Our walk through Houhai

We met Todd this afternoon and went to a really neat area called Houhai which has a big lake with alot of restaurants and bars around it. I think it will be a really popular place around the Olympics. In the evening, all along the walkway were little shops selling market items. It was really pretty and crowded. We walked all along the lake (this was of course the day I did not bring the stroller) and then a little further through the hutongs to see 2 towers, a drum tower and a bell tower. We had to climb these steep steps straight up to get there. It was a pretty clear day and we could even see the mountains north of Beijing. They sound off all of the drums every 15 min. so we got to hear that. After a popsicle break, we rented a boat to go around the lake- you could rent them by the hour and the lake is huge. Both Lauren and Marshall had a chance to drive the boat, until we saw swimmers in the lake and figured that may not be such a good idea. We also say a bride and groom on the bridge which was really pretty.
Along the streets are alot of bars with rooftops so we stopped at one and had drinks, Lauren and Marshall had some kind of cloudy apple juice but they drank it so... Next we went to Hutong Pizza for really good pizza (Lauren didn't like it, big surprise) and french fries. They did like the big fishpond in the front of the place, and the fact that they had a regular toilet (Lauren had been needing one for a while).
Another stop at a wal-mart type store for cleaning supplies and then we were off to home where I had to scrub the kids feet before I would even let them into the tub, they were literally black. They get filthy here but I guess that is what the tub is for. Todd and I watched the Today show for some Olympic coverage.
By the way neighborhood group, we saw a party boat you could take out on the lake and instantly thought of all of you. Miss you!