Today we went to the bell tower (sad story about the casting of the bell and the caster’s daughter jumping into the mold at the last minute to ensure a good cast – possibly a story idea in that) and the drum tower. Hadn’t planned on climbing to the top of either, but at the bell tower there was no choice – and Juliette Amy Brandt did her famous “butt dance” to encourage me. I wasn’t going to climb the drum tower and settled in with a book to wait for everyone else. Katja came back to tell me that the ceremony we were there to see was at the top, so I climbed that WITHOUT the encouraging butt dance. The drum ceremony was TOTALLY worth the climb! So amazing! Then we toured a few hutongs, and saw a bunch of shops. Had lunch at an interesting restaurant and i had my first taste of bubble tea, which I love! Then on the way back to the subway, we visited a few shops and got souvenirs. Very good prices, but now The Queen of the Dragons is tired.