Overwhelmed

I think that best describes how all of us felt by the time we returned to Beijing this afternoon. It was quite the experience going to another city without Larry. He did a fabulous job arranging things for us. He hired a tour guide who was to meet us at the train station, take us to see the local sites, take us to the hotel, and then to the soccer match. Unfortunately when we got off the train the tour guide wasn't there. A few minutes of panic and a phone call to Larry later she found us and we were off on our adventure.

Lunch was.... an experience! The name of the restaurant was Golden Hans. Imagine Chinese people dressed up in German attire serving Chinese food from a buffet and roasted meat on a stick. Funny huh? Then apparently a beer comes with your meal, no matter how old you are because they brought three to our table. In case you are worried we didn't let Zach drink his.

Next we were off to the Great Wall. We got to see two different locations of the wall, one of which goes right to the water. It was amazing to see something that you have always heard about and has such a historical significance.



After going to the hotel long enough to freshen up a bit we were off to the soccer stadium! Our tickets turned out to be good for two games! The first was Camaroon vs. Honduras and the second was Italy vs. South Korea. Both games were really good, but the second one was more exciting because many South Koreans had traveled to watch their team play, so the atmosphere in the stadium was very exciting. Unfortunately for all of them, Italy won the match.

Our day today started with a traditional Chinese breakfast. I have to say, I am so proud of Zach and his willingness to try things since we have been here. Unfortunately most of the choices were more exotic that we were up for this morning, so we bought potato chips and soda at the train station. After the train ride home we went back to Tian'amen Square to take pictures of all the fantastic things they put in for the Olympics.



These creations are even more amazing when you consider this area was nothing but a slab of concert only three weeks ago.

Dinner tonight was the Chinese version of the Melting Pot. Althea, unfortunately they didn't have the chocolate dessert, but it was still pretty good. Now I am getting ready to head off to bed because we have softball tomorrow and if we are reading the schedule right, we get to see the USA team play! Larry bought us all flags and scarfs to show our support! Keep your fingers crossed for the USA softball team! I'll try to post more tomorrow.