Our First Day in Beijing

We have had an incredible day exploring Beijing today.  Our organization arranges for the travel group to have two days to adjust to the time change, and see a bit of China before meeting our child.  So today, we went to a jade factory, a Cloisonné factory, the Great Wall and to the Olympic Village.  The factories were both really interesting to see the craftsmanship used and the patience needed to make each unique piece.  We had an authentic Chinese meal and spent a good part of our day on the Great Wall. It was amazing to see how blue and clear the sky was while we were there as opposed to the sky in the city.  The smog is no joke but it is nice to be here in the winter when it is not quite as horrible.

We put a lock on the wall for our Emma. There were thousands of these love locks lining the wall and I was excited to add one for our little girl.  Maybe one day, she will want to come back to China and we can show it to her.

I should have done some training to get in shape to hike up the part that we climbed.  It was brutal but it was truly spectacular.  I can not even imagine what it must have been like to build this 3,000 mile wall brick by brick. 

We love the Olympics, so it was great to see the Bird's Nest and the rest of the Olympic Village. They spared no expense in the construction.  We were bummed that they had the area blocked off so we couldn't actually get inside. I really wanted to run a lap.

We have had a fun day getting to know the other families traveling with us.  Adoption creates a special bond and I'm thankful for the conversations we have already shared together.  We are all about to grab dinner now and head off to bed.  We have another day of touring tomorrow before heading out to the province where we will meet Emma!