June 14, 2007, at the hotel

The Great Wall 14, originally uploaded by eiratansey.

Though it’s only about 9:00 pm, I am so tuckered out from the day’s activities that I will make this brief so I can go to sleep easier.

John, Nick, Jade and I started our day early by setting out to a park nearby that Nick had found. It was so pretty and lovely inside – lots of elderly people doing tai-chi and middle-aged people running. It was very green, we’ll probably go back tomorrow.

The Great Wall was amazing – we went to one section – not sure which, but it was not Badaling. I was able to make it up to the top (where the vertical climbing stopped and you started moving sideways). I was the first girl up – we had a guy from Canada take our picture inside one of the gates, and on the way back down, the boys and I had a beer. It was horrifically American, especially when we made a group of Germans take our picture with the beer cans (or were they French?) But I reckon that godawful climb to the top – during which some small girls were outpacing Chris and me – was enough to earn us a beer. Quite possibly, this was the best location for beer consumption I have ever experienced.

In all seriousness, the wall is amazing, and the mountains surrounding it are glorious. And on that note, I will finish writing today’s entry tomorrow – I am so tired right now!