The Forbidden City of Forbidden Gardens Chinese History and Cultural Museum - Katy, TX

Between 1420 and 1922 AD, the Forbidden City in Beijing was the home of the imperial family. When it was first build during the reign of Yongle, it is said to have had 999 buildings along with 9,999 rooms and courtyards. The Forbidden Gardens Chinese History and Culture Museum has created a miniature version of the Forbidden City to educate people about the beauty and magnitude of this landmark without the long trip from Texas to Beijing.

There are two main parts to the Forbidden City - the Inner Court and the Outer Court. Each is marked by three main buildings. The Outer Court contains the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Middle Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. Each served an important function of imperial business (although Anna and I wonder why they weren't a little more creative in naming the buildings). The Inner Court has the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.

These six buildings were obviously not the only important buildings out of 999 total. While calling a building the Hall of Supreme Harmony may not reveal much about its purpose, most of the buildings' names made their purposes much more evident. The Hall of Literary Glory was a reading room and also was used as a lecture Hall. The Hall for Worshiping Ancestors was...the hall for worshiping ancestors (do I really need to explain that one?)

Even in its miniature form, the Forbidden City is expansive. Looking down on the buildings, courtyards and gates at this small scale, it is difficult to imagine just how huge and impressive the real thing must be.

Terra Cotta Army of Forbidden Gardens Chinese History and Cultural Museum - Katy, TX

As Anna and I were driving, I saw a green sign by the road that said, "Forbidden Gardens" with an arrow leading the way. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what qualified as a "forbidden garden" in Texas. But a quick internet search revealed it was actually the Forbidden Gardens Chinese History and Cultural Museum, built to promote knowledge of ancient Chinese history and culture.

Katy may seem like a strange place to find a Chinese History and Cultural Museum, but it is actually quite fitting. The museum was privately founded by Mr. Ira Poon, a businessman from Hong Kong. He chose Katy because it is close to Houston (Fun Fact: Houston has the third largest Asian population living in the United States). Also, the rice fields of Katy reminded Poon of China.

After watching a 20-minute educational film about the history of the ancient Chinese empires and the Forbidden City, we wandered around to see the different exhibits. We could examine weaponry, carriages, and art from the empires but the two most impressive exhibits were the Terra Cotta Army of the First Emperor and a miniaturized version of the Forbidden City.

Before his death in 210 BC, Emperor Qin commissioned an elaborate burial site including a 8,000 terra cotta soldiers to protect him in the afterlife. The statues are life-sized, some standing almost 6 feet tall, and no two are alike. The Forbidden Gardens in Katy features 4,000 soldiers that are a third the size of the originals.

It's an amazing site to take in all at once. Thousands of clay soldiers stretched out, standing at attention while a plaster Emporer Qin commands them for a distance. The neat and careful rows are impressive in their symmetry and careful detail.

There are largely soldiers on display so you can examine the intricacies that would be in the original. Each statue is unique. The way they braid their hair or wear their armor is different in each soldier. More amazing to me was the difference in facial features and expressions. It's not that they are different soldiers - they are different people!

There has been some damage to the soldiers as the result of bad weather and a hurricane but it doesn't take away from the exhibit.

Check out The Yellow Brick Road Trip on Monday to find out more about the Forbidden Gardens and the miniaturized Forbidden City exhibit!

Katy Budget Books Sign - Katy, TX

Texas advertising is all about going big. I noticed stores especially had a tendency to advertise with huge, inflated animals. During on trip on the high way, I counted about eight gorillas, eight eagles, four dogs, two cowboys and one Godzilla strapped to buildings and parking lots announcing sales and ridiculously low prices. If you don't want to rent an oversized animal for advertisement, you could build a giant armadillo like Goode's Armadillow Palace. Or you could just make your sign a giant noticeable object. Like a book.

I needed to stock up on reading material so Anna took me to Katy Budget Books. The first thing I noticed was the large sign designed to look like a huge book. I don't know if this is symptomatic of Texas' need for everything to gigantic or just a good way of helping people find one of the best bookstores around. There was a huge selection to choose from and the people were really helpful. When my pen burst on me and covered my hands in ink, the nice gentleman working there gave me a new pen to write with and showed me a sink where I could clean up a little. It was definitely a great place to stop, and not hard to miss with the sign.

But even though the Katy Budget Books' sign is big, it's not the world's largest book by a long shot. The World's Largest Book is located in Burma and has 1460 pages. Each page is three and a half feet wide, five feet tall and five inches thick.

It's not the largest book in the Midwest. The front of the Liberal Memorial Library in Liberal, Kansas was built out of concrete to look like an open book. The Book Front was designed by the building's architect George L. Pitcher and completed for the dedication of April 14, 1955 on the 40th anniversary of the library venture.

Everything may be bigger in Texas, but when it comes to making gigantic literature the state doesn't even come close.

Travel Distance: 10 miles
Soundtrack: Still listening to country radio

Ooh La La: The Dessert Boutique - Katy, TX

One of the best parts of traveling is and always will be eating. Whenever someone comes to see me, I automatically take them to my favorite local spots so they can stuff themselves silly. Luckily, my friend Anna thinks the same way and on my first day in Katy we sampled the fare at Ooh La La: The Dessert Boutique.

While I am not a cupcake connoisseur, I have had my fair share of delicious sugary confections. I have sampled a wide range of cupcakes from the chemically-altered generic grocery store brand to the fluffy, heavenly goodness of New York City Magnolia Bakery treats. (Fun Fact: Magnolia Bakery only lets customers purchase a dozen cupcakes at a time because they are so popular.) Still I can say without a doubt, that Ooh La La in Katy, Texas has some of the biggest and tastiest cupcakes I've ever had.

The variety was a little overwhelming. There were so many delicious treats but I knew I had to have a cupcake. Chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, peanut butter, lemon tart and every other kind of cupcake imaginable glowed in succulent sugary goodness under the display case lights. What to choose? Eventually I settled on a "Peter Rabbit," a carrot cake cupcake as big as my hand. As soon as it was in front of me, I swear I heard an angel weep for joy. Or maybe it was the screaming child at another table. Whatever, that thing looked good.

And it tasted good, too! When they say, "Everything is bigger in Texas," I'm glad that also applies to cupcakes. The icing was perfect - soft, sweet but not overwhelmingly saccharine. The cake was fresh and moist so it seemed to just melt in your mouth. In short, Ooh La La cupcakes make Katy, Texas a happier and tastier place to be.