Today was an exciting and exhausting day! We were up early to take a bus with the rest of our tour group to climb the Great Wall. On the way, there was an obligatory stop at the Jade Museum where we were given an explanation of how the jade was made into items for purchase. After debating over several items, Jillian, Chloe and my mom were about to make a purchase when suddenly, the stone fell out of the necklace Jillian was about to purchase. Talk about an immediate sales killer. ha Both girls backed out and then mom also bailed, leaving the sales ladies bewildered and disappointed. They said, "You can just glue." Um....no. We will just go to JCPenney and get the same thing for less money.
In case any of you wowen need to use the bathroom....
Shu-Shu thought the rings were pretty.
We were so excited to get to the Great Wall. They took us to a place that is extremely steep---ahhhhh--we were hoping for the location with the ski lift to the top. Rats! Molly and Chloe wanted to go all the way up and went with a friend. Jillian, Mom and I went quite high but had no interest in going to the end because we were basically about to die. Our legs were like rubber when we came down but it was worth it. We all loved the Great Wall!
All smiles at the base of the Wall
View through the window in one of the guard houses.
Beautiful blossoms
Yes, it IS as steep as it looks.
After the Wall, we were taken to lunch at a place that is in the same building as a Cloisonné Factory. I have been taken to the Jade Museum and the Cloisonné Factory on almost every adoption trip. So it was fun to show the girls -- but not buy anything because the prices are ridiculously high for tourists.
Painstaking work.
Yummy lunch!
We arrived back at the hotel around 3:30. We were so exhausted. We ventured out to try to buy water and a few snacks which the girls found very interesting.
They chose some candy which was challenging since it was all in Chinese. They liked everything except one. Fortunately, the candy is very inexpensive so no great loss if they don't like something.
For dinner we went to a noodle shop and the food was delicious! And cheap -- only $7 for all four of us. They wanted Baskin and Robbins afterwards which was $14 for three of them. Hmmmm.....
They love China but have found crossing the street to be terrifying. I had told them it was like Frogger and now they understand what I meant. You don't just cross all the way. You go...then you stop halfway across so you don't get hit by the oncoming traffic. Sometimes one of the lanes has a driver who will stop but the one next to him does not. So... Frogger. It doesn't matter that you are in the cross walk. This time there are a lot more motorbikes and three of us have had near misses with them.
Tomorrow is Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, rickshaw ride to the Hutong area for lunch and the afternoon at CCCWA offices where the girls were matched to our family.
