Day 5 - Part one

So, part one of day 5 is about the hotel since the best part of Day 5 is yet to come. I thought I'd do this part now. We checked in yesterday and got up to our room and it is so nice. We have an amazing view! It was pretty foggy when we arrived, but this morning was much clearer. We're right on the Pearl River on the 18th floor. It won't be hard to call this home for the next week and a half.

This morning we got up early....again....got ready and went down to breakfast. The buffet was huge and soooo good. Much better than the hotel in Beijing. Omelets made to order, french toast, fruits, hash browns, sausage and bacon, and anything else you can imagine. This comes free with the hotel cost every day, so we'll be starting our days out with a good meal.

The inside of the hotel is beautiful. There's a waterfall and pond with tons of fish.........the boys would love this place.

When you leave out the back of the hotel, the outside street is very quaint. It's lined with little shops and a park. There's a couple places to eat along the way, some more different and authentic Chinese than others.

This morning we saw a group of women exercising in the park. We were told that since not many people have a car and it's far to go to the nearest workout place, this is the way they improvise. This is probably part of the reason that I haven't seen one overweight Chinese person yet since we arrived. I'll take some more pictures at night sometime because there are lights in the trees and a lot to see that's not open right now.

One funny thing, while we were walking down the street we were stopped by a Chinese man who asked us where we are from and if we are here for an adoption. We said we were and he asked us about her and told us congratulations. Then he introduced himself as Jordon, a local shop owner. This is so funny because my friend, Sue, told us about him. She said to look for Jordon, then she said...no, actually, Jordon will find you. Haha.....guess she was right. He told us to bring her down to see him and he will do her name in Chinese for free. Very cool.

Well, it's about 10:15am and we are meeting Lucy, our guide, in the lobby in 4 hours. My stomach is in knots, I could hardly eat breakfast. I am considering taking a nap just to make the time go by faster, but then I'd have to redo my hair and makeup. We'll see. For now, I just want to go and get her. I'm so ready.

Day 4 - One more day

Today we left Beijing and flew to Guangzhou. This is where we will now be until the last day here in China. We got checked in to the White Swan hotel and it is, by far, the nicest place we've ever stayed at. It's beautiful! We have only seen a small portion so far because by the time we checked in, put our bags in our room, walked down the street to get some dinner, come back.....we are beat....again. I'm saying that a lot lately, aren't I? Our days are so full that we're pretty tired by the evening. I am keeping tonight's post short and will try and update tomorrow with more hotel pics and stuff. I'm hoping to do that before we go to get Livi cuz I'm pretty sure you'd all think I'd lost my mind if I posted hotel pics instead of her. haha....The plan is to meet our guide in the hotel lobby at 2:15pm to go to the Civil Affairs office and meet Olivia for the first time. It's hard for us to believe that at this time tomorrow night, she'll be with us. We just had a knock at the door and it was someone bringing us a baby crib. That makes it pretty real seeing that next to the bed. This hotel is known for hosting adoptive families so we have seen several already with their new little ones in tow. Very cool. I suspect we will be getting to know some of them throughout the next couple weeks. Well, that's all for now. I will get some hotel pics tomorrow and try and post them before going for our GOTCHA DAY. Til then......adios! Whoops, wrong country.

China Day 3 - Forbidden City

Here we are on Friday, March 5th, and it's our last full day in Beijing. We decided to get in all we could since we're leaving tomorrow for Guangzhou.

After breakfast we got a map from the front desk, asked our friends here for some advice, and braved the subway. Holy cow...that's worth a post all by itself. To say they're crowded is beyond an understatement. Just when you think no one else can fit in....10 more people come through the door. You get very cozy with the people around you. We were a little nervous because it's so easy to get turned around and lost with such a language barrier, it wouldn't be fun. Well, we did okay. We accidentally took the correct subway, but going the wrong way. We had to get off and find the right one back. What should have taken us about 15 minutes took us more like 40. But hey, we got there and learned what we did wrong so we won't do again.

We went to Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. It was pretty amazing. The Forbidden City is where the Ming Dynasty and other lived and ruled from 600 years ago. No one at that time was allowed in the main door until centuries later. It's full of palaces and gardens and the place where the Empress lived. It was very interesting and I kept thinking how much Tyler would like it....he loves that history stuff.

Tonight we're going to Pizza Hut for dinner with the other couple. Afterwards, Jay and I are going to the Chinese Acrobat Show. I'm really looking forward to that. I will post about it tomorrow.

Until then, thanks for all the well wishes. I can't see my blog here, but I get emails of your comments so I see those.

Day 2 - Great Wall

Before I tell you about today, I have to mention that Jay and I went to dinner at the Beijing Hard Rock Café last night. It was pretty cool to sit and have a burger and fries while listening to classic rock. We went with Mark and Barb and had a great time. We took the subway there which is a whole ‘nother story. It was insane!









So….today, we went to the Great Wall of China. We got up early and left the hotel by 7:45 and didn’t return until 6pm. After going down to the hotel restaurant for dinner, we are back in the room and we are beat! I couldn’t go to bed though until I posted some pictures from today. It’s really amazing. I mean, you see if on the TV or in a book, but until you’re actually there seeing it in person, you can’t possibly imagine the scale of it….and that was just seeing a small portion.

Before going to the Wall, we went to the Ming Tomb. It is where the Ming Emperors and family are buried. It was very interesting and I kept thinking about how much Tyler would have liked hearing about all that history. There was a great view from the top of the largest of the tombs.



















From there we went to the Jade factory. China is known for it's Jade. It was pretty cool to see just how many things they carve from Jade. The detail was amazing and the jewelry was amazing. It was here that we had lunch. It was served family style with the other people in our tour group. It wasn't what I would have ordered for lunch, but we were hungry so it worked. Besides, we needed our strength for the Wall.





From there we finally were on our way. Just the drive there through the mountains was beautiful! When we got to the base, we entered at a part that had a cable car up to one of the stations on the wall and then you would climb the rest of the way. The point we were climbing to is the highest part of the wall. This cable car went high and was very steep. I admit I had to close my eyes a couple times on the way up.






The climb on the wall was harder than I thought it would be. It was fine and we didn't stop too much, but the angle of it is crazy and it's deceiving how steep it is to climb. IT was definitely a workout. It took about 30 minutes to get to the peak and the view was breathtaking. We got a lot of fun pictures on the way up and down. It is now something we can say we've done.


































After spending about 2 hours at the wall, we headed to a place to get a foot massage. This was all part of the tour we had signed up for. It was a 10 minute soak in hot water with tea and herbs followed by a 20 minute foot massage. This was no ordinary massage either, it was the most relaxing thing ever. I could have sat there another hour. It was the best way to end such a grueling day.






So, here I am....finally sitting and taking it easy. Jay is already asleep behind me in the chair and it's not even 8pm. Funny thing is......I can't wait to join him. I'm ready for bed.

**A quick side note.....cuz I can't forget about my boys at home.....all the boys beat their opponents in wrestling last night and even Tony got to do an exhibition. I am so bummed I missed them, I hate to miss their matches, but we're so proud of them. Keep up the good work guys. We were able to Skype with them this morning at 6am (4pm their time) and that was great to see them and be able to hear their voices. We miss you guys and love you very much!!**