(We went to to Shanghai Science & Technology Museum too, so there's some more photos from that here... we went to the Imax!)

We took the overnight train, and I must say... we were rollin' first class. It was really smooth and we had our own compartment. We ate, watched movies and slept.. and by morning we were in Beijing.

When we got off the train, the weather felt sooooo much nicer! Shanghai is so humid, but Beijing, although we've discovered it does get just as hot, is nice and cool in the shade. We got to our hostel which is just like a hotel! Really, the beds are deliciously soft (unlike in our dorms) and it's cleaner too. Man. Cooler weather, softer beds... what's not to like? Well, the subway for one, but that's another story...

So we got to Beijing, checked into the hostel, ate some lunch, then headed down to Tiananmen Square.

It was a bit of a walk and four rickshaws came to us at once, ready to take us, but the weather was so nice compared to Shanghai we hoofed it. We took lotsa Forbidden City pics and ran around there for a while before heading back. Cristina went to visit her boyfriend, Francesco, and Lluis, Lucas and I headed to Wangfujin, which is a big street in Beijing where you can buy a lot of stuff including... SCORPIONS ON A STICK!

haha! If we weren't so full, we just mighta eaten some... We also went to the flagship Olympics store and took pictures with our favourite Friendlies - the Beijing 2008 Olympic mascots :] Then we spent the rest of the evening haggling for chatchkies, including the hats you'll see in my great wall pictures!

Day 2 in Beijing we got up early and took about an hour and a half long bus ride to changcheng - the great wall. We wore our ricepicker hats and this lady wanted to take pictures of us so we acted like superstars. Then we took a van from the bus stop to the wall with an New Zealander and... gal from Connecticut! Once there we took a rickety old gondola up

and explored the great wall. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.. it was incredible!

Going down was hilariously awesome too... we tobogganed down a giant slide that wound it's way down. Then, Lucas wasn't paying attention and wrecked into Cristina and Lluis! I was too busy being attacked by the Mongols though!

Well, we were pretty dead after that so just fell asleep while watching Goodfellas!

Our last day in Beijing we headed to the Summer Palace. It was pretty... and really far away... and really big. But ya know, it was still nice. I saw this woman taking a picture of her family there and offered (in Chinese) to take picture of all of them and they got really excited. Then a couple minutes later, they stopped us and asked if we'd pose with their kids. Being foreign in China is really fun sometimes! Anyways, we hiked up longevity hill and almost died we were so tired! The fun came whenever we were going back. We were waiting to board the bus, and if there's one thing you need to know about China, it's that they never stand in line. So here we are, like 40 people all clumped together, tired, hot and sweaty, waiting to board this bus that is inching towards us. As soon as the doors opened, it was a free for all! A little girl went flying in the air, and I was knocking over all the people who tried coming to the stop late and standing in front of me! I heard Lucas laughing hysterically as I bounded into the bus and flung myself onto 3 empty chairs to save them for Lluis and Lucas who were squeezing their way onto the bus. It was the most fun we had all day! Good thing we got the seats too, it was stuffed full of people the entire way on the 2 hour ride back to the city centre!

We got back and rested for a bit and Lluis packed up, he was leaving on Saturday. After hanging out with him everyday for 2 weeks, it was so sad saying bye to him! Lluis, I know you're reading this, so t'estimo! Lucas wants to visit Europe next summer, and I want to see an FC Barca game, so hopefully we can make it out there! Jonas, Lucas, Gabriel, Lluis, Marina and I went out to a goodbye dinner and the next night to karaoke. It was a silly time! Marina and I sang Laoshu Ai Da Mi and then we all sang random English songs... they had a bunch that I didn't expect, like Save Ferris and Ben Folds Five!

Cristina left today, and she's headed off to her first year of college so good luck to her! Things just aren't the same in China without her!!! After bidding her farewell, Jonas, Marina, Lucas and I went to the fabric market and almost threw up because it was 3 floors of tailors... ridiculousness!!! Jonas was picking up his suit and I... got a coat!!! It's being custom tailored as we speak, and I'm picking it up on Saturday. I got a "student discount" so it only ends up being about $40 USD... not bad for custom made ;] Then Lucas and I went to the mall and I went nuts and bought a lot of stuff... oh well! I've been pretty frugal thus far!

So... go lookit the pictures!!!

<3

e!