Saturday, December 13, 2008

Big Day in Beijing!









We had a fantastic day of touring around the city of Beijing today.  I am going to have a hard time figuring out which photos to post!  Our day started out with a visit to Tian'an men Square with our Children's Hope agency travel group of about 10 adoptive families.   Over a million people can fit on the square!  The temperature was in the 30's with a wind chill of around 20
 degrees!  My little Florida girls could hardly enjoy it for being so cold.  My tough little Mongolian girl was warming up her sisters by letting them put their hands in her coat pocket with her hands!  Wen Jun gave us her version of the history she learned.  Next, we visited the Forbidden City which was far and away more than I ever thought it would be.  The architecture was unbelievable and you could feel the history at every turn.  We were also able to view the famous Olympic "Bird's Nest" and "Water Cube."  Our jaws dropped at how huge and detailed they are!

For lunch, we went to a traditional Chinese restaurant and had the famous Beijing (Peking) roast duck along with about 12 other delicious dishes.  We ate until we popped!  The highlight was Wen Jun chatting up the waitresses, totally winning them over.  Then Lia decided she was going to talk to them, too, so started making up her own language!  It was hysterical!

Our last stop of the day was a drive out to a portion of the Great Wall.  It is thousands of miles long, and we stopped at a small portion.  Larry, Macie and Avree trucked to the top (over 1000 steps) and I took Lia and Wen Jun.  I was just going to go as far as they could go, and darned if they didn't make it to the first base which was 200 steps short of the top!  The stairs were covered with ice, but we did it!  It was VERY interesting going down, but Wen Jun was unbelievably brave and I think it was a huge lesson in trusting Mama.  

We are off to Hohhot, Inner Mongolia tomorrow morning and I am unsure how reliable our internet connection will be there.  I will do my best to post asap.  Thanks for all of your comments - it is so great to hear from home!
Love to all,
Linnes


9 comments:

Heather BT said...

What a great day!
Hope you stay warm.
Heather BT

Trish said...

Looks like you are all having so much fun! Is that snow I see????? Wow, aren't you just freezing? I think I definately need to buy warmer clothes for us. Lots of hugs, Trish

3 Countries 1 Love said...

Even though it looks like it was freezing, you can see what a wonderful day you all had. Seeing the shots of Beijing brings back many memories of our trip there when we were on our way to Bella!

Amy said...

Congrats Debi & Family... looks like a great trip! Welcome Wen Jun. Jake has been talking about Wen Jun so much, I'm glad you provided the info so we could share in your journey. Enjoy the rest of your trip and we are excited to meet Wen Jun when she returns to Florida! -Amy D'Altrui (Jake's Mom)

Anonymous said...

Dear Abby (from Rosanna Liming) We are having a church program tomorrow. I am singing a solo. We are having a Christmas pizza party at school next week. We like school very much. I hope you have fun in your trip to Mongolia. I liked seeing the pictures of you and your family. Merry Christmas! from Rosanna

I bet all of your travel group is in awe of how well Abby speaks English (and a little jealous). Have fun in Mongolia! From personal experience, you have not really experienced adventure until you let your adoptive child be in charge of ordering food in local restaurants. Be adventuresome! You only live once :-)

Velleta

Mirjam said...

Dutch weather!
Hang in there, you'll get used to it (I did).

Trusting Mama: http://tinyurl.com/5jtb5b

Anonymous said...

Sounds like an amazing place and time in your families' life!!

Take care and GBU.

Liz

Anonymous said...

It looks like a trip of memories for all time! Wow... Congrats to you all Debi and Larry
Steve

Anonymous said...

What an amazing experience! Your photos are beautiful and your larger family is amazing! We are bursting with happiness for you guys! We miss you!

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