Beijing, China

After a 12-hour flight from San Francisco to Beijing, Eric and I were ready to experience China. Our first experience in Beijing was getting from the airport to our hotel. We planned to take the subway to the middle of Beijing and then either get a cab or walk. To get a subway ticket, we had to first find an explanation in English. By far, the language barrier was the hardest part of our trip. We eventually figured it out and made it to our hotel in the middle of the night. Our hotel was near the Forbidden City in a hutong, which is a small alley way or neighborhoods in Beijing. There are tons of hutongs in the city.

Eric is asleep before we even left SFO

Backpacks ready to go in Beijing, now to the Information booth

After recovering from jet lag, the next morning we were up by 4 am to start the day. Early morning was better for us to get our bearings in this city of 22 million people!

Olympic Rings in a hutong in Beijing

Our breakfast the first morning

It was sort of like a crepe with an omelet inside. Yum!

We went to the Summer Palace in the morning. The Chinese people were exercising in the gardens in groups with swords, balls, and ribbons. (Everywhere we went people were doing some sort of exercise but not necessarily what we would consider exercise here.) The Summer Palace was built in the 18th century as a royalty retreat from the Forbidden City. It is northwest Beijing and is a retreat of temples, lakes, and gardens embellished by Empress Cixi, who was once a concubine.

Eric at Summer Palace

Some of the beautiful architecture at Summer Palace

Eric and the Marble Boat

Our last name written in Chinese calligraphy

Our "dragon" taxi to the other side of the lake

Buddhist Temple onto of Longevity Hill

17-Arch Bridge

Stopping to enjoy the view

Buddhist Temple in the distance

Eric and more beautiful architecture

Theater stage with musical performers

Musical performers

Buddha with a 1,000 arms

On Longevity Hill (yes, we climbed all of the stairs) to admire the Buddhist Temple

Next, we took the subway to the 2008 Olympic games sites. The architecture of the Bird's Nest and the Aquatic Cube were amazing!

Eric and the Bird's Nest

Me and the Cube

The beautiful Bird's Nest architecture

Peace! At McDonald's near the Olympic sites

(the only restaurant around for miles with an English/picture menu)

We took the subway to the Lama Temple, which is the most renowned Tibetan Buddhist temple outside of Tibet. The temple was very beautiful, and many people were there to worship. Interesting fact...there is a Buddha sculpture that is one of the tallest in the world. The sculpture is 26 meters high and was carved from one block of sandalwood. We could barely see his face from where we were standing!

At the Lama Temple

Burning incense for Buddha

Day 2 brought new adventures. For breakfast, we tried street food again. Then, we walked to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

"Donut" breakfast without the sweetness of a donut

Eric had a red bean sesame ball

At the Gate of Heavenly Peace where Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949

Mao's portrait with signs that say, "Long Live the People's Republic of China" and

"Long Live the Unity of the Peoples of the World." This is also the entrance to the Forbidden City.

Monument to the People's Heroes

Across the busy street from Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square. It is the public place where the June 4, 1989 massacre occurred after a pro-democracy demonstration.

Tiananmen Square is also where our "pseudo-celebrity" status began. Everywhere we went people wanted a picture with us. At first, this was fun, but it got old very fast. Now, we know how celebrities feel.

At Zhongshan Park next to Forbidden City

Inside the Forbidden City just past the first gate, Meridian Gate

The Forbidden City was home to the Ming and Qing dynasties. It has been off limits to the public for over 500 years.

Eric in front of the beautiful red doors with 9 gold knobs across and 9 down (a lucky number in China)

The Dragon Throne where the Emperor would rule

Enjoying the views of Beijing

Beautiful wall within Forbidden City

Eric touching "double happiness" Chinese character- It is for good luck for a married couple.

Beautiful lions- They believed that the female lion fed her young with milk through her paw.

Marble dragon on edge of building

The architecture was amazing inside the Forbidden City.

In a courtyard inside Forbidden City

Eric with one of the ancient doors

The Wrights at Forbidden City

With our tour guide at Forbidden City

On our motorized bicycle ride through the city...scary!

At the market on Wangfujing Dajie- starfish and scorpions on a stick!

We opted for the candied grapes. Yum!

Tea time in China

Of course we had to have the traditional Peking Duck

Our duck carved at our table

Off to one of the Wonders of the World...The Great Wall of China...

