Rome Is Old — and It Got Old Quick

There are so many movies about Rome. So many sweeping shots, golden-hour ruins, Vespa montages, and romanticized piazzas that make it feel like this mythical, timeless place you’re supposed to fall in love with instantly.

But appearances are deceiving.

Rome is kind of like Instagram. You see the perfectly framed photo, but not the chaos just outside the shot. The reality is a million tourists, shoulder-to-shoulder, all trying to get their version of the same picture. March is considered “low season,” and yet it felt busy in a way that reminded me of San Diego Comic-Con — except Comic-Con has wide streets. Rome does not. Rome is narrow. And old. And crowded.

Grant and I have a long-standing love affair with Belize—well, probably better to say Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch, an eco-lodge tucked deep into the jungle where the food is great, the adventures are wild, and there are more stairs than anywhere else in the world. We first stayed there back in September 2015, and it sparked our love for travel. It was the kind of place that permanently resets your standards for vacations.

Spanish is not my first language. Not even my second. In fact, I don’t pretend to know much of it at all. So, dealing with a Mexican airline that primarily operated in Spanish proved to be... a challenge. Our original flight was changed, then changed again—without notice. After realizing the most recent switch, I called to change it a third time. What was originally supposed to be a Valentine’s Day trip for Grant and me turned into a solo adventure in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Because we need this, all of us, that indescribable feeling when the cabin lights go dim and we go somewhere we’ve never been before; not just entertained, but somehow reborn. One day, Nicole Kidman can recite these lines as a spoof of her AMC commercial, which has gone on way too long. What else has gone on too long is our drought of traveling, but that has now come to an end with a week-long trip to celebrate Emily’s birthday. With Ripley consuming our lives, we needed a good excuse to break out of baby jail, and this was the perfect excuse.

This year, I decided to shake things up and celebrate my birthday in the beautiful country of El Salvador. Known for its stunning beaches, rich culture, and amazing landscapes, it was the perfect backdrop for a memorable celebration. Grant took a side trip to Miami first, and then we met up there and flew down to San Salvador. It was nighttime, so we couldn’t see much, but the drive to the Sheraton El Presidente was quite nice because of the blue and white lights that lit the entire 45 minute drive to San Salvador.

Bob Marley sang a song about “Forget Your Troubles.” We want to just forget Jamaica all together.

It has been over a month since we went to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and I have yet to write the blog. It was a bad trip. Not because Grant and I were fighting, worried about the baby, or anything—but the country and culture were not a match.

Father’s Day in Mazatlán

Well, it has been a minute since we have traveled anywhere interesting. Something about a baby. Since it was Father’s Day—we decided to start the annual tradition of traveling with Ripley somewhere international. I am unsure if Ripley is fully aware that he has committed to this forever and ever, but as I write this and memorialize it officially in this blog—it is happening!

There is a map of the world that floats around in our house (currently in my office) that has pushpins of the places that I have been. One day, I hope to have a pushpin in each of the countries listed. To get one step closer to that goal—I found an area of the map that was barren…South Asia…and decided I wanted to go there. Simple as that. On a whim, I found a flight leaving Los Angeles that took me to Delhi, India and I booked it. These are my favorite trips because I have no idea what I am getting myself into until I am there. Life is far more interesting and enjoyable when you do things outside of your comfort zone.

This trip started with a bang. A literal one, unfortunately. We were leaving the house for LAX when a driver (either on his phone or not paying attention; or both) rear-ended us in the Mini Cooper Countryman. Not an ideal way to start a trip, but we got the bad out of the way early. The car is still drive-able, we filed a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance and should get the repairs sorted out this week.

Rust is an iron oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water. It also is formed when you haven’t traveled in a bit and are a bit slow on the pick-up.

Pop Quiz. Do you know where Copenhagen is? No prize, but pride awarded to those that do!

Truthfully, I had to look at a map to figure out where this place was located. I had a vague idea that it was somewhere in Europe, but got it confused with Belgium. For those that don’t know— you’re not alone clearly— it’s located right south of Sweden and north of Germany.

Ireland is a place where everyone seems to have the gift of gab. Some of the most distinguished and influential writers graced the streets of Dublin, but not every story deserves to be told. An innocuous event such as a man getting up out of bed and putting on his shoes can be turned into the most long-winded story or worse yet a song. Everywhere and everyone was a story for someone in Ireland. And in my short time there… I heard a lot of stories. It is only fair I share my story.

