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It's our final day in Beijing and what better way to finish off our visit than with a trip to The Great Wall. This was a spectacular moment for our entire group. We all felt so privileged to be in the presence of The Great Wall. According to our tour guide, "Lily", we are all now Great Girls & Boys now that we have climbed The Great Wall.
The trip was an hour and a half by bus outside of Beijing, and as we arrived to the park everyone was very anxious and eager to get to the top of the mountain where the wall stood. A short shuttle ride, a 10 minute walk uphill, and a 5 minute gondola ride got us to the top. I was surprised that the wall was so crowded with people! We had to squeeze through the entrance just to start the walk along the wall. We spent about an hour and a half on the wall, and I toured the side that led me down the mountain. This seemed smart on the way down, but not on the way back up! I can't imagine the workers that had to carry each and every
stone to build those steps I was currently sweating on. The history and tradition of Beijing is more than words can detail. I was humbled to be atop The Great Wall looking down onto the city below. It's a moment I'll never forget, and hopefully someday I'll be able to share those same moments with my family.
After the hike back down to the bus, we ate at a local café for lunch. The servers brought out at least 15 different dishes, all which were delicious! Our group stuffed our bellies with food to prepare for the long haul (in loads of traffic) back to the city center. This trip took over 2.5 hours as the traffic was so congested. Luckily, on the return trip, our bus detoured to The 2008 Olympic Village. The Bird's Nest and Water Cube were within walking distance. I had so many friends compete in those Games that I felt almost at home besides the beautiful structures. The Bird's Nest is extremely impressive with the bent steel beams wrapping the entire building. The water cube which is directly across the walkway had its own beautiful structure. The bubbles on the side walls looked like
they would 'pop' and float away leaving a gaping hole in the side of the building.
We retired back to the hotel for a couple of hours to rest of legs, and then went out for one final night on the town. A small group of us decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at Da Dong's Peking Duck Restaurant. Usually I don't eat duck, but for this meal I made an exception. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was very swanky, but not stuffy. The tables were designed for groups of people, and as we sat down we were handed a menu of 165 pages! Thankfully the book was mostly photos of food and we picked some stellar dishes: yams shaped with purple plum sauce, pumpkin chestnut soup, caviar over dried ice, noodles with egg and bean paste, fruit salad wonton, sweet soaked pears, and of course Peking duck with all appropriate condiments. Every dish was executed and presented to perfection. Even the drinks were delicious (mango coconut milk smoothie for me!).
Overall Beijing had exceeded my expectations. If you like history and tradition, you'd love Beijing.
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