Saturday, August 7, 2010

Day 2

After a surprisingly great night of sleep (The beds are very, very hard) we ventured to the free breakfast buffet, and it was phenomenal! The key word here is Free, because when we finished breakfast, we went to the Jade factory, where Robin Roberts was made an honorary stockholder for all of the Jade she purchased. Seriously. After we heard a lecture on the three different qualities of Jade, and why you should only buy Jade A, which is top quality, Robin proceeded to be on her Jade A game. After the employees gave Robin a standing ovation, we boarded our van and headed to the Great Wall of China. Now, one of our guides, Vanessa, is a complete ball buster, and she was teaching us the four different tones of the Chinese language. Certain words said in certain tones mean different things. Ba Ba said in one tone means "father" and said in another tone means "shit." So, when Addison gets perturbed with Daddy, she best not drop Ba Ba in the wrong tone!!! The Great Wall of China...WOW!!!!! Although very, very, very crowded (mostly Chinese, but a nice number of Americans, Dutchman and some pretty freaky Iranian girls) it was truly mesmerizing...and steep. We walked about two miles and the legs were BURNING (note to Jason Hamilton: You probably would have stopped at least five times to rest you little Nancy boy!!) Anyway, I really do not have the words to describe how incredible it was. After leaving the wall, we went to the Summer Palace, complete with man made lake and man made mountain, where royalty goes to vacation. It was very nice, but not even close to the shock and awe that was the great wall. Our final stop of the evening was for the famous Beijing Roast Duck Dinner. The chef carved the duck right in front of us, then had us try a piece of skin, which we dipped in salt. It was damn good!! Robin again passed on eating the head, but she did eat some breast of duck wrapped in a pancake. Very impressive for her. For the first time ever, she also ate a date. Note to Robin's mom Shelly, the girl is 37 years old, has lived in Europe, and the first date she ate was in freakin China?? What, are Dates not Kosher?? Ok, it is midnight, and we have another long day tomorrow, complete with sightseeing and a three hour flight to Guangzhou. Until tomorrow!


NOTE ADDED PICTURES TO DAY 1` COMPUTER IS SLOW SO IT TAKES FOREVER TO UPLOAD TO BLOG...HENCE THE SMALL AMOUNT.







9 comments:

  1. Amazing pictures--you look fabulous! What a terrific opportunity for both of you to be seeing Addison's culture! Loving everything about your journey! Love Mom and Marty

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  2. Hey guys - LOVED the pictures!! How amazing!! Robin - the note about "tone" being important kind of made me laugh - be careful, lol:-) And duck - I'm impressed, very brave in my opinion. Jazzy sends her love but is telling me to get going because it is a beautiful day for another walk. Love you guys! Sue W.

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  3. I love the pics!!! Amazing! You guys look like you are on cloud nine!
    Robin - your hair looks fab! :)
    Eric - I am sure the great wall was just like your bleacher runs! :)
    I love the updates and pictures! Love you guys!!

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  4. I don't think the word "steep" appropriately captures the great wall. Those steps are much more fun holding a two year old, walking through snow and ice in 25 degree weather. Take my word for it.
    glad you guys are having fun, enjoying your ride from here.
    -Tony Linnen
    Hi!
    I'm sitting here drinking tea from China and loving your blog! You are only 24 hours away from meeting your daughter! We can't wait to see pictures!
    love,
    Amy

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  5. Congratulations!! We're so excited to see all of the pictures and can't wait to meet Addison Jade!

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  6. So heart wrenching to see you in the places you longed to be for so long! It is finally your two smiling faces next to all of the places you couldn't wait to experience! The countdown must be on now!!! We all will be anxiously waiting for your big moment!

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  7. It will be wonderful for Addison to see your two cute smiling faces experiencing her culture with such gusto! Duck? Yuk! You both look so happy and free spirited, even with all of those steps.

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  8. It's just wonderful seeing you in all of these amazing places. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Greg, E and I love reading your posts. Eric, I see a book in your future - you are a great writer.

    Wishing you a good trip to Guangdong. You must be counting down the hours until you hold your daughter in your arms. :)

    Love, Aunt Linda

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  9. What amazing pictures, love the wall, super experience just being there -- absorbing all the sights, enjoy all of it. Linda Sheftel

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