The Great Wall

Since we were in Beijing only 1 full day, we had an option as to what we wanted to do (Forbidden City, Great Wall, etc).  We decided that we wanted to visit the Great Wall as it's a little more out of the way, and definitely more of an item to check off on our bucket list.  So, that's where we headed!  It's not that far from Beijing, but due to traffic it was a 2 hour drive.

I'm going to say a side note here:  if you've never ridden in a van/car here in Ch, i'd definitely recommend it.  It is an experience beyond anything words could describe.  I know there are other areas in the world that have similar driving, but it's so different than anything we experience in the US.  We think we have issues driving--there are lines on the roads here, but they mean absolutely nothing.  There's a lot of aggressive pushing/shoving type driving, but very few accidents.  Anyway, it's super fun when you're going to pass someone on a 2 lane road.  I finally realized that oncoming traffic will slow down and move over, and the people you're passing will let you in--you won't get in a head on collision, but you will come about 20 feet from being in one.  Yeah, that caused my heart to stop beating a few times.  Someone commented once it was like nascar style driving, but I'm not sure that's an accurate portrayal--it's a bit worse than that (especially when you add in oncoming traffic).  We'll try to get some video of it, and will post it once we get home.

Anyway, we stopped at a Chinese restaurant and ate "real" Chinese food.  Their vegetable fried rice is out of this world.  I found that it is very similar to Americanized Chinese food (or maybe that is just what our guide was ordering for us/encouraging us to eat).

Yummy Chinese food!

Afterwards we headed up to the Great Wall.  It was super busy up there (and we went to the area that is supposedly not as popular as another area--an area that is more popular with Chinese tourists).  We rode the tram cars up to the top and back, and did a little walking--not much as Kathryn was super tired.  Anyway, it is so beautiful!  The mountains around it are amazing--they remind me of the rockies.  It ended up being a lot of driving for just a small amount of time up there (about an hour is all we stayed), but it was definitely worth it!!

The Great Wall (someone doesn't like having her photo taken)

This morning (Sunday morning), we walked to Tainanmen Square which was about a 30 minute walk.  We watched the fountains dance to music, and Kathryn was the subject of a couple of photos.  She's definitely getting a lot of stares and smiles, and has had a couple of photos taken of her.  On Friday night we were eating in a local noodle place, and a little boy (probably 4-5) walked up and started taking a lot of photos of her with his cell phone camera.  So funny!!

Tiananmen Square (again, someone doesn't like cameras)

Anyway, we will be leaving here soon to head to our province.  We will be getting Evan tomorrow afternoon (in a little more than 24 hours)--so surreal!!