Black Friday in Beijing and a TGIF Friday's Thanksgiving

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Yesterday was "Black Friday" in Beijing. China does not have the same madness as we do in the US and we actually enjoyed a liesurely day of shopping in a recently restored shopping area just south of Tiananmen Square. In the shopping area (somewhat like Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove) we watched a shoemaker at work, watched cooks create dumblings, ate lunch, and enjoyed a snack.

Bing tong hou lu is a snack on a stick. It is a sweat fruit covered with a light carmel, or at least that is how I would describe it. The girls loved it and did a dance they learned at the Chinese Daycare Center and CDT. They wouldn't do the dance to make a video though = (

After lunch, Grace, Heather and I walked to Tienenmen Square for a quick look around and then took a bus back to the hotel. Riding the bus is its own brand of adventure and not quite the same death defying act as taking a taxi. It was fun and much quicker than a taxi as the buses have lanes dedicated to them that help them get to their destination quicker than cars. It is remarkable how many people can fit in bus. Just when I thought there to be no space for even one more person, 20 more people got on. FUN!

We celebrated Thanksgiving Friday night at TGIF Friday's with Vivi's aunt, Heather and Peter. We ate way too much food and had a great time. Friday's in China has the same motif as in the US except that the menu is a little different to cator to the local tastes.

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