The Great Wall of China

Hello From China!

Wow!  What a beatiful day in Beijing.  The sun was shining and it was about 55 degrees.  We started the day by stopping off at a Jade factory.  We were shown how jade is carved into beautiful art work and jewelry.  

Next, we went to the Great Wall at Badaling.  This is the most popular access to the Great Wall.  The 6 of us all attempted the steep climb up the Great Wall.  Sheila made it about halfway to the 2nd tower.  The wall was extremely steep, and the steps were all different sizes.  Dean, from our group continued up past the 3rd tower with me.  I left him behind and continued up to the 5th tower.  It was exhausting.  My legs were shaking as I began the descent back down the wall.  It was worth the effort.  The views from up there were spectacular!

After stopping for lunch at a restaurant/vase factory, (weird huh?)we stopped off at the Beijing Olympic sites.  We walked around,(I even walked straight into a light post, OUCH!) and saw the Bird's Nest, where the Opening/Closing ceremonies took place, The Water Cube, and another indoor stadium.  The crowds were unbelievable.

Tonight, we met up with Dean and Gale (from our travel group) for a bite to eat.  We wandered thearea around the hotels and found an amazing site.  The street was only open to foot traffic and there were tons (and tons) of people shopping and buying food from street vendors.  It was an awesome sight.  We ended up eating at McDonald's (go figure) because we were a bit afraid of ordering food in a Chinese restaurant without our guide.  We weren't brave enough to risk any mishaps.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Forbidden City and catching our flight to Nanning!  We are so excited to see Maya.  Monday will be our "Gotcha Day" with Maya.  I am not sure yet if we wil have internet access in Nanning.  I hope we can get it at the hotel.

We'll keep all of you posted!  Thanks for the comments.  It helps to know all of you are thinking of us back home.  We love and miss all of you.