Today we visit a section of the Great Wall of China.
Our day started with the usual early breakfast from 6:30 AM-8AM.
We were on the bus at 8:30 for the trip to the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall.
The bus trip will take a little over one hour from our hotel.
https://www.chinadiscovery.com/beijing/juyongguan-great-wall.html
Charlie gave us two hours from when the bus stopped in the parking lot. A short walk and we were near the the stairway of the wall. Most everyone stopped at the public bathrooms before going to the wall. Long lines at the handicapped/disabled toilets as there was only one in the Mens and the Womens.
There were short flights of stairs before we reached the ones to the wall. What made climbing the steps challenging was that the were not all of equal height. The steps varied in height going from short to high to medium with no pattern.
We climbed one flight and then stopped to take photos of the surrounding area and of each other. There were lots of people so we had to contend with them walking up and down the stairs as well as for space to take photos.
About an hour here we went down to the shopping area to look for souvenirs- mainly for a t shirt for me and a drawing of the wall for Sophia.
I had to go to almost all the gift shops before I found a t shirt my size - 5XL. I knew when I tried it on that it will shrink once washed but that was ok. I just wanted to wear it for photos at the wall and the rest of the day.
Shopping was difficult because there was usually only one English speaking clerk in each shop and that person was in demand because of the numerous tourists.
We boarded the bus around 12:30 to go to a restaurant for lunch.
Part of the stop was to visit the large gift shop attached to the restaurant. The time allowed for the shopping was too long.
Now we were on the way for a visit to a Hutong.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/a/nar/477297cd-88c5-4a3e-824b-33758d50f80b/355905
The Hutong was a traditional Chinese neighborhood that was one of many before the redevelopment of Beijing. Our tour included a rickshaw ride through the Hutong with a stop at a traditional house to visit a local homeowner.
We arrived at the home and was greeted by an elderly woman who told us a little about her family and life in the Hutong.
She then showed us some artwork that was supposed to have been painted by her husband. One of our fellow travelers wanted to buy a painting and she agreed to sell it to him. He paid in US Dollars and she packed it in a cardboard tube for transport.
I thought about this later and figured she sold paintings on the side for extra money and they were not her husbands.
We got back on our rickshaws to go back to the bus. Charlie advised us before we got on the first time to tip only $2.00. The ride was pretty fast and sort of thrilling as the driver weaved aroung other rickshaws during the way back.
We got back to the hotel around 5:30 and had a rest until getting on the bus at 6:30 to go to dinner.
On way back we passed the brightly lit pedestrian mall anchored by the Apple store but we were so exhausted we decided to skip the group dinner and have dinner at the Italian Restaurant in the hotel.
https://www.regenthotels.com/regent-beijing/dining/daccapo
The restaurant was not too crowded and quiet and we had a delicious dinner. The service was good as well as the surroundings.
We had planned to walk to the pedestrian mall which was only a block away but we were so exhausted we went to the room and to bed early.
This was our last night in Beijing. Tomorrow we go on another tour and then back to the ship.
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