Tianneman Square and Forbidden City day

We got up bright and early this morning around 6:30 AM and went to the breakfast buffet. After finishing up breakfast, we hurried up to our room so that we could face talk with the kids. It was so good to see their faces. We miss them so much. 

We headed down to the lobby and met with the other families and our tour guide, Alice.  Alice took us to TIennamon Square and the forbidden city by bus. It was about a 20 minute bus ride.  Once we loaded out of the bus, we were welcomed by people selling all kinds of souvenirs. We took plenty of pictures on the tors.

After our tours, we went to a private home for lunch.  We got to ride on a rickshaw which took us back to the lady's home. A Rickshaw is kind of like a carriage attached to a bicycle.  We got to eat real, authentic Chinese food.  The table was set up for 10 people. The food was served like family-style. Some of the dishes were cabbage and carrots, rice, chicken wings, pork Balls, steamed dumplings, then sliced potatoes, and cauliflower. 

When we finished up lunch, we headed back to the hotel. We walked a tremendous amount today. I'm sure however, that tomorrow will be much longer, because we will be going to the Great Wall.

Zoo Day 4/3

We got up around 7:30 AM and went to breakfast. After we ate, we rushed upstairs to our room where we showered and got ready for the Zoo!  We headed down to the lobby in order to meet all of the other families to go to the zoo. During the bus ride to the Zoo, we found a couple of places that we want to explore later today fairly close to our hotel. 

We arrived at the zoo a round 9:30 AM.  The zoo was very crowded with local kids coming from their schools on field trips. It was so neat to hear the children trying to speak English to us. 

The zoo could have been much cleaner. We actually saw a mouse coming out of the bathroom. We also saw a mouse scurrying about in the monkey cages as well. Needless to say, I was ready to go earlier than later. Jayden really seems to enjoy the different types of animals at the zoo. Jayden fell asleep as we were starting to leave the zoo. 

Local Shopping & Group Pictures 4/9

This morning we got up around 8:00 AM and headed down for breakfast. We opted out of going to the zoo today so we have a little bit of extra time to ourselves. It was kind of nice not to have to rush to get dressed.  We left the hotel late morning and walked down to some local shops. All in all, it was a big waste of time. Most of the shops were either closed or had a bunch of junk in them. Jayden was getting a bit grouchy too with all of the walking. 

 Dad and Jayden has bonded well!!

We got back from shopping and had to be in the lobby of the hotel at 5:00 PM for group pictures.

Last day in Guangzhou 4/11

This morning we did not have any appointments, so we decided to sleep in a bit later than usual. After breakfast, we walked to a nearby park. The park was absolutely beautiful. The weather was perfect for walking.

Once we finished walking in the park, we went back to the hotel so Jayden could take his daily nap. This gave Joel and I some time to start packing up a few things in order to head home. Once Jaden got up from his nap, we went to the café veranda to eat a late lunch/early dinner. The food was quite different and most of it was very good.  This is mainly a humongous buffet full of seafood, fruits, vegetables, rice, sushi, and desserts. The buffet offered fresh meats and seafood that you could have cooked anyway you want. We brought back some lobster to our table. Our waiter told us in order to get the lobster out of its shell, most native Chinese usually bite into the entire lobster and then spit the shell out. Asian people also eat the entire shrimp including tentacles, tail and all contents. Joel got a few lookso from local people around us as he peeled his shrimp. LOL!

We got back to the room from eating at the buffet and immediately started packing.  We tried to get to bed a little earlier. Tomorrow we are going home. 😘

Flight Itinerary

Guangzhou Here We Come!! 4/5

Today is finally the day that we leave Henan, China, and fly to Guangzhou, China.  It took about an hour to get to Henan airport. As soon as we got on the plane, Jayden started crying. This was definitely a first experience for him. Once he got a sucker and something to drink, he settled down rather quickly. Of course, he started to fall a sleep once we landed and Guangzhou, China.  Once we got off of the plane and got our baggage, we met Kathy and Grace, our tour guides for Guangzhou. We took a tour bus to our hotel which is the China Hotel. The hotel is incredibly nice. We stayed at this hotel the last time we were here with Gianna.