We spend much of the morning taking care of final details before Courtney, Brad, and Glenda arrive tomorrow. \u00a0There’s a pretty strong chance of rain when they get here. \u00a0We were planning on taking taxis to eat dinner, but getting a taxi in the rain, at Sanlitun is a nightmare. \u00a0We start scrambling trying to get a van to take us around, and maybe even drive around and see some of the lights of Beijing after dark. \u00a0I also have to pick up my Chinese visa. It\u2019s been at the passport office for three weeks. Then Judy and I go over to Metro for some grocery shopping.<\/p>\n
We get back in time to meet Deb and Graham. They\u2019re giving us their bikes (which were given to them). We\u2019re excited to have them. It should make some of our local travel a little less daunting. Lots of things we do in the area requires a pretty long hike, but too short to justify a taxi.<\/p>\n
The four of us taxi over to Sanlitun, where we\u2019re meeting a group at Luga\u2019s, an Italian\/Mexican\/German food restaurant. The Mexican food is really good, and, as so many things in Beijing, the \u201cset lunch\u201d special is really cheap.<\/p>\n
We enjoy a couple of hours eating and visiting, and eventually say our goodbyes, and depart. Deb and Graham are off to Cambodia, via Bali. They \u201cadopted\u201d us when we arrived and took us around to lots of great restaurants. They also specialized in finding good \u201cstreet food\u201d. I\u2019ve enjoyed eating in some really interesting places with them. They\u2019ll be missed!<\/p>\n
Judy and I head to the Marriott. I\u2019m get in a swim session, and Judy walks over to the Lady Street Market. She needs to get some kind of curling iron for Glenda. It\u2019ll keep Glenda from hauling one from home, and possibly burning it up on the current over here. Converters are not much good on items that create heat, we\u2019ve been told. She finds a good one, and has fun bargaining the price down.<\/p>\n
We get home in time to message the kids back in the US. They\u2019re at the airport, and boarding has begun. We\u2019re excited! \u00a0We\u2019ll see them in 21 hours!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We spend much of the morning taking care of final details before Courtney, Brad, and Glenda arrive tomorrow. \u00a0There’s a pretty strong chance of rain when they get here. \u00a0We were planning on taking taxis to eat dinner, but getting … Continue reading