Welcome to Beijing!

Hello...This is Lisa's friend Becky. I get to travel along in cyberspace since Lisa can't access the blog from behind the Great Wall. They made it safely - hurray! Of course Zoe left her glasses and Lisa left her cellphone at my house the night before (they were retrieved in time).

This is the first email from DAY ONE. Sounds like they are not roughing it so far. OK - enough comments from the editor...on to the first post!

After long and uneventful flights, we arrived safely in Beijing. Car/driver and translator were there to take us to hotel, although we believe the driver had purchased his license on the black market and drove as such. We hadn't even left the parking garage at the airport (a very nice garage I would like to mention) when he got himself entangled with a poll and messed up the side of his car. Then, the driver who we paid to take us to our small hutong hotel, couldn't find it, and while it was fun for the first thirty minutes, it wasn't fun the last thrity minutes.

But the hotel is AWESOME! We have the family room upstairs...not on the courtyard but still a nice big room with two kang style beds, thick quilts, wooden, red-painted beams, pained windows, silk curtains etc. It is just too cool. We had girl scouts cookies and coke for a midnight snack and are now waiting for our breakfast of steamed buns and then our ride with our friend Joan to the Great Wall.

Check out the hotel at www.tanghotel.cn.

Will write more later. So far, we are safe and sound, well-rested, and happy to be here!

Lisa