Last day

Today we slept in a bit and had a later breakfast than usual, enjoying a morning with no rushing to get on the bus. Jamie, Rachel and I then headed to the Oriental Plaza, a large, modern mall that was very nice but a little too upscale for us. There was a Starbucks there, though, and a delicious bread place, and we had some yummy lattes and pastries. We then went out onto the street and walked along WangFuJing, which is a street lined with all kinds of department stores and specialty shops. We found a music shop that Jamie had wanted to see, and looked around. There were lots of traditional Chinese instruments there, it was interesting. For lunch we had, for the first time since we have been in China, McDonald's. It tasted exactly like McDonald's back home and I think we enjoyed it more than any McDonald's meal we have ever had. For dessert we went next door to the Hagen-Daaz cafe, and had some delicious ice cream. We then went to another huge electronics store and Jamie looked around while I followed him, pushing the stroller and yawning, and realizing how Jamie feels when I drag him into clothing stores.

We came back to the hotel for a bit then out we went again, determined to spend the rest of our Chinese yuan even if it killed us. We went back to the Silk Market, and Jamie wore himself out bartering. We got some good prices, but it sure was a lot of work! One thing we got was another suitcase to hold all the other things we bought. Here is what it sounds like walking down an aisle at the Silk Market: "Hello, underwear? Hello, underwear? Hello lady, you want a scarf? Hey, hello, you want a T-shirt? I have best price, best price! Hello beautiful lady, I have purses for you!" and so on. Jamie tried on a jacket and was told that he looked "very handsome, very cool" so of course he was sold.

Then, though I'm not proud to admit it, we ate at another McDonald's for supper. Then another Starbucks for some more lattes. Somehow I had pictured having a Chinese meal for our last supper in Beijing, but we just had to have us some more cheeseburgers.

Our poor little baby was so good all day, even though we hauled her all over town. She babbled and played with us, and had a big grin for us just about every time we looked at her.

We've just finished (mostly) packing up, doing some laundry in the sink, and washing up bottles. Tomorrow will be a very long day. We are so excited though to be going home. Harrison, Quentin and Julia, Mommy and Daddy have missed you very much and we can't wait to get home and see you. It's very, very soon now! We are going to get on that big plane and fly all the way back to the other side of the world, where you will be waiting for us. Then we will start our lives as a family of six!