Well friends, we had quite a first day in Beijing. First we had "adventures in banking." We had been feeling pretty savvy about getting our traveller's checks for free since we're AAA members. But we discovered that while American Express brand traveller's checks are well known and accepted just about everywhere, AAA visa traveller's checks are met with puzzled looks, furrowed brows, and a suggestion of another place that "will be able to take those." We went on quite a trek, finally ending up at the Bank of China over a kilom
eter from our hotel!Actually, once we got the money thing solved it became quite fun. Getting so far from the hotel allowed us to see another layer of Beijing life and experience the truly terrifying pedestrian experience. We finally discovered the only way to cross a street--wait for a local and walk right behind them!Then we had some "adventures in fine dining" at a really great
restaurant. The food was incredibly delicious and so beautiful. Here are some pictures of us in the restaurant and the marvelous food. The orange fish sculpture was made from a carrot! All in all, we are feeling great so far, though every darling little Chinese girl we see makes us impatient to get to Hunan!Love, Dawn and Andrew
