In Beijing!

Hello All! We arrived in Beijing on Wednesday after a smooth trip to the airport and an uneventful flight. (Thanks to Mom and Phil for the ride to Newark). We were pretty bleary eyed after 14 hr. flight, when we were greeted at airport by tour guide and driver and taken to our hotel. The Crowne Plaza is definately four star! Very posh and comfortable.

We caught some sleep and then walked around area near hotel including the Night Market- an outdoor food vendor area, and the shopping district. Yesterday we saw many sights on our tour including the Forbidden City and Tiannamen Square. Also Temple of Heaven and an amazing acrobatic show. The acrobatic show was definately Chloe's favorite part. We also had a very fancy Vegetarian dinner at the Lotus Restuarant. Today we hiked the Great Wall and saw the Ming Tombs. Also the Olympic Venues. Quite impressive! The Bird's nest and the Water Cube are so much bigger in real life than they appeared on TV.

Chloe is not enjoying all the attention her blonde ("yellow") hair and pretty eyes are attracting. So many people comment about her and ask to take her picture. She just hides behind us some times. She did agree to pose for a couple pictures when children asked. She must appear quite novel to the people here. In general everything is wonderful. The tour is quite well organized and we are kept busy all day. We have briefly met three other Homeland Adoption families today, but we arrived a day before them and have a private tour. We will all be traveling to Nanjing together Sunday, then we will meet the other four families. We'll update you when we can.

Love, Bonnie, Allan and Chloe