Summer Palace--- this is what happens when we have a lot of free time
By Katrina McIsaac
July 17, 2008
As a part of our three-day tour with BOCOG, we made a stop at the Summer Palace... actually, at both of them. The new one was our first stop, and honestly I was blown away. I guess I had never really known that much about it, but it was so beautiful. It was also our first real portion of the tour where we had free time--- but what to do with such new-found freedom??? The answer, we discovered, was more of a "What can't we do?" Bettina (Stephenson), Sara (Alterman) and I set off with no plans and discovered quite a few amazing things, including traditional costumes and the Chinese Tom Selleck on a park bench. 
We began our journey with the necessary break for soda, which has started to replace coffee on the drink spectrum. Then, we just set out for adventure. The grounds at the palace were incredibly beautiful... straight out of a time warp in the best way possible. Beautiful plants, and scenic views, plus a lot of fresh air and great things to look at, including seeing our classmates spinning in circles in tiny boat below us in the water. You really couldn't ask for more. Or so we thought until we found an outlook area where we could take photos in traditional Chinese garments. The three of us got decked out in gorgeous robes and huge floral headpieces and quickly became a photo attraction in our own right.
As daunting as it may have seemed to be given so much free time in a new and gigantic place, it was definitely my favorite part of the tour. That was when it really hit me that we were really here in China, and that all of this is actually happening. As odd as it may seem, even though we had been here for a handful of days, it only clicked right then. Seeing places like the Summer Palace (whether the new or old) really makes me want to see more of this place, and just makes this an even more astounding, although at times disorienting, experience.