Oh, Canada! I know you are mocked all the time with South Park. I know your Prime Minister is Justin Trudeau. I love Canadian Bacon. You are big on maple syrup. You seem cold. And…that’s about it. I am sure if I really put my head to it that I can think of more trivial facts about Canada, but that's about all I knew. That is saying something considering both Grant and I have traveled to Vancouver, British Colombia. From that trip, I remember a draw bridge in the forest that freaked Emily out, driving like crazy to get to the Butchart Gardens, and nearly running over a homeless drug addict on a road that seemed longer than Downtown LA’s Skid Row. Needless to say— we needed to explore more of our Northern Neighbor.

As I reflect on our epic excursion for Wendy and Dylan’s wedding in Cuernavaca, Mexico — I thought wow… “love” is universal in both languages. Then it dawned on me. No, in Spanish the word for love is not love, but amor. What? The ability to speak a different language is something that has alluded me, but fascinates me as well. As I did not know a lot of Spanish; I knew even less about a traditional Mexican wedding. What I learned… I need a lot more practice to hang!

“Señor Luke Martin…Señor Luke Martin…will you please come to the terminal gate. Señor Luke Martin please come to Gate 4.” When you hear this— you are in trouble!

Both Grant and I took Friday off. Friday was going to be a travel day and Saturday, Sunday, and 1/2 Day of Monday were going to be fun in Antigua, Guatemala. We had hotel, transportation, tours, reservations— you name it we had it ready to go for this trip. Besides Mexico, this would have been our first trip out of the US in nearly two years. I was more pumped about this trip than any other we have had in a while. Something different!

As a planner, you do things in advance. You attempt to anticipate any problem and attempt to solve the problem before it originates. In heading to Mexico, we booked our flight, hotel, car rental, etc. — easy for us with as much as we travel. I did my homework and found what forms were necessary to avoid delays and we were off to Mexico without any issue.

There is a difference between “dry heat” and “humid heat.” Grant cannot do humid heat. In Puerto Vallarta, it’s hot and humid. So it was funny to see the role reversal play out with Grant walking outside and instantly become drenched in sweat. He didn’t know how good he had it in San Diego even during a heatwave.

A few months back we purchased a flight from Tijuana to Puerto Vallarta non-stop for $69 round trip each. We were pleased with our purchase and even more excited to get out of the US for a bit. All the COVID happenings, political turmoil, drama at work, and San Diego’s non-stop summer seem to make this trip a welcome distraction.

We paid a small fee to park at the border walked through the Cross Border Express bridge that takes you directly into the Tijuana airport terminal. Shortly after we hopped on the plane and got to PV in no time at all. As soon as we got off the plane it hit us— the heat. We were glistening so bad I was afraid the light bouncing off our foreheads would be distracting to the planes coming in. Having been to Mexico quite a few times we knew the airport was going to be a zoo. To circumvent it from being too bad I researched getting a private car to pick us up from the airport. However, I quickly found this was the worst thing you could do. It was a $129 round trip to go less than 15 miles down the road if you took this route. The travel blogs tell you to cross the connecting bridge (less than a 5-minute walk) and there you can connect with Uber for $4 total after tip. The problem was that we went in the wrong direction. After our own five minute walk we made our way to a random airport hotel then connected with a taxi for $10.

Most locals are used to the heat so this wasn’t anything new to them. To us we were dying sitting in the back of a car, windows down panting like dogs. When we got to our hotel the security guards had a few questions before they let us in. After those customary questions were out of the way they took our temperature. They read the driver fine. They took Grant’s temperature...to hot...moved to a different part of the arm— fine. Then they got to me. Head, arm, another part of my arm...I was just too hot. The guards were checking the temperatures of themselves and fine. They eventually just asked if I was having any negative symptoms and let me in. After getting inside in the AC—I was rechecked and didn’t have a problem afterward at each checkpoint.

We stayed at the Now Amber, which is Secrets but kids are allowed. Grant secured us a hotel room with a pool swim-up so we could just open our door and hop in. It was 2:45 and check-in was 3 pm. Our room was mysteriously not ready, but the VIP service attendant was right there to sell us tours and anything else we could need. After being given coupons, letting her know we had booked tours, and our VIP attendant out of up-sell opportunities—our room became ready.

