beijing, day #3.

the great wall is way more than great.  it is breathtaking.  being on it is like, one of the coolest things i have done – ever.  john and i loved it so much, we plan on going back for our fortieth anniversary!  let’s see if that actually happens…

to anyone who is wondering if they should take a trip to china, the great wall is worth it.  i can give you all the secret tips.  i know which subway station to get off at to get to the beijing north train station, and then which train to take to get there at the perfect time when all the tourists are pretty much gone and you can have the whole wall to yourself.  oh yes, we had the entire badaling section all to ourselves for about an hour and a half.  it was beautiful.

the great wall was also way steep than i ever imagined.  we walked much farther than the average tourist does i think – we hiked in about an hour and then had to hike back.  it was painful.  literally.  the steps are so steep and by the end we had jelly-legs.  but it was totally worth it!