The Great Wall!

Our guide & my new friend, Helen.

So, I'm a little late posting this, but as you can imagine, things have been busy busy!

On Saturday, we continued our plan to the Great Wall of China! Before heading there, we went to a Jade factory, where we saw how the stone, Jade, is made into different things. From small things, like jewelry, to large things, such as sculptures. So much detail goes into this! We even found out that because Jade is such a symbolic stone in China, they are including it on part of the Olympic medals for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

I bought myself a beautiful jade pendant of a sheep, which represents the year I was born. No mom, I don't think they had any loose stones here to make jewelry...I believe that comes later when we make it to Guangzhou.

We then made our way to the Great Wall. Of course, by this time, it was storming pretty bad...raining & very windy! Just our luck! We had a little ways to get there and were hoping that the rain would die down before we got there. No such luck! However, that didn't stop me! I was not about to miss the chance to hike the Great Wall after traveling all this way...rain or shine! It was incredible! Of course, my legs have been very sore since! The steps are very unique, as one step might be short and the next might be very high. You definitely have to watch your step! The rain and wind made this more difficult.

Because of the rain, Michael carried Cackie on a carrier on his back, with Deanna following behind. At one point, I got quite ahead of them and decided to treck up further. When I looked down at them, they waved and told me they were headed back. So, I was on my own! I made it up to the point labeled "Certificate for Climbing the Great Wall", so decided to rest before heading back. Thankfully, I ran into Jim & Austin from our travel group, so we walked back down together. Because it was so steep, rainy & windy, we had to look out for one another. We've been joking that we will not let anybody have to visit the hospital in China! Here are some pictures from the trip up & down....

Cackie is ready to go!

A view from the bottom

Deanna & me...1/3 of the way up

Cackie's thirsty (what else is new?!) so I told her to drink the rain!

I made it to the top...and I'm soaked!

Boy were my legs tired!

A view from the top.

Another great view...of course, a little hazy because of the rain. But, in person, it was really breathtaking!

When I got back to the van, Deanna, Cackie, Michael, Helen, and Kris (from the travel group) were all warm & dry. I went into the store beside where we were parked and got a sweatshirt that says "I Climbed The Great Wall". Deanna & I were laughing because Chinese sizes are so much smaller than American sizes. Also, the sweatshirts were made of 100% cotton. I got a Large and Deanna got an X-Large. We said that after we washed them, Cackie & Owen will be able to wear them! Hey, as long as it kept me warm and dry at that time, I was happy!

We then went on to a Cloisonne factory, where we saw how Cloisonne is made. Cloisonne is an ancient metalworking technique, a multi-step enamel process used to produce jewelry, vases, and other decorative items. We got to see the extreme detail the Chinese use to make this kind of artwork...absolutely amazing! We then went upstairs in the factory for a break and some lunch, or as they say here, Dim Sum. Again, we sampled several different Chinese dishes, all of which were absolutely delicious! We even tried a Chinese wine, which they drink from a glass like the one I am holding in the pic below...

Kinda funny, huh? But, I definitely see why. I wish we got a picture of my face after one sip! It is very strong!! Deanna, Kris & I thought it tasted like a strong tequila. We actually said it reminded us of something we used to drink in college!

After Dim Sum, we went back downstairs and got to visit the Cloisonne shop. There were some loose beads here, so guess what mom?? Some jewelry to make for me & Deanna! :)

As we made our way back to the hotel, we passed many of the buildings and stadiums of the Olympic village. Of course, everything is not finished, so we were not allowed to stop and get still pictures. We were able to take some pictures & get some video from the van though, but they didn't come out that great. It was pretty cool though to see all of the things they've been showing on TV! Deanna & I also took this time to try to video some of the crazy traffic in Beijing, because we were both in the very back of the van. Of course, when we were actually recording, people were driving normal! Go figure! Nothing like the craziness we have experienced at other times!

On Saturday night, we decided to do dinner on our own, at a restaurant as the same block as our hotel. It was absolutely delicious, so of course, we scarfed it down! Again, with all of the excitement from the day and full bellies, it was time to crash again. The next day, we pack everything up & head to Tianjin. Just a day away from getting to meet Owen!