Glimpses of Beijing

Jon doesn't want me to post photos from Beijing because he always makes a movie for each of our trips, and he doesn't want me to reveal the photos before the movie is "released" on our website. However, I feel I need to share a little glimpse of our trip other than our eventful ride home, so here are a few snapshots.

We went to a section of the Wall that was not so touristy called "Mutianyu". We rode chair lifts up and there was a luge slide down, but it was snowing the day we were there, so the luge was closed. Helen, our guide, said that she had never seen snow at the Wall before and that it was something very special (and cold).

Ah, this is the last photo taken with our camera. Right after this picture was snapped, Jon set the camera on the camera bag thinking the strap was around his neck. It wasn't. We heard a loud, "NOOOOOOOO!" and the camera plunged down to the level the boys are on in the picture.

Mammy and Grandude at the Great Wall of China.

Chinese people have often not seen westerners and they love to stare, surround us, and take pictures with us or of us. I like to pretend that I'm Angelina Jolie when the "paparazzi" swarm me. You can see our admirers below at the Forbidden City.

We went on a Hutong tour in rickshaws and were invited into an older couple's home. This is their courtyard complete with birds that said, "Ni Hao" clear as a bell. The boys loved them and Jack asked the woman if he could take one home.

We also went to the acrobat show, Kung Fu show, and Tiannamen Square. I'll post a link to the movie whenever Jon finishes it. Aside from dropping our camera at the Great Wall, getting stuck in a 3 hour traffic jam trying to go to the Kung Fu show (which we never got to that night), almost losing our wallet in the car (but thankfully getting the driver to come back to the hotel with it), and almost dying on the way home, it was a fun trip.