Summer Palace

We went to the Summer Palace yesterday morning. It was amazing. This is where the Emperor went in the summer when the city heat was unbearable. It is north-west of the city against the mountains so it is cooler. They created a man-made lake with many beautiful bridges at some great expense. The weather was crisp, but the skies are blue. We picked up lattes and walked the grounds. At the end there were many locals trying to sell us Gucci bags and quilts. They followed us a long time down the road, always reducing their prices the farther we went. On our way to the Summer Palace we passed the incredble work being done for the Olympics. The main stadium called "The Nest" was incredible! It is an enormous tangle of bent steel beams in the form of a huge birds nest. The diving facility was a steel structure wrapped in bubbled acrylic panels and was immense. The workers are going around the clock to have it ready in time. The traffic is unsettling, as all cars, buses, makeshift motorcycle cars, bicycles and pedestrians try to avoid each other by inches!!! It is making some people in the goup sick.