Ni How....chinese for Hello..spelled wrong

We had a serious welcoming committee when we arrived to the Beijing airport. Straight off the plane, through customs, every step of the way were these super nice volunteers trying to make us feel welcomed. It was very sweet.
OH MY GOD, I wish they made a small model of this, it would look so good on a shelf in my living room!! Cool huh!!

Beijing has it's fair amount of smog. Many of us have carbon filtered masks worn at all times outside. It is truly amazing how bad it is. On a bad day, you can almost taste a gas like flavor in the air.

Oh goodie, here we go. A brand new track, an Olympic track!!

A beautiful 250 wooden track. In a huge venue, with heated infield (the floor). It's SOO smooth, and quiet. That normal rumble of bikes on wood is absent, it's crazy. But there is a bit of dust, because it's so new. It just adds to the stellar air quality!

More awesomeness!
Dotsie is SO PRO, blending right in on her trainer with the Russian National team!! Whoa, no one warned me about the stand up toilets! And what's the hose on the wall for??? And anyone heard of TOILET PAPER?? This should be interesting!
Adam is the only one to brave the 'Pork Trotter' from the buffet (as in feet)

"God I hope I don't regret this"....

I asked to go to a traditional Chinese market to shop. And the first thing I see is.....STARBUCKS....yeah, that's historic!
But, of course, I had to try it! It was amazingly similar. But they wouldn't let me take picture of the menu...communist!
Dostie, Sarah, and I went to Tian Amin Square (yeah, I know that's SO wrong, spell check isn't helping).

Sarah, putting the HAM in Hammer!!
Dotsie, is such a natural!
So, on the way home, we decide to take the Subway! Yeah, that sounds fun, cheap, and easy. At first we though it was! We laughed and laughed when we first got on because it was SOOO crowded, it was ridiculous!!
10 min later, joke was over...it was so stuffy, tight, and took forever!! Our chipper moods quickly changed to...."How much longer!!!!"

So, that's a taste of my Beijing adventures so far. Racing starts tomorrow!