'Our view of Beijing's real face'

It's been a few days since our last diary, during which time we've done the tourist trail.

It's quite a novelty for us as usually we come away to athletics competitions as support staff, working from dawn till dusk, ensuring that our athletes have the best possible support and only have to worry about performing to the best of their ability on the field of play.

The sightseeing started on Wednesday with a trip to Tiananmen Square where we saw Claire Balding and Steve Cram doing a piece to camera, which was more interesting to me than Tiananmen Square as I love Steve Cram.

This was followed by a hair-raising walk to the Forbidden City. But when we got there, it was an oasis of calm and tranquillity: you could not believe you were in the middle of a noisy a frantic city.

The couple visited a number of China's landmarks

It was a blessed relief to get out of the midday heat: we enjoyed a couple of hours meandering through the beautifully manicured gardens admiring magnificent architecture, sculptures and carvings.

It was quite bizarre to find myself the main attraction, being stopped and asked to pose for photographs with the locals; I made many new Chinese friends.

Next on our agenda was a trip to Beijing zoo. On our way to find a taxi, we were approached by a bald Chinese man pedalling a rickshaw, so deciding it would be another tick in the box of things to do in China, we got in - which in retrospect was the wrong thing to do, as taxi rides are hazardous enough.

But we certainly saw the other face of Beijing, the Beijing where the real people live, not the perfect fa�ade that's shown to the outside world.

When our hour was up, we still had to find a taxi to Beijing zoo, as he dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we had a map and asking locals where on the map we were, we headed off to find a taxi which took us to the zoo.

Beijing zoo is one of extremes: the very modern, where the much-revered giant pandas are housed, to the very old (much the same as ours 30 or 40 years ago) where the magnificent large cats pace backwards and forwards in confined concrete enclosures, to the ultra hi-tech aquatic centre. All in all this last part of the day's adventure was quite depressing.

Helen and Barrie Stephens enjoyed a sightseeing tour around Beijing

The new day dawns: 5:30 am, clear blue skies, clean mountain air beckons, we're off to the Wall.

Arriving at the Juyongguan section of the wall an hour later after having avoided Beijing's rush hour traffic, which seems to last all day, we were rewarded with spectacular tourist and hawker-free views: definitely worth the early start to have it all to ourselves.

Our trip has been unforgettable: the people are charming and polite, but have not yet grasped the art of queuing.

The sports venues are spectacular and, believe it or not, you can find peace and tranquillity in this enormous noisy frantic city.

As with the Olympics, there have been many highs, with numerous medals coming from the velodrome, the rowing and equestrian.

The water cube has produced some of my highlights, Gareth Duke against all the odds winning silver and Lizzy Johnson won a well deserved gold, despite having lost her mother to cancer on the day she arrived in holding camp.

We felt like the proudest parents watching our son compete in his first summer Paralympic Games.

Unfortunately, due to rescheduling we will miss Nathan's best event: the javelin on Tuesday - he is only 1m off the F57 world record, so go for it, boy, and let the Welsh dragon breathe fire.

Let's hope the complexities of disability sport will be recognised so that our young track and field athletes can achieve greatness and win medals in London 2012.

Good luck to all our remaining competitors in their events, let's get some more medals in the Bird's Nest, we're off now for some well earned and much-needed R&R.