The Great Wall

AARRRGGGHH, f#(!%ing Microsoft. I just typed out a great blog -- it was amazing, articulate, even enlightening. And then Internet Explorer exploded on me and I lost it all. I'll never be able to re-create it, so I'm not even going to try. You'll just get a short, to-the-point recounting of our day, instead.

So, today we went to the Great Wall. We stopped at a jade factory on the way. They had a lot of beautiful stuff, but we didn't buy too much. I'm not a huge fan of jade, and much of what I did really like was out of my price range. Like the carved, jade ship shown in the photo on the left.

We did buy a couple of bracelets though for the girls when they get a bit older.





After the jade factory we hit the Wall. DoT and I had brought along a snuggly and a hip carrier that was loaned to us by a friend (thanks MJ!). So we set off on the Wall. We didn't go too far though because the steps were a bit treacherous and in places there were no hand rails. The steps are really steep in places. And none of them are the same height. Some are around 8 inches high and then others are more like 18 inches high. Many of them have slopes to them, and with today's rain they were a bit slippery. I was afraid one of us was going to take a nose dive down the stairs, so we didn't go up the really steep sections.





Here's a picture of the four of us at the place where we basically stopped and turned around.
The rest of the photos I took didn't turn out all that well because it was really foggy. This next photo is about the only one that's worth posting. Too bad. The photo doesn't do it justice.



















On the way home from the Great Wall we stopped and had lunch at a restaurant where we could experience typical Chinese food. It was very good. At least what I got of it. It seems that at meal times I'm not really getting to eat all that much, since I'm too busy trying to get two one year-olds to eat. And then by the time they're finished we need to leave to catch the bus again.

There was a store at the same location as the restaurant and DoT and I bought a beautiful silk wall hanging.

Tomorrow is the day for the medical checks. Last night E and A did not have a good night (again). So we are very tired. Hopefully they will sleep well tonight. Otherwise when we see the doctor tomorrow I may be asking for some tranquilizers for the girls. Just kidding (sort of).

Well, that's it for tonight. Again, I wish you could have read my original post. Oh well, you'll just have to believe me when I say it was a thing of beauty.

No comments on the comments tonight. Too tired. Thanks for commenting, though. I'll try to respond tomorrow. Night, all.