Walk walk walk

It started from climbing the steepy step of the drum tower followed by the steepy steps of the bell tower. So far so good, we have energy to spare. I really want to walk around the hudongs (traditional Beijing neighborhood with narrow alley and connecting courtyard). After, the usual morning research the area around the two towers have some interesting hudongs.. By the amount of rickshaw usually you can tell the touristic interest in the area. We walk and it is like China used to be, neighbors talking to each other, elderly playing some board game under the tree shade and an occasional Chinese botega were people are actually nice. So we keep on walking trying not to get lost. We end up in Beijing Soho version with design boutiques, creative art form and coffee place were hip Chinese are typing on their Mac...I saw also tattoo. Somehow the commercial street seems less interesting from a traditional point of view but amazing from another. All the stereotype we grow up with of Chinese been little people with boring clothes is difficult to see now. We stop for lunch, at that point overheated and starving. Incredible enough the kids eat spicy meat...that walk must had some repercussion on their appetite.
After the lunch break, we start walking toward the lake where we rent a battery boat...yes too tired to pedal. It is very peaceful on the lake, we dip our feet in the water and we get reprimanded by the guardian of the lake that he fears the we hurt our legs if another boat bump on ours. I think he has heard something our possible lawsuit because the Chinese seems to be able to dip their feet with no problem. So we tour this little island in the middle of the lake which is the resting place of swimmers. They seem to belong to a club or maybe they are high school friends, they have all similar swimming suite,  similar age and they are all men. Around the lake there is a very vibrant neighborhood, east village type. Probably even more vibrant at night. We leave our very slow battery-powered boat and continue walking toward the park. The park is not really that close and the kids remind us pretty frequently that we are still walking, we are just grateful that the Chinese in their frenetic of modernization did not cut the trees in this neighborhood which makes the walk pleasant. The park is very well maintained and it is known for its Tibetan temple,  so we climb more stairs, the kids complain, Alain encourage them: come on up to the top of mountain and Matthias : what! And next time is going to be down to the bottom of the ocean! This is not humor but extenuation.
After a promise of last walk, we exit the park even if before we are stopped by a Chinese family for the regular picture of our kids and their kids together, we repeat the same scene 100 meter later. We finally are able to grab a taxi, we are exhausted, we must have walk 100 miles and I only find the strength for a very well deserved shower!