What a long day! 6/1/07

OK - Here is the list from today:

Group Breakfast
Lobby at 8:15
Jade Factory
Great Wall
Cloisonne Factory
Lunch
Ming Tombs
Silk Factory
Tea House
Hotel - 8:00 'ish

I cannot believe all that we saw in one day. Everyone is completely exhausted!

We started out with everyone meeting this morning for breakfast together. We are very happy to report that after a cancelled flight from MSP and some unhappy encounters with airport personnel, and then a lost reservation upon arrival here, the O'Donnell Family has made it (safe and tired, but here. They have quite a story to tell.

After breakfast, we met in the lobby at 8:15 for our tour. Our fist stop was at a jade factory where we purchased a small "peaceful button" necklace for Hope. Her button is both green (happines) and white (purity) jadite (a hard, high quality stone).



At 10:30 we were back in the vans and headed to the Great Wall at Badaling. Words cannot describe the wonder of this structure. We were in awe! When we first looked around, I was convinced that we were going to go our left. It seemed like there were fewer steps in that direction, but alas...NO. We went to the right and man was it a workout. People aren't fibbing when they tell you to get in shape before taking on the wall. It was simply incredible. Even through the haze we were able to experience wonderful views from the top of our climb. It is difficult to imagine the construction process involved. Absolutely a "wonder of the world."

Our first group shot in China (we are still minus 2 families)



Beth & Dave (1st to climb to the top - I know...heights! I'm full of surprises this trip!)



The view from above - it doesn't look so bad from this angle, but when you're at the bottom looking up, the climb seems endless.

This monument says that "you're not a real man until you've walked on the wall."

Our next stop brought us to a cloisonne factory where we learned about the steps of decorating these beautiful copper crafts. It is a very intricate, detailed process. One thing that I've noticed at all of our stops thus far, is the pride of the Chinese people in their work and tradition. Our guides have been very passionate in their descriptions of everything we've seen. The hosts/hostesses have been very polite and gracious, and the craftsmen (& women) are very intent and focussed during their work as we all gather around for closer views of their art. Their attitude is inspiring.

Upstairs from the cloisonne factory we were treated to a very delicious lunch. We were served sweet and sour pork, beef with peppers, rice, and an assortment of other dishes (I'm not just sure of it all). I personally enjoyed the sesame seed balls. MMMMMMMMM! The fishy tasting mystery meat, not so much. :)

Next on the list for the day was a visit to the Ming Tombs. Another very interesting place with a rich history. This was the burial place for 13 emperors. How incredible that people would take such care in creating such a magnificent place for burial. I don't really have a lot to report from here. It is just so awesome to take it all in.

Emily, Lexi, & Kennedie

Really Cool Cypress Tree

Ron and Bob (who just keeps going, and going, and going,...you get the picture)

By now we were all starting to lose our energy. Jet lag has hit most of us and we're ready to end the tour. But, Bob (our guide for the day) had other plans. We still stopped at a silk factory and a tea house before heading back to the Jinglun Hotel. I think most of us glanced around at everything and thought...OK - let's go. :) We made time for just one more picture though. We think Hope would be pretty darn cute in this light pink/peach color. Opinions?


Hope all is well at home. We miss everyone. The last week before we left we had many phone calls and visitors and now we're feeling a bit detached. We're very excited that we'll be meeting our daughter in 3 days now. Please keep the comments coming. Also, please continue to pray for us and all of the families here that we remain healthy as we overcome our jet lag and prepare to meet our daughters. We love hearing from everyone, and we'll be saving everything for Hope to read as she grows as well.

All our love - Beth & Ron

Quick view from the van window of the Olympic Stadium in progress. ("bird's nest")

5/31/07 (continued)

We're back in the room (well, I am...Ron is still downstairs planning our adventures for tomorrow). So, after the Hutongs yesterday, we walked west to the Beijing Friendship Store. It was about a 15 minute walk west from our hotel. It is a little funny because every time we ask for directions they are given in minutes rather than distance. But anyway, back to my point, you would have all been amazed at my restraint. We're trying to save most of our shopping for Nanning and Guangzhou. We also stopped at a nearby market and purchased some bottled water. They even had distilled water for Ron's dream machine. BONUS!

To end our night, Ron and I decided to try the famous Peking Duck. We walked back west again (this time only about 2 minutes) to the Pearl Market. The 6th floor is home to the Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant. Who knew you could do so much with duck. They had a 4 page menu of duck dishes...duck intestines, duck web, duck yada yada, and more. We ended up ordering a half of roast duck. And when I say half...that means half of everything! Use your imagination to invision what was on our plates. We also ordered jasmine tea and soup for Ron. They brought out the duck and carved it by our table. Then one of the servers gave us lessons on how to eat it. It was served with little tortilla/wonton wrapper type things and numerous condiments (I'm not sure that is the right word. There was some sort of a dark thick sauce, onion, cucumber, minced garlic, and sugar). It was all very good. I know...INCREDIBLE HUH?! I have tried congee for breakfast and now roast duck. Mom & Dad, I'm sure you can hardly believe it.

I'll see if I can add some photos now and then maybe before bed I can post a bit about today. We are exhausted!