Grant and I grabbed a quick bite to eat at the hotel buffet. He wanted to go swimming and I wanted to go walking around. So we split up and I went towards downtown. Grant was happy as can be just lounging in the cool pool. Like a little kid in a kiddy pool. I was happy as I could be wandering around aimlessly looking at the building, shops, and trying not to get lost. Eventually, I walked back after buying a souvenir mask and I joined Grant for pool time.

It wasn’t long before walking on the beach was proposed and we both agreed. The beaches in Puerto Vallarta are a little lackluster. Imagine smooth sand being replaced with rocks. If you have a zero-scaped yard with rocks and ever wandered on it without shoes— it was like that even in water shoes. The pain in our feet quickly became quieter when our stomachs started growling for attention. We grabbed some Mexican food before turning in for the evening.

Anyone that has ever stayed over or has shared a room with us knows Grant and I have the most over the top requests when it comes to sleeping arrangements. The room was supposed to have two beds, but it ended up being one king and a rollaway. This is because I am a constant tosser and turner —flipping from one side to the other and Grant is the lightest sleeper known to man but also hogs the covers (and the bed..). So I volunteered to take the rollaway the first night. Not a big deal. Except when Grant has the warm comforter in the king bed...I am left with a sheet for the rollaway and he drops the AC down to 19 degrees Celsius. That equates to 66 Fahrenheit. I don’t think he was trying to freeze me to death maybe just trying to make sure we stayed cool for our morning adventure.

The next morning we woke up early and hopped in an Uber to meet at the port, where we got on a speed boat for Vallarta Outdoor Adventures. After landing at the dock, we were met by military-like transport vehicles that took us to a ranch where we rode mules up a hillside to the actual destination. These seemed like racehorse-like mules as they were extremely competitive. Whenever one of the mules tried to pass the other it would suddenly go from sleepy to thoroughbred and hightail it to keep the lead.

The tour guides hooked us up in our zip lining gear and we were off. No cameras were allowed, but a photographer did follow us around documenting our every step. This adventure park was spectacular as it was a combination of zip lines, waterfall repelling, free-fall repelling, water slides, and even a zip line rollercoaster. There were 10 people with us and we quickly bonded with the JC of Latter-Day Saints family as the English speaking cohort. We laughed as everyone traversed what seemed like a surprise after surprise adventure. The last ride should have been terrifying but we all kind of just went with it. They got out helmets and elbow pads for us to go down a water ride that seems to have been repurposed from the water park featured on Class Action Park. It was rocky, but no one died so I guess not as bad.

After everything was all said and done we ended up at the gift shop. The photographer pulled up all of our photos and we went through each one on our own computer. Grant didn’t like any of the photos, but there was one of me that I did a zip line upside down that I thought was funny. I snapped a shot with my phone, got fussed at, but saved us $100 as that’s how much they wanted for the photos. Sorry, but I don’t need to spend that much on one silly photo. Such the rule breaker I am.

We packed it up, reversed course, and headed back to the hotel. I did get to see my blue-foot boobies on the way back so I was thrilled! Grant jokes they’re the only boobies I’m interested in. At the hotel, we grabbed a quick bite, dipped our toes in the pool, and got refreshed for our next excursion.

The next excursion was Rhythm of the Night a cirque-du-soleil-esq themed show featuring local traditions and talent. The ship was packed (one of six), masks were gone, and social distancing was out the window when the ship left the port. We didn’t buy the alcohol pass but were handed drinks. Most people were double if not triple-fisting booze as the boat cruised along the coast on the way to a private resort/theater. Servers kept refilling our glasses and the ocean breeze finally cooled us down making the ride extremely enjoyable.

Upon landing, we were greeted by tiki torches and tea light candles on an ever-expansive coast. After being herded and smiling at the required photo spots, we made our way into the theater. The show started and it was fun being at a real show in almost 8 months. For those that have been to XCARET in Cancun the show was not nearly as good as that, but still a fun show. Our buffet dinner was served next and our table was right along the water dimly lit by tea light. Fortunately, last one in, first one out rules applied here so we were the first to depart. The way back we got to enjoy a dance and comedy show put on by the cruise ship crew. The bed was calling so we quickly departed and went straight to bed. By this point, we had been up and going for 17 hours (7:30 am to 12:30 am). No wonder our VIP upseller was shocked when we told her we were doing both these events in one day... yeah we felt it by the end of the night but the fun was worth the exhaustion.

