So no pics as promised from Beijing. The camera was the one thing we forgot to pack. I did pack a checked bag because I knew I would be doing a good amount of shopping and bringing home a full bag. I went to the Indian store and brought back some spices (although they confiscated the pickle I bought because I forgot and packed it in my hand luggage, arg) and dhals. So hopefully I will gain some courage in the next week and try to cook some Indian food.
So maybe a better way is to outline the weekend for you:
Friday: We were running late and trying to catch a cab during the time of day that the shift change occurs. Get this, Hangzhou has decided that shift change for cab drivers should be normal work rush hour... That is from 4-5pm. So you are out of luck if you want to go anywhere during that time and that's usually when I'm commuting. So we found a cab who was in the middle of his shift change but took pity on us foreigners. He mumbled something about how we would just have to pay 100RMB, he wasn't going to run the meter because it was shift change time, etc. I thought I understood everything until we started winding down some narrow streets just off the highway that we were supposed to be on. Finally, we get to a bridge where the driver stops gets out and starts talking to another man. Turns out we got to witness our very first Hangzhou taxi cab driver shift change because we were part of it! So, new driver gets in and settles in to his 12 hour shift and we were off to the airport.
Friday evening we got into Beijing, put our bags down at Fernando and BeiBei's apartment and headed to a late dinner at Purple Haze. We don't get good thai food in Hangzhou (a hint to our new-found Thai friends in Hangzhou, maybe they'll invite us over some time if they read this) so Purple Haze hit the spot. We couldn't finish a lot of the food which was a pity, but it was already close to 1am. We (Ben, Fernando, BeiBei included) went to a friends 30th birthday party. Yes, we are all getting older and it's right around the corner for Chase actually. Then we went to a house party in a hutong. This apartment was great, spacious, stained glass windows, etc. We met some fun french people and danced a bit.
Saturday: We woke up and got breakfast/brunch at our favorite bakery in Beijing, Comptoirs de France. They now have six locations and when were there they only had two. So I am quite amazed and happy they have grown. Our favorite location is in China Central Place. Everything about their food, service, and baked goods, is top-notch. We always come home with a treat bag of something yummy afterwards. This time it was two meringue cookies and Christmas cookies- star, tree, reindeer, and snowman. The tree and snowman went to Fernando and BeiBei in thanks for letting us stay with them this weekend. Next Chase and I went to our hair appointments. My hair had a big chunky layer in it from several years ago when I had an awful hair cut and so it was time to finally get my hair to all one length like a normal human. So it was a bit more hair than I'd like to part with but you can still call my hair "long" which is what I want. I can't wait for it to grow out more. Chase is also planning on keeping his hair long and opted to just get it trimmed and some volume taken out of the top and sides where it seems to grow the fastest. Our hair salon in Beijing gives the best head massages. They literally have you in the shampoo chair for about half an hour. Can't get that sort of treatment in the US anywhere I've seen. Other than that, we shopped for DVDs, I got Indian groceries, and we bought a couple of gifts from the market near by. We had lunch at our favorite Middle-Eastern restaurant, Turkish Mum. It was light, healthy, the hummus was so creamy, the tea flavorful, and we just had a great time relaxing. Yes, I really was in relax-mode this weekend. It was great to get out of Hangzhou.
Saturday evening, we read some books, and then made our way to have Thanksgiving Dinner at a local NY style restaurant called Chef Too. The owner is American and they even make their own ice cream. So the meal was a traditional one with all the sides and I even had some turkey to join in the spirit. We arrived late, so the staff was hurrying us through the meal, but I savored every bite.
Alright, my eyes are drooping, so I am stopping here and will recount the story of our trip after I wake up.
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