We made it to Beijing

We are here! The flight was very long, but Bennett did better than expected. Got up at 2:30a, then 6:00a flight to Newark, then a 12:10 flight to Beijing (the 2nd flight was almost 14 hours, a new record for us).

We arrived yesterday afternoon (and crashed early!). As we pulled up to the hotel, Bennett asked "Is this where April lives?" 

Today we went to the Great Wall (the section called Juyongguan, known for the views). It was beautiful. Mommy bailed out first, but Bennett and Daddy continued up for a lot longer.
Languanges heard at the Great Wall: Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Russian (and probably more!).

We also toured a Jade carving factory (the prices seemed high so we did not buy any Jade yet; hope we don't regret it) and the Summer Palace (very different from the Summer Palace in St. Petersburg). Beautiful - but much more understated. 

In Beijing we are not with a travel group and have our own personal guide (Mi Nan) and driver (Dou).

Tommorow we have a packed day!  The Forbidden City, Tian'an Men Square, Olympic venues and then an acrobatic show. Touring is very different with Bennett than on our own.  He is very much on the go and doesn't want to stay in one place to read the history or hear any information about an exihibit.  He is having a blast and really being a good traveler.     

Thanks for all the well wishes. We cannot get to our blog directly - so can't see comments. Mark's dad has emailed some of them to us (thanks Al!).