Gathering My Children: Hello Guangzhou

It is always so wonderful to make it to this point in the adoption trip. Guangzhou is relaxing in comparison to each of the other provinces we have visited. The child has gotten used to us (or resigned themselves to the fact that they are stuck with us). The cuisine offers more selections that our palates are accustomed to and we aren't the only foreigners in town. English is spoken here. Taiyuan was interesting when we did venture out and I do give it the award for the most unusual dish I have encountered. Actually, I didn't get past the picture in the menu and our guide's explanation of it so I can't comment on the taste. It was very artfully presented with a base of something with spiky things protruding out and up like bare trees in the winter. I asked what these twigs were, and let me tell you that I didn't even know that ducks had tongues and never would have guessed that people ate them. Taiyuan also had the most unusual gifts in the hotel gift shop. There were beautiful, ornate, velvet lined boxes containing, you guessed it, dried frogs and lizards! One contained deer sinew. Some lucky people back home will be overjoyed to get these gifts but I won't spoil the surprise.

But back to Guangzhou and the Marriott China Hotel. Tara and I stayed here last time and it is wonderful. The room is very nice and has air conditioning that is turned on! The breakfast buffet has American selections and real baked beans. We have 2, count em, 2 rolls of toilet paper and the staff have been wonderful about supplying us with unusual requests, like washcloths for everyone. Timothy loves the room. He was very apprehensive on our plane ride. He had told our guide that he wanted to stay right there but she convinced him that he would have to stay there without MaMa and BaBa so he relented. After we got here and he saw our luxurious room he could not quit laughing and pointing and talking animatedly about, what I guess he must have thought about our room. Poor guy is going to be so disappointed when we get home. Especially when he finds out that we don't have servants to order about. He has gotten pretty used to telling the waitresses to bring him a better selection of food from the buffet.

Today we went on the city tour, which we have done 3 times now, but it was much better than spending the day hanging out in our hotel room. George and I aren't used to having to look at each other for such long stretches of time and we were getting a bit snappy by the end of our stay in Taiyuan. We are now smiling at each other again. Our camera battery decided to die on the tour so I don't have any good pictures. Some of our fellow travel mates promised to email me their pictures though. We knew all the answers to Jocelyn's questions and had to refrain from answering and showing off. That must be how it feels to be the smartest kid in class, huh. Speaking of Jocelyn, she remembered me from past adoptions and could rattle off our kids names! I can't even do that sometimes. I just love Jocelyn, she is a wonderful person and guide.

We saw a 1500 year old Buddhist temple, visited the 120 year old Chen House (the most well known, wealthiest family from Guangzhou) and shopped at the Jade/Pearl Market. Before anyone gets their hopes up about our shopping, Timothy decided to melt down at that point having missed his usual lunch and nap time. I spent the time in the store letting him careen about with the stroller around expensive delicate carvings and porcelain. Needless to say, it took all my concentration to prevent catastrophes and keep him from crying. You guys will just have to be satisfied with dried frogs and lizards.