"He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man."- Mao Zedong

Eric and I took public transportation all the way to Badaling to see this over 2000 year old part of history. It was another beautiful part of China's history. Just this section of the wall is unbelievable. You can see the wall snaking through the mountains and trees. I cannot believe the skill and labor used to create this structure. I can see how there is a legend of being able to see it from outer space!

Starting our trek- It was a very strenuous hike.

Taking a break for a photo-op

Eric and The Great Wall

The Wrights at The Great Wall

The Great Wall is very steep! Yes, we hiked this.

We completed one of the seven wonders of the new world.

This was Eric's 2nd wonder of the world in one year since he hiked to Machu Picchu in September 2009. Way to go!

Chinese calligraphy gift from a Chinese man at The Great Wall

One of my co-workers translated it for me, and it is a poem by Mao about The Great Wall.

I have the English version of the poem as well.

On our last day in Beijing, we decided to take it easy and visit a few parks in the city.

Jingshan Park with incredible views of Forbidden City and Beijing

Temple of Heaven Park- This structure was built for the Emperor to pray to the heavens.

The temple was built without any nails! It is inter-locking wood.

The Round Altar- I could hear my echo.

Hot pot lunch- Somehow Eric was able to order in Chinese with the menu they gave us! I was very proud of him.

All traffic stops for the military to cross the street to lower the Chinese flag

Lowering of the flag in Tiananmen Square

Beijing was an amazing experience! We enjoyed learning about the Chinese culture and their history. Now, off to Xian, China...

Amanda & Bentley's Wedding

It has been a long time since I have posted on our blog, but I am going to try to catch up...

In May, I flew to Memphis for Amanda's bachelorette party. I was excited to go since I didn't get to attend any of her other showers. That is just one of the sacrifices of living so far from home. It was a great weekend in Memphis. As soon as I arrived, I could feel the HUMIDITY, and I was craving some Southern cooking (basically, anything fried). To recount what I had to eat that weekend actually makes me hungry- BBQ, fried pickles, and fried okra.

In June, Amanda & Bentley (finally) got married! It was a wonderful wedding! She was a beautiful bride! Anna was in the USA, and Elvis was back from the dead. It was a great time with friends and family. Congrats to Amanda & Bentley!

Eating on Beale Street as soon as I landed

Pool Party!

Bachelorette Party at Mollie Fontaine's in Memphis

Amanda at Silky's on Beale Street

At the Bridal Luncheon

At the Rehearsal Dinner

Anna and I with the beautiful bride

Annie, Anna and me at the reception

Amanda and Elvis (the other man in her life) ;)

Our First Anniversary

It is hard to believe that Eric and I have been married for 1 year now! We have had a whirlwind of excitement in the first year since moving to California and starting married life. The first year of marriage went by so fast, but we enjoyed all of the new experiences together. There will be many more years of happiness together.

To celebrate our anniversary, Eric surprised me with a trip to Farallon, a nice restaurant in San Francisco near Union Square. We enjoyed a three-course meal and champagne. It was a wonderful dining experience. On Sunday, I surprised Eric with tickets to a San Francisco Giants game. It was a great day for baseball in the Bay! The weather was great, and we enjoyed watching the Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks. We had a wonderful weekend of marriage celebration. We are truly blessed!

Go Giants!

We are wearing our orange and black.

AT&T Park with a great view of the Bay

Enjoying the ballpark food

Eric is really into the game.

Eric & Mandy Wright

Walnofers Come to Visit

I'm quite behind on my posts, but I am trying to catch up before we leave for China...

At the end of April, Scott & Kristen Walnofer came to visit us in Palo Alto before they moved back to Arkansas in May. We had a great time showing them around Palo Alto and Stanford University. We ate at many different restaurants including a Mongolian hot pot and Japanese dessert restaurant in San Mateo and Calafia, which is the former Google chef's restaurant, in Palo Alto. All of the culinary experiences can be found on Scott's wonderful blog. The recent culinary school grad describes the dining experiences very well. We also went to Half Moon Bay to enjoy a day at the beach. It was such a beautiful day there. Overall, it was a great time with friends. Eric and I are sad that they left California, but we wish them the best back home in Arkansas!

Scott & Kristen enjoying hot pot

Scott & Kristen at Half Moon Bay

Scott & Eric playing football on the beach

Kristen & me enjoying the beach

Eric enjoyed playing in the sand

Lunch at Half Moon Bay

The lobster roll was delicious!