Grant took the rollaway, but still somehow managed to get the heavy blanket. The next morning we ate breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and got to the airport. Our biggest fear was that our body temperatures would be too hot to get on the plane so we made sure to have the windows down all the way and cold water nearby. Our thermometer read didn’t register anything with the guard so we were allowed on the plane without any issue. If nothing else comes out of this trip— hopefully Grant will never try and justify the heat with a comment like “it’s a dry heat” and think that it makes the melting glacier that is my face any cooler.

Luke Still Not Making Friends / Grant Now Not Making Friends

The entire trip to Cancun I was not making friends, however, my bad manners must have rubbed off on Grant for whatever reason he started to really tick people off. I loved it because I finally had company, but this was clearly new territory for him.

Our last day had us going to the park that really made us want to come back to Cancun, which was XAVAGE. The idea behind the park was to do adrenaline-based activities that would never ever ever be legal in the US. Rafting, monster truck driving, speed boating in narrow waters, and the ropes course that even the best of athletes would fail at.

The rafting was our first stop and it was fun. There were several drops and waterfalls, but we had done this type of activity before so ehh… Keeping with the water theme we went onto do the speed boat. This type of activity is all around the US, but not like this. Most speed boats in the US go into open areas and do the sharp turns splashing everyone. Nope. In Mexico, you go down a narrow path and they just spin you around there barely making it past the rocks. It seemed kind of simple until your actually doing it and you realize how close your getting and then you begin to second guess…was this a smart decision today? Haha.

Afterward, we went onto the monster trucks. These things were huge, and you literally go to go sideways, climb overtires, rocks, boulders, narrow turns…I mean crazy stuff. Neither Grant nor I wanted to miss this, so we did it separately. He went first and then I went. When I got back, he told me he got scolded at because he took a corner to sharp and hit a wall. It evidently broke off and a giant rock fell onto the ground; he kind of downplayed it.. I thought this was the greatest moment as it finally put to rest who was the better driver as I did not hit anything. Although I’ve probably ruined the transmission of the rental car because I keep driving with it in 2nd gear instead of D.

Grant needed to kill time because I went second and tried to go into the water section. He attempted to go down a slide but was told it was for kids only. He replied that he was a kid. The second time today he was scolded.

Next up was the ropes course, which hovers over the highway. It looks daunting, but figured the adrenaline would kick in. I can safely say I am not scared of heights as this course was well over 8 stories tall. There were different levels and we choose the 3rd most difficult out of 4. The first one had you step up on a log and then swing to the next log. The logs were not together, and the wind definitely moves them around. After the first one Grant stepped down to level 1, while I tried to keep going. Did I mention Grant doesn’t like heights? Probably wasn’t the best activity for him but he finished so I have to give him credit.

I didn’t get a video, but this video highlight it the best.

This is when things got batshit crazy. There were skateboards swinging in the air, then it was tires that compressed down when stepping on them, tennis balls to swing you from one rope to the other, there was even just two single wires were I had to shuffle my feet and hold on for dear life. I cleared like 8 or 9 different scenarios and was pretty good. That was until I got to the net.

Again, crazy ridiculous feet above the ground there is a net that you have to traverse. So, I literally had to shuffle my feet on the rope net and spider monkey across this net until I made it to the other side. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Again, we are talking about being 8 stories in the air and crawling a net. This drained me. I completed one more course and headed down to a lower level. I completed more than half of the advanced course so I’ll take that as a win.

Not long after that we returned back to our hotel. Not having been to the beach today he really wanted to go. Our hotel is in the jungle, not the beach. But they told us if we wanted to go to a beach, they could help us. The hotel told us to go to El Dorado. When we got to El Dorado they shooed us away. Grant did a deep dive on his phone to find a substitute. Havana Beach Club. We go. They shooed us away again. Go to the Divanta. We go…they shoo us away. Grant’s clearly frustrated so I drive us down to Puerto Morales. Evidentially, this is where retired old people come to be in Cancun because we were the youngest people there. It was great little boat dock city and we were able to walk the crystal-clear water before returning and turning in for the night.

