Hello Beijing!!!

We made it to our comfortable hotel without a hitch! We enjoyed a welcome dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was delicious and generous! We had Kung pao chicken with peanuts, spicy shrimp with cashews, beef and eggs, stir fried lotus root and snow peas, amazing garlic green beans, sweet and sour pork, scallion pancakes, hot and sour soup, rice, lo mien noodles, and beer!!! I’m so glad I didn’t eat much on the plane! What a great start! I can’t wait to try more real Chinese food 😊

Ps- sorry for the ugly pictures. The lighting is no good. Hopefully I can make the food look better in the future 😜

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Oh jeeze!

Everyone was on the plane. Doors were closed, belts buckled… For an hour. After sitting on the tarmac for over an hour, we were asked to exit the plane! Apparently there were mechanical problems. The flight was delayed for four hours! Ugh!

So, I promptly headed to the United Club. I paid $50 for a day pass. Soooo worth it! Free beer and wine, yummy snacks/lunch, and a SHOWER!!! I can do this! It’s only 24 hours of travel. 18 hours on planes. No big deal 😏

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There’s no place like home!

Ahhhh……
Really, there’s no place like home. We returned to our super clean, organized home late last night. We found homemade banana bread, fruits and yogurt for breakfast- compliments of Mom. AND a large pot of homemade chicken noodle soup- compliments of Lara! Looking forward to lunch! We are blessed with an awesome family 🙂 Thank you. Love you all ❤

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Check back in November and join me on my trip to China!!!! 🙂

Ugh… Airline food

By the time the flight attendant reached our seats they were out of the vegetarian meal option (my typical best bet). Adam had the insipid “chicken” with polenta and spinach in a “tomato” sauce. It was totally inedible. The sauce was sickeningly sweet and oddly fruity. Terrible. The chicken was a mushy bit of over-chewed bubble gum. Horrifying.

Luckily, the flight attendant offered me a Muslim Halal meal that was intended for a passenger that apparently missed his flight- Lamb vindaloo with rice and green beans. It was actually quite good. I generally love Indian food. Although it wasn’t the best, the spices were aggressive and the rice was amazingly good. I was kind to my poor husband. We shared my meal 🙂

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Breakfast at the United Airlines Club

Dave and Dana gave us passes to the United Club. We headed to the airport early to take full advantage of all the perks! Thanks guys!!!

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We started with a cup of proper English tea then had “breakfast”- Thai green curry with chicken! The curry was really good. A hint of spice, lots of cilantro and perfect rice. We had pints of Fuller’s London Pride, one of my all-time-faves and Schweppes bitter lemon soda- yum!!! Finally, fruit tart for dessert! I want to become a club member!

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The club even has showers!!!! Such a nice luxury before a long flight- especially after trekking across London with heavy luggage! The fully equipped bathrooms were super clean and stylish. Awesome!

Higglet :)

We met our friends Robbie and Cara + future baby Higgs (Higglet) at Jamie Oliver’s Italian at Piccadilly Circus for dinner. We had a great time catching up and chowing down on some great food! Unfortunately the lighting wasn’t good for photos, but you’ll get the idea.

We started with smashed peas and mint on toast with fresh mozzarella and asparagus. It was fresh and crisp. Really great. We also had the avocado crab bruschetta. It was ok, not as fresh and bright as the peas and mint.

Adam had the squid ink pasta with mussels and tomatoes. It was perfectly cooked, simple, and delicious. I had the crab spaghetti. Mine was good- one note, a little flat. Primarily salty and fishy. The menu description said it had fresh lemon, but I didn’t detect it 😦

The desserts were sweet and tasty. I had the homemade brownie with salted caramel ice cream and caramel corn. Excellent, especially because we’ve been craving popcorn. Adam had ice cream with butterscotch and crispy nut clusters. He said it was, “pretty good”- from his lips, high praise.

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Daily food-ventures!