We conquered the Great Wall of China

Tuesday March 10 was the day we had anxiously been waiting for....we were climbing the Great Wall of China with our babies today.
Our day was full of full of activity as we also made a stop at the Jade Factory and an authentic local lunch stop before heading up to the Great Wall.

All dressed up and ready to go for the family's first important trip to the Great Wall of China.

One of our first stops was to have lunch and gather enough energy to climb the Great Wall. We had a very authentic lunch and I found this high-chair rather interesting....note no safety belts? But they sure know how to treat the babies in style for meals. Bethany was very good. She had her formula and rice along with some jasmine tea and not a fuss while Mommy & Daddy took turns eating. Let's hope she keeps this up from now on.

OH, I had made it a mission to buy a wall hanging scroll with Bethany's name in Chinese and we found it. Actually, it was Daddy who had remembered me saying this a while back and he was more than willing to buy it for her. Here is the artist writing her English name in Chinese characters while the Princess watched him doing this.....she was really enjoying herself as if she knows it's for her.

The Great Wall of China is one of the seven wonders of the world and this great structure has also been granted the World Heritage status by UNESCO. Now, for those of you who don't know....Tim's goal in life is to visit as many World Heritage sites throughout our travels. I've lost count but we have been to quite a number of them so far. So, this day was to be another one of our accomplishments. And we made it!

The Great Wall winds up and down across grasslands, deserts, mountains and plateaus just like a dragon spanning approximately 6,700 km from east to west. It was built by an army of manpower consisting of soldiers, prisoners and local people. We climbed the Badaling section of the Great Wall which is one hour out of Beijing City. This is the place where Chairman Mao climbed and a monument was placed at the entrance of with his saying "You are not a real man; if you haven’t climbed the Great Wall”. They also estimate 4 hours to walk the full circle of the Great Wall. Our Day was a 2 1/2 hour tour.

Since it is a very steep climb, Tim agreed to carry Bethany in the Snugli. I carried his other baby....his camera bag. Not quite the fair exchange.

Here we are at the entrance of Badaling Point.....and you can see the steps behind us. It was a very very cold day with quite a bit of wind.

While I was getting some pictures in, Tim went full speed ahead. Can you see him in the centre of the picture below at the top of the stairs? He was in quite a hurry!

I finally caught up with him and captured this beautiful picture of him & Bethany.

This is half way up to the first tower. I don't care much for heights and Tim knows me well enough to have warned me not to climb. I saw him start the climb and he waved his arms as if to tell me "no, don't do it"....he didn't think I would make it. If it were not for the fact that he had Bethany, it was cold and I wanted to give him my jacket to cover her...I would not have done it. BUT, tell me I can't do something and I have to do it just to prove that I can do anything if I set my mind to it....especially when I want to get to my baby. I actually thought he was waiting for me as I started the climb. I didn't look back or up, just attempted the climb slowly. The steps are totally uneven making it more difficult on the legs to climb. As I slowly made my way up there were many others of different ages, shapes & ethnic backgrounds. I was among a group of elderly ladies and it turned out that I was part of their group as they talked to me along the way smiling each time I stopped to catch my breath. As I was midway up I looked up to try to find Tim but he was no where in sight....OMG, I had no choice but to keep going and hope to meet up with him at the top. The Ladies and I finally made it and once we got to the top they were all talking so loudly patting each other on the back, catching their breath. When I reached the top right behind them, they all went into a loud chatter and patted me in the back so much that I felt I was going to tumble down the steep stairs that I had painfully just conquered. They found it funny but I just quickly grabbed onto the railing and stood semi-paralyzed along the wall once I looked back and realized that I "was a true man" according to Chairman Mao.

Take a look at the steps from the top view....and the spectacular but smoggy view from the top. You can see the continuation of the wall starting from the bottom along the left.

As Tim came down he was so surprised to see me standing at the first tower. He was worried because it was really cold and I wasn't good for Bethany but she was sleeping so soundly snuggled up in Daddy's chest. As usual, Mommy worried for nothing. But we quickly made our way down.

Once we left the Great Wall we made our way back to the city with a quick stop at the Olympic Stadium. What a spectacular scene. It is one thing to see it on TV but another to be right in front of the "bird's nest". Bethany was again fast asleep in Daddy's arms in the bus ride back so Tim had to stay while I went out to get some video footage and pictures. There were so many people speaking a multitude of languages as I made my way through and it was beautiful.

The first building you see is the Beijing National Aquatics Center also known as "the Water Cube". As you walk around it you see the majestic Olympic Stadium.

What an exciting moment....wish Tim & Bethany could have been with me in the picture.

From here we went to a Tea Ceremony held in a special Tea House. We were given a lesson in a private room just for our group. It was great. Tim and I were in our glory because we love tea and learning the different types and purposes of the teas was a real treat for us. Bethany was now wide away and in her usual best behaviour. Thank heavens for the magical powers of cheerios. Here is our family during the special Tea Ceremony.

After the Tea Ceremony we went back to the hotel to freshen up and change the girl's. We had a special Peking duck dinner planned for our group. They say that you haven't experienced China at its best if you have not climbed the Great Wall and enjoyed an authentic Peking Duck dinner. Tim has just informed me that the city of Beijing was originally named Peking but was later changed to Beijing in the late 1950s. This is where this authentic dish originated. Well, how's that for some history from Timmy Lee?

Since it was a special dinner to commemorate such an accomplishing day, it was only appropriate for Ms. Bethany to sport her red, lucky Chinese colour, dress for the occasion. Of course she was a huge hit as usual for being the best dressed baby in our group. Even Daddy finally changed his clothes and dressed up.

Having learned over the past 12 days that food makes Bethany happy I made sure to feed her when we got back to the hotel room before heading out for dinner. She did not fuss and to entertain her we gave her a piece of apple for her to chew on. She doesn't have any teeth yet but loved her apple.

And then we called it a night right after some play time back at the room............she slept like an adorable baby...oh yeah, she actually is our adorable baby.