The flight home was fine. Lesson learned— if we ever go back to Cancun we will be staying in a 5 star hotel and chauffeured everywhere we go!

Grant Making New Friends in Cancun / They Hate Luke

Pre-travel blog we visited Cancun and absolutely loved it. Cancun has gorgeous beaches with crystal clear water and really thrilling adventure theme parks. Grant recently quit his job and had about one week before he started his new one. One week is an eternity when it comes to our travel schedule and so we took full advantage of the time off. This will probably his last trip for a while and so he got to choose where we went so Cancun 2.0.

He did score an amazing round trip flight from Tijuana to Cancun for $108 so even if it was a bust it wouldn’t be a costly one. The morning of our flight we packed, said goodbye to the dogs and went to the cross border express; a pedestrian bridge that connects the southern-most tip of San Diego to the Tijuana Airport. We made our way through the random checkpoints. At the last stop I crossed under a rope since there was no one there. The guard gave me a stern lecture about how if his boss was there, I would be sent back. Grant was smiled at and told thank you for following the rules.

The flight was normal until our “seat mate” joined us last minute. Grant sat in the middle next to a very social man that would not shut up. He kept talking and talking. You know it’s bad when Grant is taking out his headphones and the guy is tugging on his shoulder to get his attention. Eventually, we made it to Mexico City for our hour layover. We ran off the plane to avoid the guy only to run into him again in the restroom. Of course, Grant’s friend wanted to continue talking. We got away and since he was heading to Colombia it was a clean break this time.

The next flight was completely empty, so Grant had an exit row to himself and I took one on the other side. Upon landing we were quickly accosted by tour companies, taxi drivers, and rental car agencies. We made it to the gate the same time these chain-smoking foreigners did. They were literally lighting up in the airport, on the route to the car, at the official rental car agency. They even asked for a smoking car. To which the rental car said, “no and they would be charged.” Clearly, not deterred they asked… “Can you hook me up with a good smoking penalty fee?” The thought that it would be much easier and cheaper to get a nicotine patch didn’t seem to cross any of their minds.

Our hotel was in Riviera Maya area where we had stayed last time. At 10pm this area is pretty much dead so the drive there was fine. We were staying at the Hotel Amarte, which is a “4-star” eco resort. Grant thought it was a Motel 6 in the jungle with fewer amenities. Of course, when the lady checking us in offered options Grant took her up on it and we all went together to find the room that was just right. It was literally like Goldielocks and the 3 Bears where we would go into the room, Grant would lay down on the bed and then onto the next room. First room to hard. Second room to hard. Third room to hard. Eventually, it was decided that all of the beds were exactly the same and Grant choose the last room.

Sunday, we woke up and proceeded to XCARET! if you have ever heard or even looked up Cancun this is the first thing that comes up. The park itself was a zoo, with an underground river and a cultural show to tap it up. At different points there were some great photo opportunities, so we tried to take full advantage. Grant climbed a pyramid looking structure and I was able to get some great photos. I tried to do the same thing and out of nowhere a tourist guide started to yell at me for some reason. Other people were doing the same thing, so it was not as if it was inappropriate. When we tried asking her what was wrong, she just walked away.

We finished the park a bit early but wandered around to stay for the show. The show was actually really fun and quite dangerous. Our favorite stunt was the fireball game, which was like hockey but with a flaming fire ball. We left a smidge early to avoid the traffic and ate at a local restaurant on the way back.

The next morning, we got up and headed towards Cancun. Right before we made it in there was a police check point. We get stopped for a random check or so we think. Turns out it’s not a random check, but rather a shakedown. The officer alleges that we were speeding, and I was utilizing my cell phone. Both “very disrespectful actions” according to the officer. This was a red flag because I know I was not speeding, and I made Grant do the navigation so my phone was put away. We politely shared that we disagreed, and that I was not using my cell phone. He said okay okay...not two tickets just the speeding tickets. Red flag #2. He said we would have to go to the police station to clear this up tomorrow. Red flag #3. Clearly this was not a normal stop. He had his phone out like he was recording, but it wasn’t on. Red flag #4. That’s when I said that may be a problem because we leave tomorrow. We are only here in town to check out the beach and then one of the parks. (Lie)

This is when the real “shakedown” started. He lost his leverage because he knew we were leaving soon. He said...all can be forgiven if you pay me. Grant and I had exchanged $40 back in TJ so we dug that out of our wallet and handed it to him. I made sure to make it look like I was really trying as I pulled out even the little change. He took the money and yelled...no ticket to the other officers. He whispered that he is going to erase the evidence, so no one knows. Of course, we said...thank you thank you, while inside we were like “corrupt a**hole.”

