Beijing baby, private bowling alleys, hutongs, yoyo tricks, dumpling making lessons, and a warm family reunion

This morning we left Xi’an and flew to Beijing, and although the flight was at 9am, guess what we were offered for breakfast aboard the aircraft? You guessed it, beef curry and steamed rice. We arrived in Beijing and were greeted right as we walked off the airplane by a smiling woman at the gate holding a sign with my name on it, well most of my name anyway. I said hello and confirmed that I was Mr. L. Borenstein and after much insisting that I was Mr. L. Borenstein and producing my passport, the woman relented, noticeably disappointed that I was not a Mr., and motioned for us to give her our hand luggage and follow her. She escorted us through to baggage claim where she retrieved our suitcases and then ushered us out to an awaiting car and driver. Plush. We were not at the Dragon River Retreat anymore.

Once inside the polished leather interior of the car we refreshed ourselves with the chilled lemon scented rich cotton-terry facecloths and watched as Beijing appeared before us. Livvy spied a leather bound guidebook in the back seat pouch and opened it only to discover that this was no guide book at all but rather a Limousine Menu to facilitate the chef’s preparation of your meal while en route so that one can enjoy it immediately upon arrival at the hotel. Now I understood why the woman at the gate took her time confirming we were not imposters; in the wrong hands this knowledge of luxury might create a new kind of people's revolt.

We arrived at our hotel, the St. Regis, and after checking into our upgraded rooms (thank you American Express Platinum Travel Service) went to eat at the decadent hotel brunch. Now normally I shy away from buffets as they make me feel compelled to eat more than my weight and the food is generally sub-par. Here, however, the champagne brunch was a relaxing and lavish affair that I found most soothing. To give just a little taste of the extravagance let me share two small factoids with you: 1) the champagne was Veuve Clicquot Brut; and 2) the grill had filet mignon, foie gras and lobster tails lined up for one to select and have freshly seared or grilled to your specification. Fortunately the hotel is equipped with a big and well equipped fitness center as well.

After brunch, we unpacked and then Livvy and I went exploring about the hotel where we happened upon the St. Regis private bowling alley, I am not making this up. We traded our tennis shoes for bowling shoes and played 2 games all by ourselves, giggling with each knocked over pin. A few hours later we enjoyed a warm and excited reunion with David and Justin who flew in to join us for the week in Beijing. Livvy and Justin were so happy to see one another after 10 days apart, and Livvy filled her big brother in on all she had seen while in China. David and I tucked the kids into their beds and retired to our room to catch up as well, but by the time I finished brushing my teeth, a very jet-lagged David was already fast asleep.

The next day while David went to work at his Beijing office, Livvy, Justin and I met our Beijing tour guide, Ally, and met our lovely new driver, who drove us to visit the hutongs. We had lunch overlooking the lake and in spite of the restaurant not having any Fanta orange for the kids, the meal was a huge success in large part due to the pineapple used to serve the fried rice which delighted the kids, see pic. We then took a pedicab tour of the traditional hutongs (literally meaning narrow alleys) in the Beijing neighborhoods. We had a Chinese yoyo lesson by the bus station, the kids excelled at it and after my attempts, well I decided my time was best spent as photographer of the event. We then went into a local woman’s humble home for a dumpling making lesson and a kite making lesson. It’s amazing what you can make with some bamboo and plastic wrap.

David joined us for dinner at the Grand Hyatt’s “Made in China” restaurant with two of his work colleagues whom Livvy entertained fully while Justin, feeling the jetlag, fought to stay awake at the table.