Short travel post number one -- China, the Great Wall -- and a few bonus photos.

Several of you asked for more pics of my trip to China and I'm happy to oblige. Today I'm starting with a few outtakes from travel articles I've written since returning home. I'll start my first 'proper' China post back at the Great Wall after a little detour.

If you'd rather read/comment on my Word Press blog, go here...

TRAVEL 'FIRSTS'

Travellers the world over share the heady anticipation of ‘firsts’—the first time they see Rocamadour, (the town of the Black Madonna and foie gras) built into the cliff face not far from Bordeaux in France, the first time they make it to Everest Main Camp, the first time they make a pilgrimage to Machu Picchu.

Glorious Rocamadour didn't disappoint!

Yet some ‘firsts’ can be disappointing. Think about this...As I entered the hallowed halls of the Vatican to gaze upon Michelangelo’s painted ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, a much-anticipated 'first', it was not the ceiling but the floor that dominated the scene—wall to wall tourists lying on their backs pointing cameras with lenses as long as their arms to the ceiling while nattily-dressed security guards danced over the inert bodies screaming, ‘No photo! No photo!’

But my last ‘first’ exploded every expectation I’d held since I saw newspaper photos of President Nixon and Mao Zedong on the Great Wall of China in the '70s—my own ‘first’ visit to the Great Wall, the foremost example of ancient architecture on the planet.

What I dubbed Base Camp at the Juyong Pass Great Wall section.
After climbing the wall, it was good to mosey around here while the thighs tried to stop wobbling.

Getting ready to rock! That mountain top looks a long way away!

Heading for the watchtower at the top of the mountain. Those stairs were full-on killers. We’re all giddily happy to be climbing the wall. Some tell me it was a long-cherished dream, impossible to fulfill when China was closed to foreigners, (wàiguó rén, or ‘big noses’).

This wall is mighty steep and goes forever. It's a long way to the top if you want to rock 'n' roll!!

The top of the section. Sadly, I didn't make it this far, but the hubs is far more competitive than I am...of course he had to take photos for me!

• How about you? Do you have any travel 'firsts' that never leave your mind?

Thanks for coming by.

I hope you enjoyed travelling with me.

Next post will be on Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City.