The family had a great time exploring Guangzhou this weekend taking in the beautiful parks, local pleasures and warm weather. It is much calmer than Nangchung and you can walk the streets with out the concern of being run over by a car or motorbike.
Saturday we met up with five other couples in order to go and get the pictures taken for the girl’s Visas. The next stop after that was to the medical examiners office where we went through multiple areas to check her temperature, weight, eyes and heart. It was a quick process, but needed in order for us to get the paperwork for Alexis to leave China. Alexis is a healthy baby and the Chinese keep telling us she is strong. We will see what the doctor says when we get home next week and we do a full exam. After all the required paperwork and stops, we had the afternoon to ourselves where we window shopped and sat outside a local coffee house. One thing is for sure, compared to all the other kids in the group, Alexis is much bigger than they are. You gotta love those chubby cheeks!
Sunday, we met everyone in the lobby for an arranged tour of some of the local sights. The first stop was a Buddhist temple in the heart of the city that is over 1000 years old. It is an active sight that provides a place for the locals to come and pray and houses a number of monks. The combination of statues, burning incense and monks walking around was very interesting to say the least. The second stop was a memorial of sorts built in honor of the late Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, otherwise known as the George Washington of modern day China. After the last emperor of China back in 1911, he strived for peace and cooperation between the communist and republic parties, and was successful because of his mass appeal to all people. The citizens of China believe him to be one of their greatest leaders. The last stop on the tour was a porcelain store, full of beautiful pieces, both for daily use as well as art. After too much time in the store, we walked out with a number of pieces that will look great in the house.
After a quick sweet and sour chicken lunch, we spent the better part of the afternoon shopping. Rachelle did her best to teach Alexis the finer points of shopping. By the time all was said and done, the baby ended up with a number of new adorable outfits that will probably last the next year or two.
If there is one recommendation we can make to parents coming to China, invest in a $35 stroller from Wal-mart once you get here. Not only does it prevent you from having to carry your child around all the time, but it has been the saving grace in getting Alexis to sleep. When she gets fidgety, a good 15-20 minute walk in it does the trick.
Well, that’s it for now. Hope everyone is well and blessings and good wishes to all!