The boys enjoying the drive up Hwy 1 and the scenic views

Camping in California

One of my co-workers, Courtney, and his wife, Ariane, have a cabin in Oroville, CA. They invited some co-workers to their cabin one weekend in April. Eric and I made the 3-hour trip to Oroville together. We were excited about venturing out into the "country-side" of California. Oroville is north of Sacramento, and I would have to say it is pretty close to the country. This is the least populated area I have been to in California. Immediately, Eric was excited to be in the country. We went on a hike, and Eric was looking at deer tracks, birds, and trees. He was happy to be in his element. Courtney and Ariane were the best hosts. We grilled out with deer burgers, chicken, kabobs, salad, and all of the fixins'. We ate around the bonfire that Courtney built; however, Eric felt the need to continually add more wood to the bonfire- it must be a guy thing. For dessert, I brought smores to cook. It was fun, but hot, cooking them by the bonfire. We stayed up late talking and enjoying the night. We even listened to country music from Courtney's truck (he is originally from Georgia). None of the other guests knew any country music- not even Garth Brooks! We couldn't believe it. It is so funny how we all grew up in America, but they have had no exposure to country music. The next morning we had a great breakfast and then headed back to the Peninsula. Eric and I stopped in Vacaville for a short outlet mall experience for me (I will have to go back later to do the serious shopping). Courtney even invited Eric to deer hunt on his property this fall. Eric will have to apply for a hunting license now. We had a great time camping in CA with my co-workers.

My boss, Kyong, with the bonfire

Eric helping Courtney grill out

Eric and the campfire- He probably added more wood to the fire. :)

Cheers!- Suzy, Kyong, and me

Enjoying the food and the outdoors

Suzy trying to roast marshmallows next to the hot fire

The bonfire kept getting larger. It was still burning the next morning.

Kyong and Courtney- too funny

Dad & Mom Visit

My parents had some time off around the Easter holiday, and they flew to California to see Eric and me. I was so excited to have them visit!!! My Mom and sister drove out here in June with me. However, both of my parents had not seen our apartment all 'fixed' up (using my Southern vocabulary). My parents arrived on Thursday evening, and I was so happy to see them in CA.

On Friday, I gave my parents the Palo Alto tour. We went to Stanford and downtown Palo Alto. I was sure to make stops at all of the Stanford sports facilities to keep my Dad interested. He really liked the Stanford golf course. It is a beautiful course. We stopped at the Apple store downtown the day before the iPad was revealed and Google. For lunch we had In-N-Out Burger. Yum! Later in the day, we went to Happy Feet, a Chinese reflexology spa, to get massages. The massages are very interesting. They are done fully clothed in a large recliner in a room with other customers using reflexology. However, for $25 per hour, it was a fun, relaxing, and new experience for me and my parents. After our massages, Dad found a Chinese restaurant next door where we had appetizers before dinner. We had the BEST wonton soup ever! We loved it. We met up with Eric for dinner at a Thai restaurant in downtown Palo Alto. This was the first time for my parents to have Thai food, and they liked it.

Saturday was a big trip for us. We headed to Monterey Bay, Pebble Beach, and Carmel for the day. Eric and I went to this area when I visited in November 2008 when he was rotating at Stanford as medical student. My parents are golf enthusiasts and loved Pebble Beach and the 17-Mile Drive. The golf courses and views are amazing. My Dad got a few pebbles from the beach for paper weights. We had lunch at the club house where we saw pictures of famous golfers. My Dad brought his putter and practiced on the putting green. He putted well. Now, we are looking forward to watching the US Open in June this year to see Pebble Beach again but on TV. We went to Carmel to visit Clint Eastwood's area. We browsed in the shops and had dessert at a famous candy store. We headed back to Palo Alto, watched the NCAA basketball semi-finals on TV, and ordered pizza.

My Dad left Sunday morning for Atlanta to see the Masters. So Mom and I went to the local farmer's market and then to San Jose for shopping at Santana Row. Mom left for home that afternoon. It was a great to spend time with my parents! I can't wait for them to come back to visit us again.

Mom & Dad at IKEA

Dad riding my bike

Dad being silly at dinner

Dad & Mom at Stanford

Mom imitating the Rodin sculptures

Family at Pebble Beach

Mom & Dad with the Lone Cypress, the symbol of Pebble Beach's logo

Along the 17-Mile Drive

Dad & Eric watching others play on the 18th hole

Dad practicing his swing at Pebble Beach

Dad enjoying Pebble Beach

Eric trying to use my Dad's left-handed putter.

He made this one.

Eric and the candy cottage

Dad and Clint Eastwood

Video of Dad's putting at Pebble Beach