We made it to Beijing yesterday around 3:00pm. The flight went well, and navigating the airport was seamless!! There was quite a bit of smog and it was incredibly gloomy out when we arrived. We finally got settled into our hotel around 4:30 or so, and upon our arrival, our Beijing guide (David) was there to see that everything was good, and even helped with ordering pizza for us! We then relaxed the rest of the evening. And we all fell asleep around 6p and basically slept from then until 6a. We then woke up and began getting ready and ate a really nice breakfast at the hotel's buffet. Our guide and driver picked us up at 8a and we set off to tour the Great Wall (along with two other families who are also first time adopters - so it was nice to meet and chat a bit with them). Some locals asked for pictures with us - for now on, after any ask for pictures with us, we'll ask for pictures with them afterward. And did I mention the traffic? It's exactly what you've seen in videos and whatnot - I could be entertained all day long by just watching the traffic!
We also ate an amazing lunch at a nearby restaurant, then got an incredible view of the Forbidden City. Tonight we ventured out to walk around, and found a restaurant near our hotel and decided to eat there. We had some translation issues, but our waitress was so very sweet and we made it work. :-) Google Translate must've not done so well because when we showed her something, she had a confused look on her face (so who knows what she thought we were saying - ha!!). We also had our first experiences with "squatty-potties," which honestly aren't a big deal (if you've been camping a few times or more, you're good..;-). After eating, we then found a lil market down inside a building and got a few treats. So we're now relaxing in the hotel room, and plan to go swimming in a bit.
Tomorrow we get him!!!!
We fly out of Beijing tomorrow morning around 7:30a to lil William's province, arrive there around 10:30a, then he will be brought to our hotel about 4:30p (about 3:30a Sunday your time). We should definitely have an update by the time you wake up Sunday morning. :-)
Yummy hotel breakfast
Random picture in our hotel
Toboggan slide down!!
A-m-a-z-i-n-g lunch at a restaurant near the Great Wall
With our amazing guide David
Overhead view of the Forbidden City
Trip of a lifetime right there! :) If I make it out there someday- especially for the Forbidden City- I'll have to get your input-- it's great that you have a guide. Plus, you actually get to bring back the type of souvenir folks always want: one of the cute kids, haha. We wanted to take one home in India AND in Japan. -Cristopher
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