Househunting: Golf simulator anyone? Perhaps a glass of wine after the pool.

We found an apartment. It's in Xu Jia Hui (pronounced Shooo Zha Way) a cool part of town with a lot of shops, bars, and restaurants, it's near to Bec's work and other cool parts of town like the Old French Concession that also has lots of cool restaurants and bars. It's kind of like a Columbus Circle area, just closer to downtown. The place is called the Grand Gateway and has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It's in a new building that we think was done by a Japanese company as the interior is more Japanese than Chinese style. It's furnished, spacious, and has a balcony and kitchen. Plenty of room for guests as well. Day 1 task: buy grill for patio.

We looked at about 8 places today with Leo (the realtor), Annelies (the very friendly guide from Belgium who became our friend and advocate), and Matt and Lena, who were also looking for living accommodations. What really sealed the deal was the sick clubhouse. It has a gym, yoga rooms, art rooms, TV room, pool table, wine and cigar room, golf simulator, and an awesome outdoor pool. Besides the obvious personal advantages, we hope this will also be a great way to meet people. They even have a Gymboree class in the slim possibility that Eden and Johsua make an appearance.

Lesson #1 of the day - the city isn't so much "westernized" as it is a true international city