Now penny-less we set out to find parking in Cancun. There were spots guarded by people expecting tips, which normally would be fine but not so much now. Laughing I told Grant I made a friend, but he was not amused. We found the JW Marriot and somehow convinced the security guard to let us in to eat food. The facilities were gorgeous, and this allowed Grant to calm down as he was quite angry about the situation. I was able to pull out cash for an absorbent amount of money at a local ATM so we were fine.

After driving to a public beach to wander around we decided to drive to Tulum, which was a little out of the way but close to our evening theme park XPLOR Fuego. On the way I stopped at a gas station to pick up some waters and snacks. Of course, when I paid 200 pesos and my total was 32 pesos they tried to give me 101 pesos as change. I just held my hand out as I am cheap and know my foreign currency. Not batting an eyelash, I just coldly looked at the cashier and said, “mas,” or more. It worked. Thank you all my former Spanish teachers for teaching me one word I remembered and could actually use in Mexico. She pulled the receipt from my hand and reviewed the change. She corrected her mistake.

After about an hour and a half we made it to the Tulum ruins. The park was only open until 5:00 pm and it being 4:00 pm we had a mad dash to see it. At the ticket counter, there was a notice that said “extended hours” from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Breathing a sigh of relief we knew that we had plenty of time. Unfortunately, our interpretation of the sign was not the same as the man who started blowing his whistle informing us, we had to leave. There was not a question of extended hours there was a question of how fast he could herd us to the exit. The good news is that we saw a lot of the park; the bad news is we did miss a few things. I think it’s better to have seen a little than nothing at all.

Hopping back in the car we made our way to EXPLOR Fuego. It’s a theme park that is open at night that is lit up by tiki torches. The park itself consists of 4 main attractions, which are ATVs, zip lines, paddling through a cave on a raft, and then swimming through a dimly lit cave. We had done this before, and it was our favorite part of our previous trip. This time was equally fun and would recommend doing this park.

Christmas Vacation Part 4: Confusing China Confucious Grant and Luke

Patience is a virtue that neither Grant nor I possess, but in Beijing, with the number of people, it’s a must. The flight from Singapore to Beijing was fantastic as there were multiple empty rows as the flight was only half full. Grant got his own row and so did I. During the 6-hour flight I actually moved from my 2-seater row to a four-seater to lay down flat and nap a bit. International flights have the 2/4/2 seat groupings, unlike the 3/3 ones we see on our regular, domestic trips.

We had a general idea as to how to get to our hotel, but Plan A and B fell through so we had to come up with a quick Plan C to get to our hotel. People don’t respect personal space and often cut in front of tourists so even though the temperature was 10 degrees outside I was running hot. The information booths at the airport are useless and no one seemed to be willing to help and no one spoke English. We relied on our iPhones to map out the routes to take on the subway and fortunately for us we had a little practice in Tokyo how to navigate which platform to be on where.

After about an hour and fifteen minutes, we finally exited our stop and walked to our hotel. The cold breeze was amazing as this was about a 75-degree shift from the temperature in Singapore. Grant booked it as he was freezing so I had to try and catch up to him. My rolling carryon bag was exclusively filled with souvenirs so my week's worth of clothes was strapped to my backs. It weighed well over 35 pounds and trekking that around wreaked havoc on my back.

Our room was very nice and better than any of the hotels we have stayed in. We set up our tours with the concierge and then went to the hotel buffet as we were starving (we flew coach this trip so no delicious food like the longer hauls). It was an average buffet, but they did have hot pot which I thought was unique and fun.

