Back to Beijing

We are getting very good at our weekend trips to Beijing! This past weekend, Danny was invited to go to a dinner with some students from his business school that are touring China. He jumped at the opportunity - we both have such fond memories of our life during the two years he was in B - school - he couldn't wait to meet some of the current students! The kids and I tagged along and were looking forward to swimming and Ellie was anticipating a Subway for dinner while daddy was out!!

On our drive there, I snapped some photos of the countryside, because soon the trees that were planted for the Olympics, will cover up the fields and fields that are hand worked by the farmers. It is truly amazing and humbling to watch these farmers in the field using equipment that we would have used 60 - 70 years ago. Last week when I was on my way to Beijing, I had to text Danny that I actually saw 2 JD tractors!! It is rare to see 1, let alone 2 in a row!! Of course, that is good news for us, and hopefully to the farmers as well! But, the majority do not use tractors, so long, hard hours are spent in the field.

After we checked into the hotel, we went on a hunt for an Italian restaurant we wanted to try. We finally found it after the taxi driver took us far away, only to go back about 2 blocks from our hotel where the restaurant was located. Ahhh, if only our Chinese was better, we would have known to walk!!! We all enjoyed the food, but most of all, the kids loved making their own mini pizzas while they waited for the rest of their meal! It was a great concept and definitely made our visit more relaxing, therefore we will go back!!

After eating, we headed off to the German butcher to buy meat (obviously!!). Then, we decided to take the kids back to the hotel, instead of running around, and let them do what they really wanted to do...swim!! We had the entire pool to ourselves and we all had a great time!! After that, Subway and early bedtime!! I got to watch an entire DVD in peace and Danny was able to enjoy his "adult" dinner!! Once agiain, a great time was had by all!!