Saturday

Today was a long day of touring. We had 4 other families fly in last night to join our group. 3 of them joined us for the touring. 2 were first time parents and they had many questions throughout the day. Tiananmen Square was so crowded. I don't remember so many people on either of the last trips I made to China. They had ropes to keep lines moving and it would have taken an hour standing in line if we hadn't been able to bypass it. Looked pretty much the same except for so many people. The Forbidden City was also crowded. I don't remember it going on for so long, but maybe it's because we'd already seen the Summer Palace and Ming Tombs. The actual buildings pretty much all look alike. I did enjoy the Imperial Gardens at the end. I was too tired to really walk around much though.

After the Forbidden City, we headed to a Jade Factory for lunch and some shopping. Our group sat at a table and sampled many dishes. I really liked the eggplant and "fried milk". Loved the fried milk and could see it as being a State Fair food. It was similar to cream cheese puffs but the milk wasn't creamy - a little more solid. We looked at all the jade jewelry afterwards, but the prices were more than I was willing to pay even after the steep discount they offered me.

After lunch, we headed on to the Great Wall. It was very, very cloudy and later in the day - about 3 p.m. by the time we got there. It wasn't crowded at all and the shop owners barely reacted when we walked by or walked into their stores. I walked up further than I thought I would. To the 2nd turret. Beyond that would have sorely tested my fear of heights. I did stay and watch my girls make it to the next turret, which was a long and extremely steep way. I kept imagining all sorts of ways they could fall and I finally decided I'd be better off not watching and trust they would be careful. They actually made it to the top and beyond. When they finally came down and realized they had another 30 minutes before the bus left, they were disappointed they came back. But one of the other moms told them not to go any further. They were bonding with the 6 year old in our group and deciding that they will be good big sisters. I would say of all the places we toured in Beijing, they liked the Great Wall best. I actually enjoyed the times we just walked around and observed normal life.

By the time we got back to the hotel (around 6:30-7) we were exhausted. We opted for ice cream for supper and then returning to the hotel. Both girls fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows. I stayed up and packed our bags as we needed our suitcases outside our doors by 4:45 a.m. and needed to leave for the airport by 5:15.

Ming Tombs

This morning we were all awake by 5:30. After breakfast, we met the other family we will be traveling to Shanghai with. A couple with a 6 year old bringing Grandma along to adopt a boy. Sounds like they waited as long as we did, maybe more. We headed off for the hour drive to the Ming Tombs. It's a whole complex where 13 of the 15 Ming Emporers are buried. Only 2 are available for touring. One is underground and the other above ground. We chose the above ground one. It was quite the complex. We all had no idea what it really was. A lot more leisurely tour today.

We're just having a quiet afternoon. Last night we went down to the hotel's western restaurant. The portions were huge and none of us ate more than half the meal. Today, we're just snacking for lunch and may go out for supper. I'd like to go back to the supermarket. I thought it was kind of funny, but yet not, at how there were only Chinese characters on all the pop bottles, but you could tell exactly what kind of pop it was, from Pepsi, Coke, Diet Coke, Sunkist and even Fanta. Brand marketing at it's best.

I also liked just walking around yesterday and seeing daily life in China. We stopped in a mall, saw lots of street vendors, went into McDonalds, but none of the menu was in English and since we weren't hungry, only thirsty, just went to the supermarket. Our exploring on our own gave my girls a chance to see the real and normal China. I know they were surprised that it wasn't really that different than a big city anywhere in the world. Jessica did say she liked that she blended in while I was the one who stood out. I could tell she really liked walking around. Anna only likes to walk if we have a definite agenda. She said she only wants to see the Great Wall and then go get Amanda, but she was surprised that China had big cities and not everyone is poor.

Tomorrow we add to the group and do the all day group tour. We have to leave the hotel Sunday morning by 5:30. That'll probably the morning we adjust to the time difference and have trouble waking up.

Summer Palace

We Made it to Beijing!

It was a very long plane ride this time around since we didn't have a stop in LA or San Francisco like my past trips. The girls were so excited when the plane actually took off. It was light out the whole way to Tokyo, since we were flying west. I think we all took some catnaps but we really did not get a lot of sleep. It seemed like they were always feeding us. By the time we got to Tokyo, we were really, really tired. And it was dark out. Jessica slept the entire way from Tokyo to Beijing and Anna and I slept much of the way. I dont know how, but all three times I've flown into Beijing, I 've landed right around midnight. Midnight was never the time we were supposed to land. The first time our plane was delayed 5 hours in San Francisco. The second time there was bad weather and we circled the airport for two hours, and I'm not really sure why we were late this time. My schedule showed us landing at 10:30. When we got to our hotel Jessica fell asleep immeadiately. I had trouble sleeping and still cant find my melatonin. After hearing noises from the bathroom, I realized Anna had locked herself in there and was reading. Without her hearing aids in I couldnt get her attention without waking the people in the neighboring rooms. We were all awake and ready for breakfast by 8. Nice breakfast buffet in the hotel. The rooms and vehicles are stiffling though. They told me because it is spring, they dont use their airconditioning yet. Its 81 degrees in the hotel room! At least this morning I realized the windows opened, so when we are just hanging out, it's not too bad. After breakfast we went on a quick tour of the Summer Palace. I would recommend touring it on your own ins tead of arranging it through the angency. It took as long to get there as we spent there. It was nice and we got some nice photos. Once we got back I had our guide tell me where McDonalds, the supermarket and Starbucks was and we went exploring. I guess there is a Subway too but we did not find that. Jessica ended up buying a gold cow holding a red bundle. Negotiated a little, but they would not budge much. We are just hanging out this afternoon and tonight trying to adjust to the time change. Tomorrow we will tour the Ming Tombs with the other family that's going to Shanghai with us. Saturday is the tour of the Great Wall, Forbidden City etc with the rest of the group that's leaving for China today.

The iPod Touch Goes to...

Congratulations, Beatrice!!!!!

Itinerary

Last week was my panic week. This week, I'm getting so much done and really getting excited!

Here is our itinerary:

Day 1 - Tuesday - leave for China at 3 p.m.

Day 2 - Wednesday - arrive in Beijing at 10:30 p.m., check into Poly Plaza Hotel

Day 3 - Thursday - visit Summer Palace

Day 4 - Friday - visit Ming Tombs

Day 5 - Saturday - Tour with travel group: Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tian An Men Square

Day 6 - Sunday - leave for Shanghai, arrive in Shanghai at 9 a.m., check into Yan'An Hotel

Day 7 - Monday - 9:30 a.m. - to Civil Affairs office to get Amanda! Then visit the Shanghai City Orphanage

Day 8 - Tuesday - paperwork

Day 9 - Wednesday - visit Zhouzhuang

Day 10 - Thursday - visit Yuyuang Park

Day 11 - Friday - get Amanda's passport and paperwork, leave for Guangzhou, arrive in Guangzhou at 8:50 p.m., check into White Swan Hotel

Day 12 - Saturday - Amanda's TB test

Day 13 - Sunday - Sightseeing with travel group

Day 14 - Monday - Amanda's visa photo and medical exam

Day 15 - Tuesday - US Consulate appointment and Oath-taking

Day 16 - Wed - Guide will get Amanda's Visa

Day 17 - Thursday - leave Guangzhou at 7:55 a.m. for U.S., Flight arrives home at 1:00 p.m.

Giveaway

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who donated. I will be forever grateful and promise to pay it forward some day.

I will draw for the iPod Touch on Sunday during Jessica's dance class, and post the lucky recipient here. I hope to be able to mail the iPod on Monday since we leave for China on Tuesday.

Again - Thank you so much!!!