Cosmo time!

So Alice what did you do with your day off? Climb the Great Wall? Discover a flea market in the depths of Beijing? Go on a day trip Nanjing to visit the massacre memorials? Nope - the Nanjing trip is on my wish list though - I had a lie in, then when to meet Evelina where she lives. Lucky for her she lives near Sanlitun, the foreign area of Beijing. Someone described it as, 'You know Chinatown in London? Well I live in the opposite of that.' Historically Chinese cities and ports had foreign enclaves. Some contained multiple nationalities, others governed by single countries. Each 'Concession' was completely separate from the Chinese community surrounding it, and foreigners not only lived there, but did their business there, and abided by their own laws. These Concessions where around from the Nineteenth Century to the late 1940s. Whilst there isn't as much of a disconnect in modern cities, there is still a different atmosphere. It's cleaner, there generally isn't any spitting, and the shops are big, global and fancy. It is also far more metropolitan, as in when I'm walking along no one is pointing their fingers in my face (an old lady actually jabbed her fingers at my face the other day). This is going to sound bad but sometimes it's nice to go somewhere where only 1 person stares at me instead of 10, even if it means going somewhere less Chinese. 

Sanlitun has a Jenny Lou shop! Where I delighted in all the foreign goods :) I bought some salt and vinegar crisps, and salami, such a treat. I justify these rather unhealthy purchases to myself by the fact that its a 2 hour round trip to get there. Evelina got excited by this Swedish caviar in a tube, and some pickled herrings. Couldn't quite muster the same level of thrilled, but she doesn't really get my love of salt and vinegar crisps, so each to their own. 

We then headed for a couple of drinks, Evelina took me to a German bar that served Italian and Mexican food... Obviously! I indulged in a couple of happy hour cosmos, which were very scrummy. However the whole not drinking for 3 weeks thing meant that they hit me a lot quicker than usual. Which just made it all the more fun. 

I meant to take a picture before I drank it, but I errr got errr distracted.... 

Thanks to the cosmos I was in a very zen like state, as I faced the Beijing Subway... At RUSH HOUR! Really bad planning on my part as I was pulled along by the crowd shuffling to the train. I've never been unable to get on the first train that arrives before. I may have 'squished' on but my definition of that is now much changed. As I was waiting people were forcing them onto trains, one guy had the doors attempt to close through him. His back was bowed out of the doors, but he somehow managed to force himself inside. I don't understand why people force themselves in when there are trains literally every minute. Normally I'd be very stressed but thanks to my twingy ankle I kept calm, and didn't join in with battle for subway supremacy. 

That night for dinner was fried fish with bones still in (tricky with chopsticks) and chicken (maybe... hopefully...) spines. Just so delightful!