How do you celebrate your 23rd birthday in Beijing, China?Well, Matt turned 23 on Tuesday so we decided to go to the Summer Palace – the playground of the Emperors. Here are some nuggets from our unforgettable day:
I couldn’t help but giggle at some of the names of some of these buildings: Pavilion of Blessed Shade, Pavilion of Forgotten Desires and Accompanying Clouds, Pavilion of Mesmerizing Scenery, Hall of Increasing Longevity, Garden of Harmonious Interests. I was acting like our tour guide saying, “And to our left is the Pavilion of Ambidextrous Forbearance and to our right is the Pool of Intermingled Philanthropy just in front of the Corridor of Gastronomical Fortitude.”
The Summer Palace is truly awesome, but sad at the same time. All this money, beauty, labor, land, and unparalleled artistry was funneled into making one person happy. According to my “Guide to the Summer Palace” (which I bought from a woman who just 
picked them out of the trash) which said that Empress Cixi reconstructed the Summer Palace to its current glory by redirecting funds that were supposed to build a Navy. Protect my nation or build the sweetest vacation home this side of the Mississippi?
The crowning buildings on the grounds are temples to Buddha. It hurts me to see people bowing, lighting candles, shoving money into a box as they worship this lifeless god. I just want to grab them and tell them that salvation is free. Stop trying to please a poser god. Let me tell you a story about a Father and his lost son (the Prodigal Son is my go-to). But seeing that my Mandarin vocabulary is 92 percent food-oriented I refrain…
What better way to end an awesome day than to eat at the Kros Nest? Its the best pizza in the city and is owned by a surfer from California. Two growing boys (one of them still in puberty) and one 19 inch pizza with the works … we didn’t walk away hungry.
- m -
P.S. - To see some more pictures of our day at the Palace click on: Micah's Online Albums.
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