Beijing

I can't type long because our computer is running out of batteries and we need to find a new converter for our laptop - the converter I have is only for two-pronged plugs. Oops! We had a fantastic time in Beijing and had the best Chinese food EVER. Our guide, Angela was excellent and we had a whirlwind tour considering we were only there for one full day. She gave us the first night to recover, which a good thing because Phil and I didn't really get any sleep on the 11 hour flight. On Saturday we visited the Great Wall in the morning. It was pouring down rain and very foggy (smoggy?) so we couldn't see very far, but the scenery was very beautiful on the chair-lift ride up. I would usually be very frightened to be up so high over rocky terrain with nothing but some slats and a metal bar to keep us moving along a cable, but I was really too excited to care. Phil was disappointed that the toboggan ride down was closed. After a wonderful lunch at a Chinese family restaurant, we visited the Forbidden City where Chinese schoolchildren were very excited to see Phil (the tallest man they had probably ever seen) and kept saying "Hello" and "Welcome to China". It was very cute. Two little girls asked to have their photo taken with me! Angela had much to tell us about the history and legends of China and it took us about an hour and a half to walk through the center of this huge and beautiful fortress. That evening we went to see the Peking acrobats, and yesterday morning we went to the silk factory. This was of course fascinating to me and I was very interested to see the process of how the cocoons are unraveled. I will have to write more about that later. I could have spent the whole day there - there were so many lovely things to buy. Both Phil and I would love to go back there with a lot more money to spend! We hurried off to the airport though and now we have spent one night in Guangzhou. Guangzhou is very beautiful with lots of greenery. It is very humid here and if it weren't for the smog it would look and feel a lot like Hawaii. We are determined to see a bit of the city today since during the rest of our stay there are supposed to be thunder showers the whole time. The rainy season has begun. It is Monday here, the sky is somewhat clear today, and we will meet Alice in person for the first time at 2pm!!!!