Day 2 of Touring Beijing

Can't believe our time in Beijing is over already!!  We have packed a TON of activity into 2 days.  Today we started at the Jade factory...beautiful and intricate pieces, and jewelry that was incredible.  Then we moved on to the Great Wall.  The area we climbed was over 800 years old!!  It was quite a steep incline, we got a good cardio workout!!  :-)  The wind was frigid on the Wall, and there were quite a few people, from all walks of life...the Buddhist Monks, with their colorful yellow and orange tunics, the grandmothers in their bright, colorful embroidered jackets, the multi-cultural collection of young and old, all climbing together...it was quite a metaphor for life!  We stopped and visited with each other, helped each other up and down, took each other's pictures...it was a very nice morning.  Mom, Paige, and I went up part-way to the tower...just far enough to earn our "Hero Badges!"  :-)  Then we went to another authentic Chinese lunch, which was tasty.  We toured the cloisonne factory on-site, it had some gorgeous pieces!!  Then we headed back to Beijing (terrible traffic), and walked around the Olympic Park.  That was pretty cool, so BIG, so festive.  Then we went to an acrobat show.  It was phenomenal, they were so flexible and strong! 

Tomorrow we leave at 0730 for Henan Province!  It is my last kid-less day!  Monday is Gotcha Day!!  :-)

It wasn't as cold today as projected...but there was ice and old snow all over at the Wall! The wind was frigid, but we bought scarves and knit caps last night, which helped. It is supposed to be slightly warmer in Henan the next few days, 40's instead of 30's...then it will warm up and be in the 60's...Guangzhou is supposed to be 70-80 by the time we arrive!! :-) That will feel SO good!

We have shopped til we dropped, I think we helped the local economy quite a bit!! Chinese money kind of looks like monopoly money, and it is just as easy to spend! :-) We found some lovely things, like paper-cutting pictures, jade earrings and pendants, cloisonne things, silk scarves, and etc. It has been great fun!!
Good night from Beijing!!