Well, we got into the hotel last night about 2 am, beyond tired. The hotel is lovely, big spacious rooms and firm mattresses. Mmm. However, because ALL of China is one time zone, the sun is UP in Beijing by 5:15 am. But the few hours sleep felt like gold.
After a Western style breakfast buffet at the hotel, we were off on a 1 hour ride to the Great Wall of China. Impressions of Beijing: Huge, sprawling, LOTS of construction; traffic is CRAZY. Greg, who generally likes to drive in new places, has vowed never.
However, as soon as you leave the city, these absolutely stunning mountains rise out of the mist/haze; green carpets of trees on red rock. And then there's the Great Wall. Fast facts about the Wall - construction began in the fifth century BC and continued to the 16th century. It covers over 6000 km across China. We were on the Badaling Pass, where most of the tourists go. What a workout; there are stretches where you're walking up 40 degree slopes. It was glorious. The weather was perfect, about 80 degrees with a nice breeze. It's definitely one of those experiences that no matter how hard you try with the pictures, it will not equal the live experience of seeing that structure juxtaposed with those stunning mountains.
After the Wall, we travelled to a cloisonne factory which was attached to a Friendship Store. I've never been a huge fan of cloisonne, but seeing how labor intensive and how many different variations I've never known about, I gained a new appreciation for it. As evidenced by the souvenirs we purchased at the Friendship Store, doing our part to bolster the Chinese economy.
We ate lunch at a restaurant adjoining the cloisonne factory. It was fabulous. Dishes kept arriving on a lazy susan, with delicate jasmine tea. The highlight for me was the soup - peppery but not hot, with bits of sundried tomato in it. And amazing fish.
On the way back to the hotel, we got caught up in a traffic jam. Someone had had an accident on the highway and traffic was tied up a mile back. But it was an entertainment experience in itself watching the traffic flow creatively from the three lanes as shown by the painted highway lines to the 4 and 5 and 6 lanes created by the enterprising drivers. And I was very impressed that with all the merging and flow, it all remained very civil. Very few honks were exchanged.
After a short rest, we left for a Chinese acrobatic show, which (between the lengthy periods where my eyes had involuntarily closed) was very well done and quite entertaining.
In thirty-six hours, we will cease to be merely tourists and be that most fearsome of combinations, the tourist-parent!
Posted by heartstringsoh
at 10:44 AM EDT
