Beijing Day 2

Ni Hao from Beijing!

Today we travelled to the Jade Factory and the Great Wall of China. There were many beautiful pieces at the jade factory, but out of my price range for sure!!! Mao once said that you were not a great man until you climbed the Great Wall, so I guess we are now great! It was 38 degrees today, and very humid. Additionally, it was actually sunny! You hardly ever see sunshine here due to the smog.....it is almost better that way - it is WAY too hot with the sun shining! The grandeur of the grat wall is beyond words - there is no way to describe the feeling of standing there looking at the centuries of history. We decided to take the trolley up and down - it would be way too grueling to walk the wall, and with my knees and Dad's toes, we thought that it would be best. Best idea we ever had - there is no way that we could have done it. The steps are very steep and very uneven....quite dangerous actually. Nannies were available today, and Dad and I decided that it was too hot and too long of a day for the baby girl, so we left her in the hotel room with a friend of Yulin's. She was great - she said that Caitlin is VERY clever - no surprise there! She certainly has come out of her shell - tons of smiles!!!! She is also maneuvering around the room like a maniac - walking holding on to the furniture and crawling like crazy. When we came back to the room after the trip, she was very glad to see us (whew!). We decided to eat in the hotel today - kind of expensive but well worth it - I had pasta and meat sauce, and dad got RIBS!!!! in addition to a lot of other great Canadian favourites (the Chinese food is getting a little old).

We did go for Peking Duck last night, and it was very good, along with some other dishes. Tonight we decided to have an early night - it was a really long day, and VERY hot!!!! I have sweated in places that I did not know I had sweat glands!!!!!

Goodnight from Beijing........