3 days left and they already headed back home, sweet Belgium. Tomorrow we're planning to buy some glasses - yes, again - and do some shopping for the girls in one of the markets. Later that night, we'll head out to Juicy. They can't leave Beijing and not get introduced to Juicy. Alright, time to log out.

I'll keep you posted.

Kisses from Beijing!