Ni Hao! We've spent most of day 1 touring Beijing...It's been a gorgeous day...highs in the mid 40s, which seems cold, but the sun has been shining and we've been very comfortable (MUCH better than the weather when I was here in August 05 and it was a sweltering, humid 95!--Somehow the Forbidden city seemed much prettier this time since I wasn't miserable in the heat!! :-)
We had lunch at a dumpling restaurant and it was wonderful--very fresh and delicious. There were no forks available, so we all got a 'learn or go hungry' lesson in using chopsticks...
we were doing fine, and then they finally brought some forks to the table. (I declined on the fork offer and managed with the chopsticks...when in China, you know?) After lunch we went to the Olympic village and walked around the Bird's Nest and Watercube
...It's GINORMOUS...much bigger than I imagined from seeing it on TV. I was a little disappointed that we didn't go inside either place, but they were pretty enough from the outside.
After returning to the hotel in the mid-afternoon, I asked our guide, Lisa (very sweet and knowledgable) if there was a teahouse nearby...I was thinking in our couple hours free before dinner, I would go and enjoy a cup of Chinese tea...she offered to take me and J came along as well. We ended up taking a taxi to a nearby Carrafore store (she said it's a French Wal-Mart) and there was a little tea shop inside. After they prepared and served us a sample of some high-quality green tea and a very delicious almond and green tea pastry, I bought a small package of each. J tried and liked both as well...he's a good, adventurous traveler! 
As we were leaving the store, Lisa pointed out a barber shop across the street and said he could get haircut for only about $2, but J declined. (Not sure if he was afraid of what the result might be or he just didn't want a haircut...either way is fine...I didn't want to push the good, adventurous traveler farther than he wanted to go!)
We're leaving in about 30 minutes for a traditional Peking Duck dinner...I think that's all that is planned for the evening and then we'll be in early. We're staying a the 'Kingwing Hotspring Hotel' and so if we have some extra time tonight, I'm going to check out the hot spring spa (if it's free, that is... :-)
Just three more sleeps until we have G!!! (That's the most important part, of course) I spent the whole day looking at Chinese men (okay, that doesn't sound quite right!)...what I mean is, I kept asking myself, "is that what my son will look like when he grows up? or maybe that one..." I wanted to hug and kiss every toddler child I saw today as well (S is quite glad I refrained from actually doing so, although I did take a few pictures)
Just can't wait to get to G...it's getting close! On a funny related note to what my son might someday look like, on the way back from the tea shop Lisa asked me if S was from Asia...I said, no, Kentucky!...she was very surprised and said that if he were walking down the street here in BJ, everyone would assume him to be Chinese. (Many of you have seen the picture I have of S when he was a toddler that I think looks just like G, so I guess I wasn't surprised by her comment...it was just kind of funny! ) I'm guessing it's his Native American heritage that contributes to looking a bit Asian??
Oh and I also received some fabulous news this morning as we were eating breakfast at the extraordinary breakfast buffet (where, again, J proved himself to be adventurous trying many new dishes)--My very best friend, who's on her 4th Chinese adoption journey, received her LOA call today!! Praise God!! So she's just about 6 weeks behind us in getting her beautiful boy! CONGRATULATIONS!!
It's about time to go to dinner...I'll try to post more later or tomorrow! Thanks for the comments and well-wishes and especially the prayers...we appreciate each and every one of you who is following along. more to come ~ d
