Day 2

Wow.  We accomplished a lot today.  It's 6:00pm here and the whole family is completely wiped out.

Let's go through the day's bigger events:

1.  The Great Wall:

I've seen many pictures of the Great Wall and I never realized how STEEP the wall is in parts.  Let me tell you something:  This walk was not for the faint of heart.  There were many times when I had to stop and catch my breath (think Stair-Master).  In fact, it was not uncommon for people to be laying down in the middle of the path trying to catch their breath and we would just to have to climb right over the top of them.

Funny story #1:  After we had spent over 2 hours going up and back down the wall, Zac finally asked our tour guide, "When are we going to see the Wall of China?"  ...... uh.... buddy, you've been walking on the wall this whole time.  Apparently, he thought that our entire walk was nothing more than a hike to reach a destination just to be able to see the wall.  I'd love to know what he had envisioned in that little mind of his.

Funny story #2:  On three different occasions, I caught groups of Chinese folks trying to sneak pictures of our family.  (The amazingly novel white people).   Seriously?  You're at one of the most famous land marks in all of human history and you take a picture of ME?  I must be pretty awesome.

2.  Hutong Lane (and Rickshaw)

After a lunch and few other stops, we found ourselves visiting a Hutong, which is nothing more than a "narrow street".  Too narrow for cars, so we had the joy of riding in a bike Rickshaw.  Very fun.  And very educational.  During our tour we were able to see how some of the people of China actually live.  Their supermarket, their parks, and we were even able to go inside one of their houses and get to see their living quarters.  We spent over 20 minutes talking to the wife of the house and asking her questions about her life.  Absolutely fascinating.  

Another interesting thing that really surprised me was how much time these people enjoy spending time outdoors.  It is quite cold outside this time of year and yet it seemed that "everyone" was outside playing in parks, riding bikes, walking their dogs, talking to each other, etc.  It was inspiring.

Other fun pictures to show you all: