Trip to Beijing

This is us by the Bund in Shanghai, Doesn't it look like the future? We're the Jetsons.

The torch-like picture is of the torch. The writing on it is the Special Olympics motto "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." The little girl lit the pool, and then the mobius strip ribbon burst into flames, and then it raised up. It was pretty amazing.

Here's a section of the Great Wall. Ain't it grand? Please notice the crush of humanity. Sorry if the pictures didn't line up.

Hey everyone, did you miss us? We were in the fine city of Beijing for 36 hours. As a note - the blogger site is finally in English on my side, but I can't see the blogs after I post them, so if they're ridiculous, I can't tell. Pretend they're awesome, okay?

So after a late night at Opening Ceremonies, we were up early to head to the airport (or airpot, as Cindy Lou Who pronounces it) and catch our flight to Beijing. Everything went well and we met our new guide Allen, and our driver, Ricky, who whisked us away to the mountains outside of Beijing to see a cloisonne factory (mom's choice), where we learned about how they make fancy enamel-ware. The secret is that they put the color on six times. Not two, not five, but six. It was actually really interesting to learn about, even though most of us (mostly me) complained on the way over about having to go.

Afterwards, it was off to the Wall. China's National Day was October 1st, and this whole week everyone has off. Unlike Fourth of July or Memorial Day, when Americans go to the beach or to a BBQ, the Chinese go into the city to check out national landmarks. So... the Wall was packed. In fact, everywhere we've gone has been packed. Imagine exiting the Rose Bowl for hours on end. Or being in Times Square on New Years Eve. But amongst people who have no personal space issues and will push you out of the way. That's been our experience.

Just getting to the Wall took probably close to an hour, because there's a two lane road in and out. At one point, we made Grandma get out and walk towards the tram (okay, we all got out with her, but we've been teasing dad about sending his mother on death marches.) So, we took a tram to the actual Wall, only when we got out, we weren't on the Wall itself. We started walking down this trail next to the Wall, and at two different points tried to take the stairs up and were informed that it was too crowded and we had to keep moving. It was ridiculous! Plus, there's about forty million police and army men, but still, no one really directing traffic. We did manage to get up though, and stood on the Great Wall of China. It's pretty great. Though, the section we were on is located in a remote, hilly area, which kind of begs the question - do you really need a wall? Couldn't you get by with one or two guys sitting on top of the mountain, shooting invaders as they huff and puff up the hill? It was impressive though.

We had a LOOONG ride back into Beijing, but our hotel was nice when we finally arrived. Grandma tapped out for the night (death march really tired her out) and the rest of us went out for Peking Duck. We ended up at what can only be described as a Peking duck factory - a five story restaurant, all dedicated to the art of duck. They would bring the duck by and carve it at your table, which is interesting and horrifying. Tim ate the tongue.

This morning we were off to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Again, crushed full of people. The Square is cool, but one of those things where if you didn't know what it was, it wouldn't amaze you that much. The Forbidden City was pretty amazing. It's the emporer's palace from the Ming Dinasty, and it's a vast and remarkable space. It's odd to be inside a huge city, and then have all of this empty space. The buildings and carvings are beautiful, though some are under rennovation for the upcoming Olympics. We did a lot of walking in the Forbidden City, and then were off on a quick car ride to the Summer Palace, which is out on a lake. Again, a lot of space and beautiful buildings. We even got to take a little boat ride.

Beijing is a very different city from Shanghai. It's incredibly hazy all the time with pollution. We tried to pretend that it was mist when we were up in the mountains, but you'll notice most of the pictures are pretty gray. Also, we got our photo snapped a lot more in Beijing. Sometimes people would come up and ask, but sometimes we'd just notice a camera flash nearby. It's like being Britney Spears and being chased by the paparazzi, y'all.

Made our plane back in time and tomorrow we have no big plans, other than the acrobats at 6:30pm. Everyone is excited to sleep in. Grandma is holding up well, even if she is using a fork instead of chopsticks.

We can't believe how fast the trip is going. We see Sara again on Saturday. She seemed pretty unenthused to see us on Tuesday night, so we might not go running around the stadium to see her next time, the ungrateful thing!

So, I am going to try to post a couple of pictures - hopefully it works. Stay tuned for more hot China action.