Grant went to the room and then later to the sauna (he tried to use the pool but China has their unique customs and they wouldn’t let him in without a swim cap). I went out and explored Wangfujing Street, which is where our hotel was located. It was a beautiful street laced with Chinese lanterns in the trees and random flash mobs happening everywhere. Everyone seemed in good spirits despite the weather. After picking up a souvenir from an overpriced gift shop I went back and crashed.

The next morning we woke up at 6:45 am for our 7:00 am tour. The mad rush to put on anything warm was on and we made our way down to the driver. The tourist attractions are not close and about 1.5 hours away so after picking up a few more people we headed to our first stop— Sacred Way.

Sacred Way was constructed over 600 years ago and served as the walkway to the Ming Dynasty tombs. It was very simply decorated and had statutes that filled the way. The best part was watching Grant walk around in the cold. I am in half as many layers as he is and he was freezing. He hovered around the bathroom hand dryer for warmth. Our tour guide took care of him providing him a hand warmer and a snickers bar.

Most touristy places that are run by the government require tour guides to take people to an overpriced “authentic shop.” This city is no different and before lunch, we stopped at a jade store. The process of turning an average stone into some sort of ornamental tchotchke is impressive. However, definitely not worth the price. The highlight had to be when the sales lady gave Grant two jade balls to twirl in his hand and he dropped it on multiple sets of jade chopsticks. She panicked and checked each one to make sure there was no breakage and thankfully there was none.

We ate a shared lunch with the tour participants at the other end of the shop and bonded with our fellow tour folk— a very nice Italian family of 3 and a University Professor from London. The next stop was only a five-minute drive and that was the Great Wall of China!!!

Before we arrived our tour guide asked how we would like to get up to the Great Wall. Meaning that the tour included a ticket to it, but if you wanted to walk it you would have to pay another $20 or 140 yuan per person to go up a cable car. There were two options to go down— 1) was the same cable car down or option 2) for 60 yuan more (140+60) was a toboggan ride down. So even after they gauged us on the tour they got another $60 out of us. Good on them, but be warned.

The one positive thing was that we choose this part of the wall because of the limited tourists on the wall and there were definitely parts that had zero people on it, which made for some neat photos. The wall is stable but definitely steep and uneven. Unless you are in fairly good shape I would caution on going on the wall as it’s a bit of an uphill climb most of that way. Even the little reprieves of downhill were quickly punished with double uphills. After about an hour of power walking, we finally made it to the toboggan ride.

There are limited instructions and it’s more of a just go and get out of here. I took out my phone and took a video the first leg down. It was a slow start and then it picked up. The video stops right before it goes super fast downwards. My speed tripled and my break didn’t work nearly as well as it should. Grant and I may have taken a stone or two from the Great Wall as souvenirs so my heavy rock-filled bag was blocking my toboggan's break. I made it 90% of the way down when I realized that my phone was missing. As I was rounding a corner it flew out of my pocket. Fortunately, they were able to recover it right away and no damage was done. This is not the first time I have dropped this phone as I did it in Bali last year at the ATVs. Lucky iPhone X for sure!

After the wall, the tour had one final stop at a tea shop. They gave us about 8 different samples of tea and then pressured us into buying the tea. Grant did like one set of tea leaves that were used for an iced coffee and so he got a can of that. We ran back to the van following the tea flight and crawled back to our hotel. We had made friends with everyone on the tour and really got a local perspective on Milan and London’s politics and culture. Everyone was interested in America’s politics with Trump and we had to explain our country’s recent behavior to the bus until we parted ways.

At 7 pm we had a Chinese Acrobat show that Grant wanted to see. Limited information was available on the show, but we thought we would give it a shot. Before we went to the show we went to a mall area that has local food. No one spoke English but we pulled out Google Translate to have a conversation with these individuals.

The restaurant name was called Yellow Feasant or at least we think it was. We went to this restaurant because they had a picture of chicken satay or at least we thought it was. Turns out it was lamb. So when the translate button read chicken he pointed to a different item and we ordered two. Turns out.. the food we ordered was like Asian gumbo. A dark roux-based chicken with potatoes and side of rice. Having nasty meals during the last few days —this food was incredibly delicious. Grant thought it was ehh when he first started and then he began to like it more. We finished and rushed over to the show.

The theater was empty, but the show was absolutely fantastic. Take any normal Vegas show, remove all of the required safety elements, and then up the danger 200%. For example, we have seen motorcycles in a cage multiple times before. The most I have ever seen is 3 at once. At the time that was shocking— this show put 8 in a small cage all going at once. Insane.

