Terracotta Warriors

Friday
The wakeup call came at 6. I was already awake and hoping to go back to sleep. I was worried about the clothes I laid out to dry, but most of them were dry. At 6:30 Cecily knocked on the door to say they were going down for breakfast. It seemed too early to eat. Chris went ahead. I got dressed and followed. When I got there, Chris had already gotten me a glass of apple juice. I looked for fruit on the buffet. There was very little, so I just had a small plate. I drank the juice and we went back to our room.
I packed some seed crackers in my purse. I put on my name tag and got the receiver that we wear around our necks to hear the tour guide. Chris and I went to the elevator. It took so long to find a car that wasn't full, that we were worried we'd be late. When we got to the lobby, those ahead of us were on the bus, so we boarded. In 5 minutes we were on our way to see the terra cotta warriors. The guide told us about the history on the way there, about an hour. I ate my seed crackers. The museum complex had just opened. We walked through the gates with tickets the guide had given us. We also had to go through a security check. Then we boarded carts which took us all the way to the covered pits. There were buildings surrounding three excavations. We visited the first and largest one. I took pics as the guide talked about the warrior statues and the details of the faces and clothing. We had some free time to walk around the giant pit. We saw the section where the statues are assembled and glued together. Then we went to the third pit. It was much smaller, and most of the statues did not have heads.

Then we went to the second pit. We had heard there were archaeologists working there, and I wanted to see that, but it was not to be. Still, what little was unearthed, was interesting. Then we went to the exhibition hall where the bronze weapons pieces were. There were pictures of bronze chariots and horses. Afterward, we went to the gift shop, but we did not buy anything. The book was $25 and Chris did not want it.
There was a long walk back to the parking lot. We passed a lot of trinket stalls and street food. I guess that's why there are no cart rides back. We boarded the bus and were off to see a clay factory that makes replicas of the statues in different heights. We had a tour by the manager. Most of what we saw was for sale. We saw how the figures were made, and how you could get your own face put on a figure (for a price). The shopping area held figures of clay, bronze, jade and porcelain. Lots of tea sets. There was jewelry, t-shirts, chopsticks, scarves, trinkets, purses, etc. Then we went to the second floor to see the lacquered furniture and hear how it was made, and why it was so expensive. I must say, it was beautiful. After that, we went to the third floor to have lunch. There was a buffet with salads and hot dishes. Along the way, a man was making noodles and his assistant was putting them into soup. The tour guide asked the waitress to bring me a gluten-free meal. While I waited, I went to the buffet and picked out things I thought were gluten-free. Soon after I returned, the waitress brought me a plate of salad and chicken. I was able to eat both. Everyone raved about the noodle soup so Michele got me a bowl. I just tasted the noodles, but drank all the broth. It was very good.

When lunch was over, we stopped by the restrooms. When I came out, Chris was practicing his French with a man from Canada. Then we had to wend our way amongst all the things for sale to find our way to the exit. Coincidence? I think not.
We boarded the bus and came back to the hotel. The guide talked about what we would do tonight for supper and tomorrow, after flying to Beijing. Good thing my clothes are dry.
Back in our room, I laid down for a bit. Cecily had given me a Dulcolax but there had been no effect. I tried to emulate a castor oil pack. I had ginger essential oil, which I put on a wet washcloth. Then I put the washcloth plus a dry one on my stomach and topped it with the iron on low. I gave it 20 minutes or so, but there was no effect. Chris could not get the vpn to work, but he could look up remedies. He suggested caffeine. So I tried to heat water in the coffee pot, with no success at first, but then I plugged it into the outlet in the bathroom and it heated right up. I made a cup of green tea and drank it. I started reading my e-mail on my tablet. Eventually Chris got the vpn to work and I was able to post what I wrote about yesterday. Then I started writing for today. I posted that part while I had the chance.