An amazing day in Beijing

Today, we had a full day of sightseeing, and it was our most amazing day yet since arriving in China.

We left the hotel early this morning with our travel group and boarded a tour bus for The Great Wall. A really nice bus ride for about 1 1/2 hours outside of Beijing took us to areas we had not yet seen since arriving. Hard working farmers in the fields, and factories out in the middle of nowhere. We arrived at the Great Wall, and boarded a cable car which allowed us to get to the top of the Wall, without having to walk. You should have seen how high up it was. We were so grateful to have that cable car to bring us to the top!

Once at the top, the view was simply awesome. I can't describe just how amazing it was. It truly is a wonder to see. We spent about 1 1/2 hours on the wall, walking from "gate" to "gate". We had an overcast, smoggy day today, so we could not see long lengths of the wall. But what we could see made it all worth it.
Here are a couple of pics that we took.

We boarded our bus after the Great Wall, and had lunch at a traditional Chinese restaraunt. NOT like the Chinese food we get at home, that is for sure! It was all very interesting. Then we got to go through a cloisonne factory to see how it is made, all by hand!

We returned to the city, and they took us to a local neighborhood, where we got to ride on rickshaws. For those of you who have seen "The Amazing Race", that is exactly what we felt like as we were pedaled through the alleys (hutongs) and streets of the Beijing neighborhood. We then visited with a gentleman who opened up his home to our tour group, so we could see how they live here. A courtyard home, complete with birds and crickets in cages!

The sights and sounds we experienced today were none we had ever seen or heard before. And so many that there just is not enough room here to share it all. It was truly awesome and we have so many memories from this day to bring home with us!

And our trip is only going to get better! Tomorrow, we meet as a group for an orientation with our adoption agency, and tomorrow we receive updates on Michael, and new photos of him! We can't wait to see what he looks like now, almost two months since we got his referral.

After orientation, we will tour Tianamen Square and the Temple of Heaven. We leave Beijing on Sunday for Nanjing, the capital city in Michael's province. We will then be getting Michael on Monday!

Like I said, our trip is only going to get better! Bye for now, from Beijing!