Two years ago today, we were landing in Beijing, China. The sights, sounds, and smells were amazing. We only spent three days there before traveling on to Elle's province, but those few days were filled with all kinds of experiences....
We walked on the Great Wall, built thousands of years ago.
We saw artists carving jade, making incredibly intricate designs.
The food was amazing!
The beds were narrow and very "firm" aka hard.
We watched acrobats bend their bodies in ways that seemed physically impossible.
We met other couples from our agency who were also adopting little girls.
The Olympic Bird's Nest and the Cube whizzed by our bus windows as we traveled the city.
We sipped tea at a traditional ceremony, learning what each ingredient did for your body.
We walked around TianAnMen Square, quickly learning the phrase "BooYah" (sorry, I don't know exactly how to spell it).
We went through a crowded market where you could buy items much cheaper than in the US, well at least some of it was cheaper.
In spite of the name "Summer Palace", it was very chilly there. It was beautiful to see the man writing poetry on the sidewalk with his brush tipped rod.
We traveled past small parks where people of all ages were doing their morning exercises.
My list could go on and on, and I'm sure that the boys and Ken could add to the things we saw and heard.... It truly was an amazing journey to bring E home!
Chinese Flag.
Toll Gate, heading to the airport to leave Beijing.
Our Beijing hotel room.
Looking out our Beijing hotel window - TianAnMen Square is off in the distance. All the small houses below were being torn down in preparation for the Olympics.
The front of our hotel.
Down below our hotel window.
Out our hotel window - You can see The Forbidden City in the distance.
Construction - See the guy up on the poles? No supports!
Outside all the tourist areas there were vendors trying to sell their goods. This person had vegetables.
Beijing streets.
The Great Wall.
Jewelry sales at the Jade Factory. Parents give their daughters jade for special occasions such as the birth of a grandchild, a wedding, etc.
Silk worm cocoons.
Scott's favorite architectural design - CCTV Complex. The final project has a section between these two towers, connecting them into one building. It is complete now.
The Bird's Nest.
All these pictures were made from silk threads. There were rooms and rooms of art!
Silk sheets and bedding. Amazing and very reasonably priced. 
A little person with split pants at TianAnMen Square.
The countdown until the Olympics on the red board. Notice the soldiers marching. This was at TianAnMen Square.
Freshly painted buildings at The Forbidden City - Preparing for the Olympics.
The Forbidden City.
Sweeping the sidewalks at The Summer Palace - Always someone cleaning where ever we were.
