The joys on living and wandering around Beijing's streets

We arrived in China's capital in early May, one of those blessedly cool days when the sky is a deep blue and a slight breeze whipped the leaves on the trees in Huixin Dongjie.

Beijing has its good and bad days when it comes to air quality. When the wind is blowing and a pitter-patter drizzle has washed out the sky, the views can be entrancing.

The discovery process begins with friends who have lived here. One tipped me off where the nearest grocery was, and then pointed me to a good coffee house where you can watch some movies.