The breakfast buffet in the hotel was much better than the experience the night before so it started the day off right. And Billy got his bacon! After eating we met up with our guide and six other couples from our agency. To our surprise one of the couples has a little girl that is Karsyn's age and as if one personality like hers isn't enough, wouldn't you know that Makayla turns out to be just like her. They immediately were inseparable.
This was great with us because it also meant that we had several more eyes on our kids. Actually, all the families did an amazing job with co-parenting today.
The first stop was The Great Wall. This was an experience of a lifetime and breathtaking. Literally! I had no idea how hard it would be to climb. It is difficult to describe how proud you feel when you get to the top and I can only imagine how proud the Chinese are of this structure. We went to the Juyong section of the wall. The kids made me take a picture of their last step on the way down.
This is also where we had our first experience with squatty potties. Karsyn was so excited to try one, but she got stage fright and decided to hold it. I have a feeling Kora is going to have to teach us how these things really work.
After the Great Wall, Grace took us all to an Americanized Chinese restaurant. She did all the ordering and I have to say it was the best Chinese food I have ever had. I can only hope that we can continue to find food like this. Even Karsyn ate it up.
Luckily we were able to drive through the Olympic village on our way to Tian an men Square and the Forbidden City. I can remember back in 2008 and seeing the buildings on TV that were built for the events, but never dreamed that I was ever going to get the chance to see them this close. The "Nest" was pretty cool.
The rest of the day was spent walking through Tian an men Square and the Forbidden City. I tried to get as many pictures as I could so that I can one day show Kora and tell her all about them both.
The picture below is of the Two Peas in a Pod outside of the Forbidden City.
After the long day, we talked Grace into taking us to Peking Duck for dinner. This restaurant didn't even have forks for us to eat with and they brought out the Ducks in front of you to cut up. It smelled good, but we decided to stick with what we knew. So sweet and sour chicken it was. I am sure we will have plenty more time to try duck in China.
If we didn't have to be up at 4am tomorrow I would post more pictures and give much better descriptions of the day, but I am wore out. Tomorrow we leave for Anhui and will spend our last day together as a family of four. We have had so many laughs today and have begun what will be lifelong friendships. We all get to go our separate ways tomorrow for about five days and when we meet up in Guanzhou it will be so amazing to get to meet all the different new additions and see how much these little lives will change each family so quickly.
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