Beijing Tour--Day 3: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and The Great Wall

Today's tour featured all of the famous highlights of Beijing, including Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and The Great Wall. We were joined by another family from Chicago, which made the day even more fun. They have an 8-year-old son and will be adopting a 2-1/2-year-old daughter from a different province. We will meet up with them and some other families in Guangzhou at the end of the week when we all finalize our adoptions together.

Maddie figured out that this is the character for "China" after seeing it everywhere.

Beijing in the Spring is simply beautiful. The trees are all starting to bloom.

Meyers family bonding at the Great Wall. It was even steeper than I remembered!

Silly shot after climbing (probably the result of deprived oxygen)

I do have to mention one funny phenomenon we are experiencing: we are constantly being photobombed by Chinese tourists who love to have their pictures with foreigners. It is hilarious! Here is what usually happens: our guide will take a photo of the three of us, and then one or two Chinese tourists will jump into the photo with us while their families take their pictures. At the Summer Palace, we probably had 15 people jump in at the same time for a giant group shot.

Sometimes people are a little bit more shy in their approach. At The Great Wall, I noticed a teenage girl standing a few feet away from me trying to discreetly get a photo with me without my knowledge (kind of like when my dad tries to get photos of Maddie "with" Disney characters without waiting in line). I could tell she was nervous, so I asked her if she wanted to come closer. You would think I had made her day: she smiled profusely and grabbed my arm like we were old friends while her mother took several photos of us together. Then, one after one, about 10 other Chinese tourists grabbed my arm or put their arm over my shoulder and had their photos taken with me.

So far, the Meyers family is probably in at least 30 tourists' photos. Several older ladies have approached Maddie and have patted her arm and have made seemingly sweet comments in Chinese. One woman even put her baby's hand on Maddie's arm to touch her. I had warned Maddie about the extra attention she could receive because of her long blond hair and she is being gracious. It is pure curiosity, never threatening. We can only imagine the conversations that will occur when the other tourists get home: "We saw The Great Wall, the pandas and some Americans with blond hair." Clearly, I'm not Angelia Jolie-Pitt, but all of this attention can make you feel like a rock star.

Taking photos with Chinese tourists at the Temple of Heaven

 We are very proud of ourselves for trying all kinds of new foods while in China, but there are some American options if you are feeling homesick for your hometown favorites. McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks are plentiful and offer familiar choices as well as some Chinese options, such as mango shakes. Walking into this Starbucks feels just like one at home, including the free WiFi. If you look closely at the menu, you will see the items are written in English and in Chinese characters.

Starbucks Beijing

Tomorrow, we have an early flight to Guangzhou...only two more sleeps until we meet Wendy!