we went to the great wall. that's really all i did that day. if i remember right, we were all on the bus by about 5:50. we got to the wall at maybe 9:30/10:00. we walked 12 km, and those were 12 km that were almost as vertical as they were horizontal. it rained. it poured. it was cloudy and green and gorgeous. at certain points i thought it was the best workout i'd had since irish dance. i took lots of pictures - almost 200 - way more than i could post here. it made me glad to have a digital camera. mom and dad, remember when you sent me to italy with a disposable camera only to discover, upon paying for developing the film, that i used it all up on pictures of the countryside on the way to assisi? anyway, we took our time and finished somewhere between 2:30 and 3:30 and got back a little after 6, i think. i then went to get a much-needed massage, came back to my room, and fell right asleep. i'm not sure i even ate one real meal that day besides the food i had bought at the supermarket the night before. my hamstrings felt sore when i walked down stairs for the next two days, but it was totally worth it. the beauty was absolutely surreal, and it was a great break from the hustle and bustle of beijing.
vinnie, michelle, tom, and the poor peasant who was assigned by his comrades to walk along with them, "help" them climb the wall, and pester them to buy stuff from him.
even the walk up to the wall was steep, although you wouldn't guess it from this picture.
almost to the top.
finally to the wall. i took a lot of these through-the-doorway/window shots. i'm kind of a sucker for them. they always look so awesome.
looking back at how far we'd come:
we did a lot of stair climbing that day. seriously, my ass better look amazing after this trip.
no, seriously, lots of stairs. this was more vertical than you'd think.
i realized i should probably get a picture of myself on the wall
terraced farming.
at the very end we had to cross a suspension bridge and climb one very steep set of stairs
the view from the bridge. honestly, it was like something out of lord of the rings.
and we got back to our bus. in front of it was a very wet and sorrowful looking dog.
looking back at how far we'd come:
we did a lot of stair climbing that day. seriously, my ass better look amazing after this trip.
no, seriously, lots of stairs. this was more vertical than you'd think.
i realized i should probably get a picture of myself on the wall
terraced farming.
at the very end we had to cross a suspension bridge and climb one very steep set of stairs
the view from the bridge. honestly, it was like something out of lord of the rings.
and we got back to our bus. in front of it was a very wet and sorrowful looking dog.
1 comment:
Hi Meghan. Just read through your fabulous blog. Very entertaining and great photos! The links to the other sites are fun and I down loaded a photo of you Irish dancing on the great wall of China (from your Prof's site). Fun. Keep it up (both the blogging and dancing)!
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