Day 2- Climbing the Great Wall

We made it up the Wall! Well the section open to walking anyway. Not the whole way to Tibet. The journey down was actually more daunting that the climb up as more than one section was almost slippery after years of millions of people walking over it wore the "tread" away. The amazing thing is that vendors selling everything from "I climbed the Great Wall" t-shirts to bottled water and pashmina shawls (the latter not something we wanted to buy given the 90 degree heat after a climb!!) The view was breath-taking and well worth the sweat.

In the morning, we toured the Summer Palace, an immense park of temples, gardens, lakes and a never-ending corridor that provided an escape from the blistering Beijing heat for the emperors. I (Karen) liked the idea of the Empress having her own courtyard. I think I will set up my own husband- and kid-free zone a home!! (just kidding)

We also had two enormous meals, one featuring Peking Duck. Good thing we had the Wall trek to burn off the calories!

Today we visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City and tonight we fly to Hubei (Jessi's province). At this writing, we are a little more than 24 hours away from meeting her!!! We are supposed to pick up our babies at 10 am sharp!!