Mutianyu, China
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Hello from Beijing!It has been a busy couple of days. Bill took a day of rest yesterday. Jackie and I headed out on our own. We have the subway figured out. We tried taking a bus but we ended up getting out who knows where and taking a taxi to our destination. Anyway, I digress. We got tickets to the Women's Gymnastics Final yesterday morning. It was really awsome to see in person. It's a bit like watching a 3 ring circus as competition takes place simultaneously on more than one apparatus; something that is not apparent on TV. In the afternoon, we toured the Summer Palace, another vast series of gardens and pavillions. It has a big lake with boats on it and we could feel a bit of a lake breeze. We didn't quite cover the full 70,000 square km. To my book club friends: it was like stepping into Peony in Love. We came back to the apartment (taxi to subway to foot) to meet Bill for dinner. Then we met up with Ken and went for massages by blind massueses. They were great and cheap. We have really had some unique experiences being "friends of Ken"
. Today we went to The Great Wall with our host Gao Hui. The view is spectacular! (Pictures to follow, hopefully) The wall is a great workout! (1000 stairs just to get to it and then some challenging walking once you are there. We took the toboggan run down which is basically the world's longest super slide. Totally fun!
Tomorrow, it's back to swimming. Christine is the presumptive butterflyer on the relay. The coaches haven't announced it officially yet, even if Katie Currie and Matt Lauer have. So the plan for tomorrow is to hit the Silk Market and then head over to get our tickets and go to the prelims (6:30 Beijing time). The finals will be on Sunday (AM here, prime time there-(9:00)We have tickets to Track and Field and Table Tennis on Saturday. This trip has been a great balance between sports, sightseeing, and shopping. We added some more pictures in here - hopefully you can enjoy them.
Love to all -- Go USA!
Geri
Comments
great
you all look great and sounds like you're having a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing.
Great photos
What fabulous pictures! Thanks for sharing those. It looks and sounds like you are having a great time besides the obvious joy of celebrating Christine's swim.
Love, Dee
GREAT pictures!!!!!!
Oh, thank you so much for the pictures. Just printed the one out of the 4 of you.(and the medal!!) it's great. All look so happy! Whoever did the pictures, you are doing a great job! Keep them coming. love aunt sandy
Andrew Excitement
Hi guys! Today at VJA Institute Day, Christine's picture w/her medal was on the huge jumbo screen as the entire staff entered the Performing Arts Center- our principal, Glenn Wood, referenced Christine as the highlight of Andrew's excellence- we all could not be prouder of her!
We can't wait to see you back in Tinley Park - you won't believe the outpouring of excitement here! But not until that medley relay swims!!
Love ya, Donna, Richie, Annie and Ellie
Excellent pics
I especially love the photo of Bill on the toboggan. Perhaps he should try for the luge competition at the next Winter Games?
Tracy
Thanks for Sharing !
To Christine, Bill, Geri and Jackie:
I have so completely enjoyed the entire Olympic experience that you have shared with all of us...from the swimming, the medal(s), the travel moments and photographs. We all may not be there in person....but our Olympic spirit is there with all of you. You can see by the expressions on your faces that you are truly enjoying the whole experience. Thanks for sharing it with us....and we look forward to a Gold medal ahead!! My family and I will be glued to the tv and awaiting the fabulous 'Christine smile!'...and I'm listening closely for Bill's voice in the background!!!
Congrats...and keep on enjoying!
Carole Altmann and family
Thanks for all the great pictures
Just found out about the travel web site. It is so great to see all of you enjoying your time togehter.There are not enough words to express how proud we are of Christine. She swam an OUTSTANDING, FABULOUS, MAGNIFICENT race. We so much enjoyed spending time with your family and the Andrew Swimming family at Gattos on Sunday. It was an amazing turn out. We yelled, screamed, jumped up and down and hugged each other. I hope she could feel the energy of the home town crowd. We send all our love to Christine and we hope to get the chance to see her soon.
Love,
Lauri, Dave Megan, & David
food
Congrats to Christine and family. How about a picture of the family eating fried scorpions, seahorses and silkworms.
Evie's in awe of you, Chris!
hi mags,
great pics - thanks for sharing! evie and i were beside ourselves during chris's race - both screaming our lungs out. evie now asks every night if chris is swimming - staying up till 11 pm was definitely a special treat for her and she's anxious to repeat it! :)
we love you all!
good luck in the relay chris! we'll all be cheering!
love,
sarah and evie
PICS
thanks for sharing the pics. i cant wait to hear bill tell us of the adventures in his words. hehe. the pictures show you are having a great time and it is great that you do have enough time to do several different things. you have no idea how many cars i see slowing down going past our houses to get a glimpse of the famous olympians home and it also seems that there are more people walking down/up the hill too.
all of us that were crammed in our livingroom were screaming so loud tina said she could hear us up the hill. we were so excited for christine. afterwards we were so upset we didnt get to see the medal ceremony. we got over that quick, we kept talking about what just happened. i'm sure you'll fill us in when you get back. as rhonda told us, silver is our new favorite color.
we are all eagerly waiting for the medley. go christine, go USA!!!
love you guys, pat mcduffee (& family lol)
Beijing, Olympics and All
What a wonderful trip. We love seeing the pictures and hearing the stories. Looking forward to the medley...glad to see the team qualified.
Love you all,
Aunt Betty
What a terrific trip
Wow, Geri,Bill & Jackie! It's great hearing about the trip and getting a chance to see you guys actually there. The pictures are terrific! I'm looking forward to watching Christine in the medley Saturday night! Go Christine!
Love,
NancyNew
Thanks for sharing
Wow! What spectacular pictures. My favorite is Bill on the tobaggan. Thanks for sharing your pictures and providing the travel blog. It is just a wonderful experience all around. I know you are enjoying it all.
I can't wait to watch Christine in the medley! So happy you are having these wonderful Olympic experiences!! Take care!!
Love, Amy
Support from the Old Neighbors on Sunset
All the Baranowskis are rooting for Christine! We loved seeing the pics - it's been ages since we've seen 'Billy'. You've got a good mix of your mom and dad in your face. I'm sure your folks are smiling down and are so proud.
Cindy, Harry and Terry Baranowski
A picture says a 1000 words!!
I loved reading your blogs...and seeing the wonderful pictures.....the picture with the medal says it all!!! This couldnt be happening to more wonderful young lady and family. We love you and are proud of you!!! Love Gina
We Are Proud of You!!!!!!!!!!
There is no greater thrill and feeling of pride than to experience what your family has in the last week!
You have truly done yourself, your family and country proud, Christine. You have put Tinley Park on the map and we look forward to celebrating when you come home.
My swim coaching memories with your Dad came back strong. It was such a joy to watch you swim.We are so proud of your accomplisments!
Love you all,
Vita Meyer