Today we went to see the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube. The Bird’s Nest was absolutely awesome! The architecture of the building was immaculate and no detail was left unnoticed. It was crazy to think that I was standing where some of the Olympic athletes had stood during the opening ceremony. The tightrope walker was neat as well and gave me a sense of how big the building actually is. Sometimes it’s hard to into perspective how big a place can be, but the distance from me to the tightrope walker made me realize how huge the structure is.
I was kind of disappointed that we didn’t get to see the water cube. Instead we stood outside and were met with the usual barrage of vendors selling cheap trinkets (special price for you!). Apparently the water cube was under construction, but how can a building that’s only 2 years old need construction?? The outside of the cube, however, was very beautiful and looked much more awesome in person than on television.
After lunch we went to Lenovo, which was by far the best company visit yet. We went to the wrong building at first but as soon as we arrived at the right one, things started getting exciting. We were first taken to a showroom that displayed all of the company’s products. Most notable was a new laptop that features a removable touch screen. I definitely want one! Next we listened to a brief presentation about the history of Lenovo and we were taken to a room with a lot of interactive demos. I even got to hold the Olympic torch! Our tour guide was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about Lenovo’s products and business practices.
After dinner we went back to Tian’ anmnen square and the Olympic green to see the lights. It was really pretty, but we didn’t spend a lot of time there because they both closed really early. And we managed to make it home on the subway without getting lost, which was the best part of all.