Beijing: Week 10

One of my favorite images I took in Beijing...

By now it's no secret that I'm out of China, but I still had a few days to enjoy Beijing before I peaced out to the U.S. The entire cultural aspect of living in this city never got old, and I made sure to immerse myself in it as much as possible.

I did one last epic walk past the lakes and through the hutongs, taking advantage of another seriously sunny day. I oriented myself towards the bell and drum towers, some landmarks that were cute enough to explore before doing some shopping at the super touristy Nanluoguxiang hutong. 

The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower...but which is which???

The blue sky wasn't as blue as it could be, and sometimes I wondered if my phone was broken, but that thin veil of haze gave the sky its unique hue. The light filtering through the plane trees, however, made for some great photography, and sometimes I wish I were more than an amateur with my camera. But my eyes enjoyed it all the same.

After some lunch, I hiked up the park behind the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, which cost a little extra because of the peony festival underway. Note the absence of any photos of these flowers. They were pretty droopy. but the park did smell fantastic. The floral perfume wafted everywhere.

Such a happy law enforcer. And Teddy scored a great view over the Forbidden City...

Teddy and I climbed to the top for a view of the Forbidden City from above. Then we made our way home, slowly. soaking it all in. It's so much easier to enjoy a place when you know your days there are numbered. And numbered they were.