This morning we had our first Chinese breakfast, and it was quite spectacular. Besides tea, coffee, cereal, milk, and juices, we had baby bok choi, orange and purple sweet potatoes, congee rice (like po rridge), edamame, kimchi, seaweed salad, something like French toast, spring rolls, watermelon, and grapes. We feel surprisingly energetic given the time shift and managed to make our bodies sleep a few hours between 1 and 6 a.m. (p.m. At home). Our first tour destination was Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I always like the first venture out in a country, when everything looks strange and new. Here we notice the large number of bikes on the road as well as the great variety in their shapes and sizes. Bikes towing carts, bikes with second seats, bikes completely enclosed in glass and ... read more

OK, this is definitely not worth your time, let me warn you. I'm new to blogging and giving this a test run while sitting in the Toyota service area having an oil change. Just one of the many fun chores to take care of before we start on our 3-week trip to China. You probably don't need to read about laundry, canceling the paper, holding the mail, cleaning out the fridge and garden, and shopping for gifts... Perhaps the only preparation unique to this trip was our quest for new or new-looking $1 and $5 bills to be used as tips along the way for everyone from tour guides to bus driver to hotel maids. You might think you could just walk into a bank and ask for these. That was true for the fives, but ... read more