The tour bus departed from our hotel at 7:00 AM and we proceeded to wander through the city picking up other people from hotels. We ended up going with a lady from Tel Aviv (whose brother worked for Amdocs of all places), and two gentlemen from Iran with their Chinese host. We had a Chinese guide (Angela) who kept us all together and provided great information into the history of all of these places as well as insight into the culture. We also had a bus driver that we decided would be the first person we'd hire for driving a get-away car for a bank robbery. He did things with that bus that I think may have violated a few laws of physics.
We saw Ming's Tomb which is actually a collection of various tombs from the Ming dynasty that are strategically placed across a large valley. These tombs are incredible and the whole history and symbolism behind them all is mind numbing. After that, we went to a jade factory where we got a tour and the "opportunity" to purchase some jade pieces ourselves. We went from the jade factory to the Traditional Chinese Medicine center where we had lunch. Much of the food was made from traditional herbs and spices. It was quite good. One of the intriguing aspects of lunch was that we were all sitting down at a table in Beijing with people from China, Israel, and Iran all eating and talking and enjoying the experience. Although we are all from different corners of the globe, we were able to talk and share stories as though we had known each other for years. English truly is the main international language.
After lunch, we went to the Great Wall. We had to take these little carts to get to the wall on the mountain which reminded me of Alpine Slides. Once on the wall, we had to hike it to get to various the posts/towers along the wall. We were in the mountainous area of the wall and it was very steep. The wall is truly incredible. It is unbelievable the amount of work that was required to build this. The hike and altitude really took a toll on us and we were feeling it by the end of the day. Once again, the girls were a center of attraction. We were stopped a number of times and the girls were asked to be in pictures; we're also on another 100 cell phones.
We got a call from Echo last night who is our ISS rep/guide during the adoption process in Nanning and Guangzhou. She seems so nice and we will meet up with her tomorrow night. We then get Fiona the next day! We will fly from Beijing to Nanning this afternoon.
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4 comments:
Thank you so much for sharing this website with us. We look forward to your reports every day. What a great experience you are all having! Glad all is going so well. Great pictures. Take care,
The Burtons
Wonderful pictures and such a nice blogg. Keep up the good work and keep us informed. Wish we could be with you on such a wonderful trip. I see patrick is as tall as Nyle. Take care of everybody and we know you are looking forward to getting Fiona. Send more of your great pictures.
Love Mom @ Dad
Really enjoyed the photos..keep them coming. Can't wait to see pictures of Fiona. Illinois has won two games in the Big Ten tournament, Yes, I'm serious. Bolliger kids are looking good and sounds like they are having a good time and seeing so much. Colleen is here with me and says to say "hello" and to tell you the fish are still swimming. You are in our prayers. We are anxious for you to get home. It seems you have been gone forever. Love, Mom
I just returned from a 3-day trip to Louisiana, so haven’t had the chance to catch your blog before now. Thanks so much for posting things so others can live vicariously through you - what a terrific adventure for all of you! Loved seeing the Illinois sweatshirt on the Great Wall, Patrick! (By the way, last night the men beat Purdue to win their second game in the Big 10 tournament – today they are in the semi-finals.) All is well on County Road 2400 E and we even are having some good spring-like weather – 57 yesterday. Take care, Carolyn
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