People watching in Tiananmen Square.

We just happened to be in Beijing, China during their national celebration of Labor Day and just about every business in the city shut down and every government office was closed.  The subway system was working and the density of the crowd discouraged taking a taxi to Tienanmen Square.  Over 200,000 people were drawn here for the holiday ceremonies. 

What a great opportunity for people watching!  This was my first trip to China and it is a far cry from the China I had studied in college.  The dull gray clothing and bicycles have been replaced with Western style clothing and automobiles. 

My travel tip here is to make sure you are not planning to go to the to the Forbidden City on a national holiday celebration.  These site is located adjacent to the Square.  If you have booked through a tour group you will probably won't have a problem.  They have enough sense to know they can't get you past the traffic.  But just because you probably can't get into one of the most most popular sites in China doesn't mean you can't enjoy the atmosphere.  Just remember to take the subway.

By some quirk in Chinese culture, the government has since abolished Labor Day and replaced it with three additional holidays.

The Women of World War II Monument - London

London is one of those cities you can't get enough of its essence.  Its old, its new, its big, its vibrant, and it has something for everybody.  Even though I had not planned on watching the Royal Wedding extravaganza my insomnia happened to be in sinc with the Royal time table.  As the beaming new royal couple returned to the palace they passed what has become one of my favorite monuments in the City.  Its simple, to the point and very tasteful.  It deserves a hats off moment. 

The National Monument to the Women of World War II is a United Kingdom  war memorial sculpture situated in Whitehall, London to the north of the Cenotaph. It was sculpted by John W. Mills and dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on July 9, 2005.

The Monument stands 22 feet (6.7 m) high, 16 feet (4.9 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide. The lettering on the sides replicates the typeface used on war time ration books. There are 17 individual sets of clothing and uniforms around the sides, symbolising the hundreds of different jobs women undertook in World War II and then gave back for the homecoming men at the end of the war.

Read it, picture it!

Sometimes things happen when you are traveling that you can't control or actually record with a photo.  I got into the habit years ago of taking a photo of a newspaper, a sign, or anything that could explain events of the trip.  In this particular case I had been working a trade show in Dusseldorf, Germany in 2010 when an ash cloud from a volcanic eruption in Iceland closed all of Europe's air space.  My return flight was cancelled and I was left scrambling for hotel space and my return flight.  I turned to a local German newspaper to help me remember.  I got home 5 days after my original scheduled flight.