So freaking great!!!

Hello All!
I hope you haven't given up on my posts, it's been a whirlwind few days! After the airplane fiasco day one ended up being much better, I ended up chucking most of my "saftey" rules and ate at street stand for breakfast, not bad either. I still couldn't find my group in the morning so I decided to just trek out on my own and see the sights I had came to see! So with a bit of help from the hotel front desk they pointed me to the subway and I manuvered myself to the Forbidden City! Holy macaroni was it amazing, huge, and soo great! I was in constant awe of it's enourmity and of the history of the grounds. I spent five hours there and still only saw half of the compound! My absolute favorite part of the Forbidden City was the garden in the back, it was so beautiful! After many hours trekking on my feet I decided to find my way back to the hotel on the subway in hopes of finding my group. When I walked into the hotel and checked the board for any notices a girl approached and luckily it was EJ my trip leader!!! Hooray! After big hugs of joy since we had missed each other in passing about a dozen times I was finally joined with my group! We trekked out again to a dinner spot and ended up along this river that was lined with bars and restaurants. It was so neat! There were people paddleing in boats and the lights along the river were so pretty.

Day two - The group of us took the subway the the Summer Palace and spent the better part of the day touring the grounds. Again, so huge! So beautiful! And so wonderful! We hiked up to one of the temples and walked all around the lake viewing the grounds. Again, after many hours on the grounds we still hadn't seen the whole place! I soo wabt to go back! That evening we went to the night market and ate yummy street vendor food including a scorpion! Mmm, tasty! I purchased my Chaiman Mao watch (it's sooo cheesy awesome!) and we bargained hard through out the stalls.

Day three- We took a bus to a spot on the great wall that is not refurbished and not touristy at all and hiked about 10 miles on the wall. Walking along the wall was so thrilling! At one point all the hairs on my body were standing on end it was so magnificint! Again, I really am almost speechless as to how amazing the trek on the wall was, I want top do it again, it was so beautiful!

Day four- Back in Beijing, hanging with my group mates at the internet cafe waiting until we board a train for Xi'an. Let me introduce the group of Lads and Lassies I'm traveling with, they are truly fantastic! The group leader is EJ, she's a lovely Brit that has traveled the world and is fun as hell. Nick (we have nicknamed him George Michael for this trip because he is almost a mirror image and we have another Nick in the group!) and Juanita are a pair of newlyweds that joined us after their wedding in Thailand and are from Australia, I have simply had a blast talking with them and trekking around Beijing with them. Then the group is rounded out by three British boys Nick, Adam, and Rob. They have been super great pals and have nicknamed my Audrey (after Audrey Hepburn since I look like her in my sunglasses and wide brimmed hat). Ok, I would load some pics but with the slow as heck internet and a hungry belly it's time to run! Just in case no one knows it yet but I'm having a blast!!!!!!