The Uber equivalent app called DiDi worked there, but not on the way back. Not sure why it stopped, but it did. Fortunately, there was a trolley stop nearby and we walked to it. We got on two different lines and were back in 25 minutes. This was about the same length the car ride was so car rides weren’t really that helpful in Beijing.

On the way back Grant mentioned he was a bit hungry and did not want any more Asian food. It just so happens we were in front of a Pizza Hut as we were having this discussion. So we stopped in for a quick late-night dinner. It was different. Not bad; not great. But I will agree it was a nice change of pace from all the Asian inspired food. We finished our descent down Wayfujing and were back at our hotel in a jiffy. The next morning I got up in an effort to see the most popular tourist attraction in all of China — Forbidden City. Security is extremely tight in this area and they were stopping people randomly for papers. Fortunately, clearly being American or at the very least a foreigner then left me alone. The area is comparable to the mall in DC with museums and monuments everywhere.

My first stop was Tiananmen Square. It was cool to see where the protests happen and fascinating to learn about its history. Next, we went under the road to see Tiananmen and I took a few photos for this blog. Then I went into the forbidden city. It cost 40 Yuan or about $6 to go in and it was well worth seeing.

The area is large on a map but even bigger in person. As someone who appreciates history, but gets easily board it was perfect that I did a self-guided tour so I could see what I wanted and leave when I was ready. Additionally, since there were multiple tours going on I kind of just found an English speaking tour guide when I wanted more information about the area. You see one impressive building and then go through it to find another and then another. Finally, I made my way to the end and looked for the exit. It was nowhere to be found. I think to go to the sides and nothing. Eventually, I had to google it and found out that this was a common problem for anyone not visiting without a tour guide. You actually must go to the middle of the city to go out at either the East or West gate.

I made it out and back to the hotel without any incident. We ate lunch at the hotel, rode the 3 subway lines to get to the airport, hung out at the awful Air China/American lounge and made our way onto the plane. The plane ride was from Beijing to Dallas randomly and happened in a blink. I downed an Ambien and was out right after dinner was served. I only woke up 45 minutes until we landed because the flight attendant needed the flight provided headphones back.

In Dallas, we went through security and found ourselves with a 4-hour layover. Being familiar with the area we felt comfortable leaving and getting back with plenty of time. Grant mentioned the Gaylord Texas being close and so we made our way over to that area.

Once there we grabbed a bite to eat and purchased tickets to the “Ice” exhibit. The name probably gives it away, but it’s a life-size meat locker filled with larger than human-sized ice sculptures that you walk through. We had done it probably about 12 years ago, but hadn’t had a chance since then. It was fun strolling down memory lane remembering the last time we did it and then looking at the sculptures. Once finished we went back to the airport where the security had a field day with my carry on luggage. Not long after we boarded the plane and made our way to LA. We grabbed our car from the parking lot where it was stored and drove home.

The end of a long trip filled with a lot of great memories and only one hiccup between Grant and me in the city that shall not be named. We both really enjoyed our trip and Grant is mentioning wanting to go to Hong Kong next.

End of Part 4 of 4.

Rome Is Old — and It Got Old Quick

How We Took a Nearly-2-Year-Old Deep Into the Jungle

Rescheduling Food in Mexico

Travel Feels Good in A Place Like This...Boston, Iceland, and New York

Luke's Birthday in El Salvador

Jamaica Was Not Our Speed

Father’s Day in Mazatlán

Exploring the Golden Triangle of India – Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur

Getting the Bad Out of the Way for Only Good in Colombia

Rusty Canadian Business Referrals

Celebrating US Presidents with the Royals in Copenhagen and Malmö

Storytelling is Just A History Lesson in Ireland

Exploring Our Northern Brother Before Starting a New Job

Even in Spanish Love Means Love…Wait Does It?

Out Of Practice in Guatemala

Planning for the “Unplan-able” in Mexico

Hot...Oh So Hot...Cool Down or They Won’t Let Us In

Luke Still Not Making Friends / Grant Now Not Making Friends

Grant Making New Friends in Cancun / They Hate Luke

Christmas Vacation Part 4: Confusing China Confucious Grant and Luke