Arrival in Beijing
Sunday, July 27th, 2008We arrived in Beijing….our first game of the 2008 Olympics is almost here! I feel like Beijing has been transformed and everyone is so excited for the games to begin. It is a little smoggy, but, overall, very nice. I have been impressed with the facilities, people and hospitality.
After our 12 hour flight from San Francisco, we were greeted by lots of eager Chinese helpers at the airport. We found a Starbucks at the airport which started our trip off in the right direction. We are staying at a local college for the first few days until we move to the site of our first two games.
The college that we are staying at is very nice! The facilities, food and staff are top notch and we have really enjoyed our stay.
We went to the Forbidden City. It was a hot and humid day and we walked around seeing everything. My favorite part of the city was the garden at the very end. It was beautiful with lots of plants, flowers and Chinese creations.
Also, we went and climbed the Great Wall. I don’t think I fully understood the magnitude of the Great Wall. It is one of the “modern 7 wonders of the world” for very good reason. I decided to venture out and try to climb the “hard” part of the wall. Well, it was a very bad idea for a girl from Kalamazoo, MI who is scared of heights. I made it up one set of stairs and one incline hill and then I felt my stomach drop and I had to grab the hand rail. I couldn’t believe how steep the climb was. The views were astonishing and I got several great pictures, but I only made it up a small portion of the wall. After our climb, we found a Starbucks that was in the Great Wall and I added to my collection of coffee mugs and enjoyed a coffee.
We will be traveling to the site of our first and second games very soon. It is only a 2 hour train ride from Beijing. I will write more from there!
