A great day on the wall - A post by Hillarie

Well, our epic trip is just about over. We have made our final stop in Beijing where we have 72 hours to fit in all of the major sites. On our list is Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, and of course the Great Wall of China.

The heat and humidity in Beijing is intense. The day we arrived it was 38 degrees. The next day it was 36 degrees. The heat from the sun was over-powering. Not to mention the crowds, traffic, and normal goings-on of city life.

But on day 2 of our stay, we decided that it was now or never to check off our "visit to the wall" box. Our two families (the Zimmermann and Elek-Savill family) rented a driver and a 10 seater van and departed Beijing city centre at 6:30 am. We were lucky when we woke up, the skies were cloudy and there was rain in the air.

After travelling to so many countries and seeing so many amazing sites, I find it hard to be blown away sometimes. However, the wall did not disappoint! As one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, it truly is an amazing site.

We spent 2 hours on the wall. We walked a very small portion of its 8,000 + kilometers but we enjoyed every step.

The weather cooperated and remained cool and misty. The crowds stayed away and at times we had the place to ourselves. It was an epic day and an epic end to our around-the-world trip!!