Today we headed to the Summer Palace. We toured there for a few hours and took a small boat ride. It was very hot and busy so it could have been better but it was very sunny so that was good! After that we headed to a place called a Hutong. They are alleys that people live in that is the "real Beijing" The people live in small hut type things. Our tour guide explained that there are beams that tell you the class of the family. No beams mean low class, two beams is middle class, and four beams is high class. They do not use odd numbers for feng shui reasons. We got around the Hutong by bicycles with carts on the back that fit two people. We have seen them all over China so it was fun to actually be able to ride in one! For lunch we went to a local families house for lunch. We were all pretty apprehensive about it because the area was very dirty and smelly but it was a delicious lunch. The lady was very kind and made us a feast! Following lunch we went to a drum tower. It was 69 stairs to the top and it was very steep. It was slightly frightening and somewhat tiring but the top was really cool. There were HUGE drums that they frequently have performances at. After that we had a quick tour of a bell tower. Our last stop of the day was a tea house at the bell tower. We were all very tired and wanted to get back but by the end we were so happy we stayed. We had an official tea ceremony and got to try five different teas which were all delicious. We had a ginseng oolong tea, jasmine tea, black tea, black tea mixed with roses, and a rose tea mixed with fifteen types of dried fruit. They were all delicious and it was an awesome experience. We are heading to a Hard Rock Cafe tonight so we feel extra American on the 4th of July!