Was that a dog???

Yep, it was!! I was so excited to meet up with my friend Robin today and head to Beijing to help rid myself of the winter blues by shopping!! We met at our usual spot on the side of the highway (I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that!!) and we took her driver because he is much more efficient in Beijing - he knows where everything is it seems!! As we're driving about 70 mph along the highway, I see a little doggy right on the road in front of us. The driver tried to swerve into the other lane, but there was a car right beside us, so he hit the poor little pooch head on. Robin and I were both sick to our stomachs about it, but the driver acted like it happened all of the time. He just kept on driving...and all I could think to myself was, "since when did these occurrences become "normal"?". I'm pretty sure that happened the moment I set foot in China...

After a sad start to the day, we managed to have a lot of fun!! We started out at a ceramics market. It was basically a bunch of little stores that sell products that for some reason didn't get shipped to the US - it was like looking for a treasure in a haystack!! I found Danny the perfect gift too - Robin's driver thought I was absolutely crazy when I carried this to the car...

In all honesty, we really did need a wine rack!!!

Here's the street with all of the little shops on it...

After our treasure hunt, we went to a yummy pita restaraunt...homemade hummus, a pita filled with pesto, tomatoes, and mozz - not your typical Chinese meal and I totally devoured it!! Our next stop was a German butcher so Robin could teach me how to buy meat. I'm finally starting to cook a little bit (don't get too excited - we're talking maybe one meal a week!!) and I can't find good quality beef in Tianjin. Robin got me all set up and now I think I can make some pork chops this weekend and maybe even some chili!! Close by was a Jenny Lous where we did a quick grocery run, which ended up costing me almost $100. How can 2 boxes of oatmeal, a can of tomato paste, Ragu sauce, 3 bottles of wine, some OJ, and 2 boxes of granola bars cost that much?? Welcome to the world of import shopping!! Fruit and veggies are super cheap, but when I'm craving a taste from home, I pay for it!

On our way to our next stop we passed by this building that was burned last weekend by fireworks. I think it was a new Shangri La (a very nice hotel chain in Asia) hotel that was not done yet. I guess that was a good thing, otherwise there would have been a lot more casualties. This is why I am not a big fan of fireworks...

I begged Robin to go to the silk market to buy some more purses next...I really don't have to beg too much, she likes it just as much as I do, but our husbands do not understand our love of purses!! We went to a stand that we like and then we were taken to an apartment to look at the "good" ones! Here is the inside of the apartment building and Robin leaving with our goodies in a black bag because it would not be "safe" for the hundred police that surround the silk market (which sells all fake goods) to know we bought fake purses!!! It seems like a waste of a plastic bag to me!!

A year ago I would have thought this was a little too scary for me to venture down an alley, into someone's apartment that I don't really know just to buy purses. But now, it is so "normal"!!!