The Great Wall

Today was another wonderful day in China.  We started out the day by meeting another couple, Jennie & Chuck, for breakfast.  They are fellow Minnesotans and are also here to adopt a little girl.    

After breakfast the 5 of us, with Peter as our guide, boarded a van bound for the Great Wall at Mutianyu.  The drive took close to 2 hours, but part of that was due to traffic in Beijing.  We were told by Peter that there are locations closer to Beijing to see the wall, but he prefers to bring families to Mutinayu because there are fewer  tourists and the scenery is more majestic.    

After we arrived at the parking area for the Great Wall, we walked up a steep incline that was lined with locals selling all sorts of "treasures".  We boarded a cable car, which we shared with Chuck, Jennie and Peter, and glided up the mountainside to another landing, where we began our trek on the wall.  We hiked on the wall for about an hour.   It was a beautiful, clear day, which made the experience even more magnificent.   From the wall, we were able to see part of the Beijing skyline, 35-40 miles away.  

We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch, which Peter ordered for us.  The food was excellent!  Once again,Elli ate only white rice.  We're really hoping that she'll venture out a bit and try something new in the next couple of weeks!  

When we returned to Beijing, we stopped for a quick view of the Olympic Park area, from the 2008 Olympics.  From there, we traveled to the Hongqiao Pearl Market, which was at least 3 levels of vendors selling everything from cheap little souvenirs to jewelry.

We ended our evening with supper at Pizza Hut, swimming in the hotel pool and a video skype session with the boys.  Life is good!  

We depart Beijing tomorrow, excited for our next destination, Hefei, where we will meet our new daughter on Monday.