The weekend of the 26th, was four days of no school.
If you read my last blog, or you know me well, then you may have guessed that I would travel somewhere given that little bit of extra time.
But , where did I go?
Well, one of my good friends here, Colette, and I went to Beijing, China.
Both of us have wanted to see the Great Wall, so we thought this would be a great opportunity.
It was a great trip.
Not only was it nice to have time away from school and teaching, to hang out with a friend, to try new food, but to also experience (even just minimally) a new place and culture.
I wish I could eloquently describe what it was like to see the Great Wall. Unfortunately, the best I can come up with is, “It’s really big.”
But, please allow me add to that.
I went there knowing it is an enormous wall. But, to see it in person makes you realize the immense size it actually is.
We went to the Badaling Wall, which apparently is the most restored and visited portion.
When standing on it, looking out over the landscape, you see beautiful mountains and wall.
In the distance, wall.
Even further in the distance, wall.
with Colette on the Great Wall
a little glimpse of what we saw:)
What else did we do in Beijing?
Well, we walked a great deal:
– to Tiananmen Square
– through the Forbidden City area
Tiananmen or Gate of Heavenly Peace – one of the entrances into the Forbidden City
just after leaving the Forbidden City
– to Jingshan and Bei Hai Parks
– through an area of Beijing to find the Friend’s Cafe – a cafe that has been modeled after Central Perk in Friends, where they play episodes of Friends all day
outside of a park
the street outside of where we stayed
the Friends Cafe
on our walk back / trying to find a bus
what better to do in an underground street crossing?!
Did we eat good food?
Yes
Was it a good trip?
Yes.
Was it far too short?
Yes.
I’m incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to finally go to Beijing and to have such a great travel partner!
much love!
BEing. 