The height of luxury

I promise that post about fashion is coming, but I'm going to put it off until after we visit a high school today.

Last night we went for the ultimate luxury: a foot massage. If you're thinking of an American pedicure, think again. This massage starts with your neck (which okay, I think I'm a little bruised from that, ow), then travels to your arms, and finally your legs and feet. FOR AN HOUR. That's right, an hour long foot massage, working away the stress of the day. They bring you green tea and a warm compress for your shoulders as it occurs, and you sit in a recliner with your legs propped up on a soft ottoman. The room is almost dark, with quiet music and nature sounds, the drip of a fountain too. It's heavenly. I admit, I fell asleep, and almost feel bad about missing the luxury of it.

After dinner we decided that we were all sick of Chinese food so we went to a Middle Easter restaurant. Hummus and tomato soup served in a bread bowl that would make Panera jealous. It was delicious.

Cabs here are incredibly cheap. They all start at 11 RMB and we rode for almost half an hour the other night and it only went up to 20 RMB. That's under $4. One US dollar is worth about 6.8 RMB (Yuan). Everything's really cheap here. We were talking to the restaurant owner, a guy from Israel, and he said that he has considered opening a branch of his restaurant in Europe or back home but when he looks at the numbers the cost would eliminate his profits. He also said he's benefitting from the economy because people aren't going to really fancy restaurants anymore, they're coming to mid-range places like his.