good evening from Beijing

WE ARE HERE! I can hardly believe that I am blogging from Beijing China.... the wonders of modern technology sure do make life comfortable. What a day- things went very smoothly indeed. It was not half as bad as we thought it would be. We got up at 430 am which normally would kill me but we went to bed smartly at 9pm on tuesday. We both woke up pretty well but the last few minutes at the house were hairy; we ran a bit late and there was a small sense of panic... but we had leeway time and made it to the airport in time. It is hard to leave for a trip like this so leave yourself (future adopters) a lot of time to get out of house in the morning... you cannot help but keep double checking everything to make sure you do not forget anything. Anyways a short flight to Toronto and then we boarded our flight to Beijing. By then we were very tired and went right to sleep- smart move. It makes the flight go fast and avoids you arriving a wreck. I will attach some pictures of us on plane, before flight and arriving; you will see the difference as the day went on. Well we finally arrived here in Beijing at 2pm about 20 hours after leaving Dollard. The airport was pandomonium but boy were we glad that we had organized with hotel to pcik us up- seeing a man with a sign that said " Welcome Sandra Reich and Mark Grant" was such a nice sight. He whisked us off in his shiny van in pure comfort. For those of you who know me well you know how I love my comfort. Aprox 45 minutes later we arrived at our hotel the Holiday Inn Central Plaza and what can I say? IT IS GORGEOUS!!!! They all speak English and the room is soooo Zen. They sent us to the executive Lounge for Saeco coffee and cookies (Saeco coffee people!!!! love it). Now we are back at our room and starting to crash a bit; probably an early night tonight. We could not be happier that we came 2 days early... it is so worth it... we are here relaxed and have 2 days to prepare for the group to arrive and our next flight to Chongqing. We already know this hotel and it is the same one we will stay at when we get back to Beijing on the 2nd of December. We have definitely accomplished our goal which was to minimize the stress of such a trip and stay healthy. Poor us we are in a stunning room with a great bed and treats; our computer to stay connected and each other... Most of all we are one step closer to meeting oour daughter.Life is good. Beijing is big and busy we will explore tomorrow... for now we will get some much deserved rest.

Sandra blogging in Beijing