Every week that goes by brings us closer to Bali.
That has been my mantra for the last two weeks, now that the heat has set in, in earnest and there's no relief from the humidity. The subways are getting a little... ripe, and I'm "feeling the heat" before I even have my morning coffee.
But this past week was special because my mommy arrived in Beijing on Monday night! It was a short visit, but a visit none the less. I knew she was coming some time in June, probably, maybe. But it wasn't until Saturday evening that I was e-mailed her official itinerary, and did a little dance and shouted a little bit.
I took Tuesday afternoon off to hang out with her, and Super Husband took her to haggle with the glasses people in Panjiayuan that morning. Sadly her adventures there were not as fruitful as ours, but she still managed to walk away with a pair of prescription sunglasses. Apparently the "boss" being in the shop is bad for business, because the endless arguing lost them the sale of two additional pairs of sunglasses. Some people just don't realize that a little discount here means a whole lot more sales over there. And Super Husband says he'll be looking elsewhere for any more eyewear purchases we make in Beijing.
After lunch at Luga's Mexican in SanLiTun (if you go, go to the one attached to the Italian place and the German place, not the one attached to the Vietnamese place. The selection is better.) we headed to the pearl market to peruse. While neither mom nor I made any purchases Super Husband found a very cool phone case, a holographic batgirl from the first edition of the "New 52", and he also bought me a jade pendant.
Mom was understandably jet-lagged by mid-afternoon, so we all retired to her hotel, where she napped and Super Husband and I sipped Starbucks in the lobby. We dined at an adequate but not amazing Thai restaurant in the adjoining mall, and called it an early evening. We all had places to be the next morning.
Wednesday evening, after a day of business meetings, mom joined me at Lush for Quiz. We once again took home the first prize, this time by a margin of only one point. It would have been higher but we didn't listen to mom when she said that Martina Navratilova was the winningest tennis player of all time. We did, however, score big with the Disney Princess quotes round, thank you very much.
Thursday, mom's last day in Beijing, she and Super Husband trekked out to the Bagou area where we had a lunch of Peking Duck, and those delicious, spicy green beans. Then they came and visited the school, where mom met my students. Of course, they weren't particularly talkative having just woken up from their naps, but they had said they wanted to see my mommy, so there she was.
After work I took the subway all 22 stops to Guomao (I had a seat the whole way! It was glorious.) where we got lost trying to find Bleu Marine, a Danish and French steak restaurant. It threatened to rain on us as we wandered around, but we managed to find it before it really let loose. We chose that restaurant on the recommendation of a friend, and were not disappointed. In fact, I have plans to return next Tuesday.
Mom flew out of Beijing on Friday morning, and Friday evening while Super Husband studied for his upcoming finals I had dinner with two friends, and one's visiting brother. He had just arrived that morning, and so jet-lag once again made it an early night for all.
Saturday was uneventful for me, but Super Husband saw not one, but two movies. One of which was the new Superman! He didn't call me in the middle of the night to tell me it was horrible, or amazing, so I guess it passed muster without breaking any records.
And now it's Sunday, a day for lesson planning, blog writing, and tv watching. Although, my tv watching has taken a dive lately. I just can't seem to find a "summer show" I really love.
On an unrelated note:
I'm still compiling lists of Beijing Tips and Tricks, so if anyone has any advice, or questions, please, please e-mail me so that I can make sure everything is addressed!
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