Day 2 - Great Wall

Before I tell you about today, I have to mention that Jay and I went to dinner at the Beijing Hard Rock Café last night. It was pretty cool to sit and have a burger and fries while listening to classic rock. We went with Mark and Barb and had a great time. We took the subway there which is a whole ‘nother story. It was insane!









So….today, we went to the Great Wall of China. We got up early and left the hotel by 7:45 and didn’t return until 6pm. After going down to the hotel restaurant for dinner, we are back in the room and we are beat! I couldn’t go to bed though until I posted some pictures from today. It’s really amazing. I mean, you see if on the TV or in a book, but until you’re actually there seeing it in person, you can’t possibly imagine the scale of it….and that was just seeing a small portion.

Before going to the Wall, we went to the Ming Tomb. It is where the Ming Emperors and family are buried. It was very interesting and I kept thinking about how much Tyler would have liked hearing about all that history. There was a great view from the top of the largest of the tombs.



















From there we went to the Jade factory. China is known for it's Jade. It was pretty cool to see just how many things they carve from Jade. The detail was amazing and the jewelry was amazing. It was here that we had lunch. It was served family style with the other people in our tour group. It wasn't what I would have ordered for lunch, but we were hungry so it worked. Besides, we needed our strength for the Wall.





From there we finally were on our way. Just the drive there through the mountains was beautiful! When we got to the base, we entered at a part that had a cable car up to one of the stations on the wall and then you would climb the rest of the way. The point we were climbing to is the highest part of the wall. This cable car went high and was very steep. I admit I had to close my eyes a couple times on the way up.






The climb on the wall was harder than I thought it would be. It was fine and we didn't stop too much, but the angle of it is crazy and it's deceiving how steep it is to climb. IT was definitely a workout. It took about 30 minutes to get to the peak and the view was breathtaking. We got a lot of fun pictures on the way up and down. It is now something we can say we've done.


































After spending about 2 hours at the wall, we headed to a place to get a foot massage. This was all part of the tour we had signed up for. It was a 10 minute soak in hot water with tea and herbs followed by a 20 minute foot massage. This was no ordinary massage either, it was the most relaxing thing ever. I could have sat there another hour. It was the best way to end such a grueling day.






So, here I am....finally sitting and taking it easy. Jay is already asleep behind me in the chair and it's not even 8pm. Funny thing is......I can't wait to join him. I'm ready for bed.

**A quick side note.....cuz I can't forget about my boys at home.....all the boys beat their opponents in wrestling last night and even Tony got to do an exhibition. I am so bummed I missed them, I hate to miss their matches, but we're so proud of them. Keep up the good work guys. We were able to Skype with them this morning at 6am (4pm their time) and that was great to see them and be able to hear their voices. We miss you guys and love you very much!!**