General Update

We are back home in Xiamen after a quick trip to Shanghai and then a great weekend in Xitang. We will tell the stories from that trip shortly. In other news, my parents have left Bejing and are now in Xi'an, where they did fell the strongest aftershock to hit China in a week. Apparently it was just as they were getting back to their hotel, but with their distance from the epicenter everyone there is fine.

Shanghai itself was a quick busy trip, I was working and managed to get to a convention and get out to visit some suppliers. Tina took the day to walk, and tour, and also enjoyed a boat tour of the Hangpu River. It was a little too overcast for her to attempt the views from the Pearl Tower.

Our first night in town we took advantage of the Western comforts that Shanghai offers and wandered over to the expensive Xintiandi area, a great group of little restaurants with outdoor seating where you can relax and just watch the crowds meander by. It was nice to enjoy a fine bottle of wine and a good dinner, but it made us miss the Xiamen wine prices that we had previously thought too high...