sleepless in Beijing

After a 14 hour flight from Chicago, I arrived without any issues in Beijing around 4 pm on Thursday Aug 2. After dropping off my luggage in my apartment - which by the way pleasantly surprised me in terms of space, comfort, technology,... - I hit the streets to explore the neighborhood. There seems to be plenty of ethnic restaurants around the corner but also within 10 min walk from my place I saw two Starbucks, an Irish pub and Hard Rock cafe. I'll have plenty of choices to dine and wine. I also have a fully equipment kitchen so I jumped into a small supermarket down the street and had a blast trying to figure out what I was buying. Everything was written in Chinese but by looking at pics I could figure out some of the stuff. I assume that a picture of a cow on a carton box means milk? On my way back to the apartment and loaded with bags, I started looking for a bike store as that would come in handy to explore the city. I didn't find one yet but I saw several shacks along the way where people fix flat tires. I tried to ask one of them where I could buy a bike in town but they clearly didn't understand me, still had a blast watching them fix a tire. The doorbel man suggested I go to Carrefour (10 min by taxis) and try my luck their. Hopefully they have a bike frame in my size. Back in the apartment I successfully video-conferenced home (skype is awesome) and unpacked my luggage. I tried to catch a few hours of sleep but kept waking up during the night. Good thing, I carried all those books with me. Time for my morning coffee.
Stay tuned,
Paul