So, to round off our trip (and for those of you who we haven't seen this week, I just wanted to say that we did get home eventually (after a bit of an eventful journey involving missing the last metro train to the airport, a questionable taxi ride, some unhelpful check in attendants, and a sprint to the gate). The final nugget of our trip was that after thinking the airline had helpfully got a litle buggy to get us there on time, we fell victim to China's final c...

7:20, pret a manger. Porridge+Danish, coffee and juice. Yummy! And weve already been through security, been shopping and purchased  books. Didnt buy the Longchamp bags in the airport, probably will get ten fakes in beijing! Bags checked and seats sorted, although our request for an upgrade was sadly unsuccessful, despite our best attempts at looking at least business-class worthy at 6am! Will still be trying at multiple intervals throughout the flight. They're g...

So, I did a bit of shopping for China today. Which got me to thinking about how Nicola and I have essentially based our trip around wonderful ancient cultural Chinese sites, but haven't really factored in time, or planned our shopping experiences (somewhat unusual for the pair of us!). So I looked up places to go in Beijing.... Think our number one aim will have to be to head to the Silk Market (apparently not just full of silk but also everything you can buy in...

To Do List (in progress)... 1) Get upgrade on plane (hopefully not for having had to utilise recent qualification)2) Fulfil Gemma's wish to indulge in authentic Chinese cuisine and make her eat a real "delicacy" (I heard moose's nose and bear paw are popular)3) Avoid being conned - no henna4) Collect an array of photos of places with hilarious names. We can't visit "WuHu", but i'm sure we can make a special trip to see the "Saga Youth Hostel".5) Get a tan. Alway...

Just setting up the blog ready for our trip! Visas arrived, train tickets booked, hotels sorted...now just the packing, in accordance with Nicolas (extensive), list. Oh, and further research needed re amazing places to eat amazing Chinese food. In one week we will be tobogganing down the great wall of China! Excited!!!