Running around Beijing

On a whim, we decided to go up to Beijing for the weekend! I always feel rejuvenated after I've been to Beijing, I love exploring the city and finding new places to go. On this trip, I was armed with a magazine filled with the "best" restaurants and the Beijing Insider. I had it all planned out and although we got lost, Eens got carsick and all three kids got up during Danny and I's foot massage, it was worth the drive!

Yesterday we arrived at our hotel at lunch time, so we quickly checked in and then went to check out a restaurant that served dim sum (as Danny puts it, kind of like Chinese tapas). We have a hard time finding our favorite baozi (char shao bao), and I read in my handy magazine that they had them. We found the restaurant easily and ordered some yummy food. Unfortunately, an hour and a half into the meal, we still had not received everything. As you can imagine the kids had had enough, so we had to leave without trying all of the food we had ordered and paid for. We complained to management and she basically said that they are busy, so too bad we had to wait...In America, the bill would have been reduced or something would have been done to keep us happy. Here, although there are usually a ton of people working, customer service is not their strong suit.

After the lunch fiasco, we walked to The Place (a mall) where the kids favorite hair cutting shop is. The boys and El got their hair cut and then we took them to the indoor play area to run off some steam!! It was packed! They were all sweating within 15 minutes, but they had so much fun!!

This mom apparently needed a break from the action!

After our running around, I wanted to go to the ExploraScience Center in Chayoang Park. I thought it sounded like something the kids would like - I envisioned something close to a children's museum. My vision was a little off. All of the experiments had to do with sound and light. They were more geared towards older children. El said it was boring and Eens (trying to appease mommy) said that he really enjoyed it!! Danny and I both thought it was a bit boring! On the positive side, it was very clean and all of the experiments were explained in English!! Also, we got to walk through this park that I imagine would be a really fun place to visit when it gets warmer!

Plus, who can resist these potties - yes, this ladybug is housing the restrooms. I'm not sure about the cleanliness, but the kids were intrigued!

Next, we made our way to find South Beauty, a sichuan restaurant (very spicy food)!! Danny loves the spicy food and he was very excited to try it out. We looked through the menu and decided the kids wouldn't eat anything. We knew there was a KFC close by, so we took the kids and got them food there! While they ate, Danny ran up and ordered take out for us!! Let me just say it was very HOT! Danny was sweating buckets and I could only eat about half of the kung pao chicken!!!

We finally put the kids to bed and started watching Outsourced (Danny's new favorite movie!) and waiting for our foot massage! The ladies arrived and we got halfway through the massage when we heard screaming. Within 10 minutes we had all three kids laying on the couch with us while we got our feet massaged!! So much for the relaxing end to a busy day we were hoping for!!

This morning we woke up and went to Grandma's Kitchen for breakfast - lots of American breakfast foods. The kids always eat a ton and I love the very fresh (wait 15 minutes while we squeeze) orange juice that they serve!! We let the kids have a quick swim after breakfast and then we were off to do a little food shopping!

Our first stop was a bakery. When we finally found it (our driver does not get the full set of instructions ever...instead, we stop every 5 minutes and ask if we are going the right way!), it was a teeny little store. It had a lot of overpriced Wilson bakery items in it - which of course I bought!! We also had to buy cupcakes and cookies - we were at a bakery!!

Next, we attempted to find a bagel restaurant. Our driver once again, kept pulling over along the way to get directions. The stop and go did a number on Eensie's tummy, so I ended up cleaning up a bit of mess before we made it to the restaurant! We finally found it after Danny insisted that our driver actually call the place (imagine that!!!). It was worth the drive, they had yummy sandwiches and tons of different kinds of bagels! Danny was happy because they had lox!

Our last stop was Jenny Lou's for some groceries! Danny had never been before so he had fun looking at the large selection. He also enjoyed being surrounded by laowai (foreigners) for that little bit. To end our visit to Beijing we stopped at Starbucks...a grande vanilla latte to savor on our way back to Tianjin!!