We had a very easy flight (though it is not comfortable to fly for 12 hours!!) and were picked up right away in Beijing by our CCAI guide. It was awesome. He drove us to our hotel--which is really nice--and then we promptly went to bed. I was able to sleep from 10 to 4 and then was just awake.
We went down to breakfast...all Chinese foods mostly and I am not very adventurous with food so I just had cereal and toast, but they had very yummy coffee.
We met another couple in our adoption travel group at breakfast, and went down the street to buy bottled water. It is so fun to be in such a HUGE city...there are 22 million people in Beijing our guide told us!!
We met up with our group and our amazing guide George at 8 and toured The Forbidden City and T Square. It was very hot by 9 and scorching by 1. I was saved by my travel fan and light, loose clothes.
The Forbidden City was beautiful and immense--the home of China's emperors.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and we it was so good to learn about our boy's culture.
Our agency asks that we come to China a few days early to acclimate to the culture, weather and time change in order to be as rested as possible for our real adventure of meeting and caring for our boys!
Our agency arranged for us to take a rickshaw tour into the old part of Beijing, and then we are lunch prepared by a local family, on their little patio. The food was delicious and it was very low key and special.
This afternoon Joe and I walked down the street to a huge mall--and it was very touristy.
So our first leg of our journey has gone so well...and yet I am very, very eager to get to Zhengzhou and finally meet our sweet boys! This leg feels very surreal and is a wonderful vacation (from reality), and I am thankful, but things are about to get very real, and our boys are about to have a very rough few weeks and months. I am praying for miracles and healing and preparing myself for loving our hurting boys.
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