We spent the morning with Billy and Jingyi today at Billy's church - BICF or Beijing International Christian Fellowship. Many of Billy's friends both socially and spiritually are members of the church. We met 3 of his best friends including Sam Weatherford whose younger brother is the quarterback for the Florida State football team and will be a good pro in two years when he is drafted. The service was done in English with a Chinese interpreter. After the service, we grabbed lunch nearby on Lucky Street (!) at an Italian restaurant. I had the largest calzone I have ever seen! We were then met by a driver that Jingyi's Mom had arranged for us to drive us to the Great Wall at the Badaling entrance. It is the most touristy entrance but amazing.
We have now scene one of the great wonders of the world. There are 21 towers at the north entrance, with the 9th tower being the summit. It is 888 meters high which we think is about 2800 feet in elevation. It took us over an hour and a half to get there with several stops, but, as you can see from the pictures, it was a breathtaking sight. Our working out for the past 12 weeks definitely paid off! We were determined to get to the top! The top of the wall and tower that you can see over the left of Jingyi's shoulder is tower 9 that we reached! We then rode a gondola down so we didn't have to stay overnight! You can't avoid the beggars even at the Great Wall. The Badaling entrance is approximately 50 miles from Beijing in the mountains. We had a perfect day of weather for the drive, and again, it is truly an amazing spectacle to see and experience. We finished up with Billy at dinner tonight at a restaurant near the hotel and his apartment. The picture is Billy eating rabbit's foot - it was actually really good!
We have now scene one of the great wonders of the world. There are 21 towers at the north entrance, with the 9th tower being the summit. It is 888 meters high which we think is about 2800 feet in elevation. It took us over an hour and a half to get there with several stops, but, as you can see from the pictures, it was a breathtaking sight. Our working out for the past 12 weeks definitely paid off! We were determined to get to the top! The top of the wall and tower that you can see over the left of Jingyi's shoulder is tower 9 that we reached! We then rode a gondola down so we didn't have to stay overnight! You can't avoid the beggars even at the Great Wall. The Badaling entrance is approximately 50 miles from Beijing in the mountains. We had a perfect day of weather for the drive, and again, it is truly an amazing spectacle to see and experience. We finished up with Billy at dinner tonight at a restaurant near the hotel and his apartment. The picture is Billy eating rabbit's foot - it was actually really good!
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