Let's start from the very beginning...

This post should have gone up a few days ago, but at that time we were having a hard time getting the internet to work. And since I am a little behind in my blogging, I am going to back up a little and start from the beginning of our trip!

Well, I'm excited to say that after 20 plus hours of traveling, we made it to Beijing safe and sound. 

 

We arrived in China around midnight, Friday night, and as soon as we landed, we were met by our sweet guide, Sylvia, and our driver, Mr. John. After loading up our luggage into their van, they proceeded to take us to our hotel. There was a little confusion as to what hotel we were staying in , and they actually drove us to the wrong one! The mistake was quickly corrected and before long we were checked in at the RIGHT hotel and settling in for the night. We only got about three and a half hours of sleep Friday night.

We woke up early Saturday morning, still tired, but ready to begin our day of sight seeing.

 

Our guide and driver met us around 9am, and we were off to visit the Forbidden City.

 

We thought it was going to be REALLY hot here, but much to our surprise (and relief), the temperature was quite comfortable. Cool and a little breezy...perfect weather for touring;)

Our guide was a wealth of knowledge and eagerly shared with us all she knew about ancient China. Shane and I really enjoyed learning all we could about our daughters culture and heritage.

 

 I hope one day we will look back on this trip, and share with Addy-Kate our love for this country and it's people. 

After a full morning at the Forbidden City, we were off to visit the Jade Market.

 

 We had a quick tour and then ate lunch there too.

After lunch, it was time to head to the Great Wall. 

 

This, by far, was our most anticipated tour of the day. Shane and I both were beyond excited!!!! Our guide and driver dropped us off at a bottom portion of the wall and then told us to be back in two hours.

  Two hours seemed like a really long time, but it actually took us all but just a few minutes of that allotted time to make the climb! 

 

We could have climbed to the half-way point and stopped, but Shane and I decided that we were going all the way to the top. 

 It was a vigorous hike, but when we reached the top and could look out over the beautiful mountains of China, we were so glad we made the climb.

After a full and very busy day, it was time for us to head back to the hotel. We made one final stop at the Pearl Market before heading back for the night. When we got back to the hotel, we quickly showered, got in our cozy pj's , and then Skyped with the kids for the first time since we left. We were soooo happy to see their sweet faces, and it sounds like they're having lots of fun back home. By 8:30pm we were out for the count.

After a full nights rest, the next morning we woke up refreshed and ready for our trip to Xi'an!

This is were we would met our sweet Addy-Kate...more on that to come:)