Love - Beth & Ron

Drum Tower


Hutongs From Above

Our Tea Ceremony Hostess

Rickshaw Ride

Our Guide (discussing the beams above the doorway)

Courtyard of the 2 Beam Home

Friendship Store

Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant (not really a geocache...just having fun)

testing

Anyone reading this - we can't access our blog page. I'll try to post knowing that I can't read the main page. Let us know if this is visible. We are getting all of your comments and loving it. So please post something if this is able to be viewed and we'll keep putting news up there. At this point, it may have to wait until after we are back from our tour this afternoon. Thanks - Beth

Post Pizza Hut

OK - So it is my turn to type a little. I'm understanding that people are still able to view our blog even though we can't so I'll add some info about our day yesterday after lunch.

Pizza Hut next door was an adventure. We usually try to avoid eating at familiear chain restaurants when we're away from home, but this was quick (and not your average everyday Pizza Hut). Ron tried some funky clam chowder with a pastry baked across the top of the bowl. Our pizza wan't too wild but definitely not what we're used to.

After lunch we met in the hotel lobby at 1:30 for our first tour. We had a lovely young guide who took us to the Hutong Village at the center of the city. We were escorted through the area and told of the history of this very old and precious part of Beijing. Our fist stop was at a drum tower. We climbed about 70 of the biggest steps I've every climbed, but when we reached the landing we were rewarded with a very impressive drum show. These drums were played during the daytime (on the hour, I think) and during the night a bell was rung from a second tower on the opposite side of the courtyard. We were able to take some aerial photos overlooking the Hutongs before we carefuly made our way down.

Hutongs - 4 small homes built together around a courtyard - together they are called a quardringer (sp?). The Hutongs were built during the reign of a Mongolian emperor and still, the residents of this area are rich in the heritage and traditions of their ancestors.

After the drum tower, we walked to the bell tower (didn't climb this one). Here we were invited to participate in a traditional tea ceremony. It was delicious. We were taught about the "smelling" cup and the "tasting" cup. We were shown how to correctly hold the cups as well:

Women -- Hold the cup with the thumb and index fingers on the sides and middle finger supporting the bottom. Flare out the ring and pinky fingers to symbolize the beautiful feathers of the phoenix bird.

Men -- Sam position but curl in the last two fingers to show strength and power.

We were presented with samples of a jasmine tea (to improve eyesight) and a sweet black tea flavored with a rosebud (good for memory). The were wonderful and just what I've been needing becuase my throat is terribly dry (I think from the motion sickness patches).

From there, we walked a couple of blocks to where the rickshaws provided transportation for the remainder of our tour. We were taken down extremely narrow alleys and were given a small gilmpse of life in the Hutongs by visiting two of the homes.

We learned a bit about the construction of the homes as well and the belief in fung shui (sp?). Also, the nuber of beams above the entrance is telling of the wealth of the family living there (we were shown a two beam home and a home with no beams). Just for reference, the emperor has 12 beams.

The threshhold of the home also serves a great purpose in keeping out ghosts. Apparently the ghosts hop. And, a deeper/higher threshhold at the gate will block many ghosts from hopping inside.

We learned about the meaning of the plants and koi in the courtyards. Bamboo represents long life. Pomogranate trees represent many children. And, the fish are a symbol of wealth.

This was a very interesting tour. We're very glad we went in spite of the rain. I wonder how much longer the people there will be able to continue their traditional way of life. Some of the buildings have already been destroyed in recent years for "improvement" projects (i.e. widening of roads). The area is somewhat protected now by the government, but there is also quite a lot of evidence of modern day influence.

We'll have to pause here...photos and more about yesterday and today when we return from our next tour.

Hope all is well at home.

Love - Beth & Ron

Again - typos...but no time for proofreading. Hope you are able to understand a bit about our experiences thus far.

A quick lunch before a tour.

Time was short before heading out so we went for the Pizza Hut, which is right next to the hotel. We shared some pizza and I had a clam soup with a pastry baked over the top of the bowl.

World Travelers

Travel Highlights

Mark and Gail showed up at 4:00 am to take us to the airport. We were able to switch our seats so that we could sit together. Wheels up at about 7:40 am. In flight we were seated next to very nice woman named Dawn. We shared a little of our story and found out she was headed back to LA where she lives and works. Other than a little pop spill the first flight was good.

When we arrived at LAX we had a long commute over to the next terminal for All Nippon Airways. When we got in line to check in, I think maybe God sent a man over to us and he told us the flight was over booked by 40 tickets. 40 TICKETS!!! He pulled some strings and routed us over to a club check in. Thank you to that wonderful man. After going through security again we were getting a little better at it but still had a bunch of stuff. What a long flight. The seats are not designed for people of my stature. We tasted a few new things and pass on a couple of others. I don’t know why seaweed would be used, maybe it is a health food thing.

A quick change of flights in Tokyo and again security. Here our group of five was led by a teacher returning home Chicago. Thank you nice lady. We were very tired on this flight. We tried to stay awake but were unable. When we arrived in Beijing we found our bags and then we found a driver waiting for us holding a sign. A quick drive to Jinglun Hotel and check in. The nice thing is complementary internet service so we can stay in contact. Thank you all for the nice comments on our blog. I think later in the week when we start to miss home more they will be even more appreciated. time for a little nap and them we are off on a tour. Thank you to those of you who can call my parents and keep them informed. I know they will not get tired of phone calls as they become grandparents again.

We know you want photos everyone ;)

Here are a few pictures from today. Dad, thanks for taking the first couple this morning and for getting them to us already. And, thanks again for the ride to the airport.

Parking Ramp

Heut and Epstein Families (notice Lexi's shirt).

Take-off...leaving MSP




Setting up Shop at the Jinglun Hotel ("home" for the next 4 days)