Thursday and Friday

Thursday and Friday were both free days for us.  This has been a really busy two weeks so we were pleased to have a bit of a break.   

Thursday afternoon, we hired Ann of Red Threads to take us shopping.   We went to the Toy Market at One Link Plaza.  Words cannot express how quickly Ann shops.....there is no browsing allowed!   I made a list but I never even had a chance to get it out of my backpack!  We got silk dresses for Abby and Claire.    Each dress was between $3 and $5.   Josh got four Lego sets....each complete set costing between $5 and $10.   Will made the biggest purchase, buying a drone for $40.    I do not even really know what that is, but he was certainly excited!  

After finishing at the toy market, we headed to the Pearl Market.  I got Claire a nice pearl necklace to have when she gets older.   We also got some Christmas shopping done!

Done shopping, Ann got us a taxi and we were on our way back to the hotel.   

At 4:30, I met our guide in the hotel lobby to pick up Claire's visa to America!

This means that we are all done with paperwork!!   We can finally go home!!

Friday, we ate our last breakfast at the Garden!   I will truly miss having someone make me omelets every morning!!

After breakfast, we spent time doing a little shopping and a lot of packing!  We had a buy an extra suitcase.....all those good buys at the Toy Market have to go somewhere!!   

We leave Saturday morning at 4:30 am.  Our first flight leaves at 7:00 am out of Guangzhou.   We fly from Guangzhou to Beijing, Beijing to Seattle, Seattle to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to home.  We arrive at our local airport at 8:02 pm Saturday night.   We are all so happy to be almost home!!   

Consulate Appointment

This morning, Claire and I went to the US Consulate for her visa appointment.   No cameras or electronics are allowed so no pictures to show!   

Our appointment was at 8:30.   We were first in line so it was easy and quick.   They asked me a few questions and then interviewed Claire to be sure that she was still agreeable to be adopted.  Thankfully, after spending two weeks with us, she still liked us enough to say yes!!

We came back to the hotel and took a few pictures of Claire in her consulate outfit!

In the afternoon, the kids wanted to check out the pool.   The water was a frigid 68 degrees but they did not seem to care!  Anita, Will, and I put on our jackets to go sit by the pool and watch them!  As far as we know, this is the first time Claire has ever been in a swimming pool.  She had a great time!!

Safari Park!

We love this place!   This was definitely on our to-do list even though we did it on Abby's trip a few years ago.  

We started with a train safari through the park.  Claire was so excited with every animal sighting.  She constantly turned her back to the animals and motioned for me to take her picture.   It was hilarious!!

Some of the animals were a bit smelly....

And others were a bit scary....

But she loved each and every one!!

Once we finished the train ride, we went to feed the giraffes.  For $3, you could purchase a snack of leaves for these animals.   This was so much fun!

We watched several shows and then went to find the elephants.  Unfortunately, they were no longer offering elephant rides but you could purchase food for the elephants.  Josh was disappointed but decided feeding the elephants was acceptable so we did that instead.

Abby was not so sure about the elephant's trunk coming though the fence in search of the food!

We watched an elephant show which was a hit for sure.   Look at Claire's face to see how much she enjoyed this!

We saw some pandas, which is always cool!

On our way out of the park, we saw one of the park characters.   Claire was not afraid at all and wanted her picture taken with the koala bear!

We left the park around 5:00 and headed back to the hotel.   We were all so exhausted!!

The Pet Market and Shamian Island

Today we headed to the Pet Market.   I have heard about this place, but we did not see it in 2013.   It was interesting, to say the least!!   If you are looking for a pet, this is the place to be.   Thank goodness that pets cannot be carried back into the US -  at least I don't have to be the bad guy by saying "no"!

The street itself was beautiful, full of hundreds of tiny little shops, all of which seemed to be selling exactly the same thing.

Apparently fish are the most popular pet in China.   And there were lots of fish for sale!

Along with turtles....

And some other, more traditional pets....

And some that were not so traditional....

After the pet market, we walked to Shamian Island.  This is a popular place for adoptive families to visit.   The buildings are all very quaint with lots of small shops.   

The statues on the middle of the island are quite famous for photos.  Claire was a bit nervous at first but finally agreed to join Abby for a picture or two.  

We stopped in at Michael's and did a little shopping.   Josh got this banner with his name painted on it.   Since there is no Chinese word for "Josh", the characters translate into "Nice Guy".

We also watched several brides being photographed for their weddings.  The girls loved this!

We headed back to the hotel.   When we arrived, the kids were so excited to see that the hotel had been decorated for Christmas!!   Beautiful!!

Sunday

Today is a day to see some of the local sights in Guangzhou.   

We started with the Chen Clan Academy.   According to our guide, "Chen" is a very popular name for families in Guangzhou.  In the late 1800's, all of the Chen families donated money to build a temple for the worship of their ancestors.   Not sure why you would need to worship your ancestors, but anyway....

Next stop was a popular park in Guangzhou. 

Abby tried her hand at one of the games being played at the front entrance of the park....

The kids were excited to see amusement park-type rides.   We rode a few....Claire thought every ride was great!!!

Another busy day, same ending!   Four very tired kids!!   We are all exhausted with this schedule....looking forward to a day with some down time!

Medical Appointment

The American Consulate requires a medical check up as part of the Visa process.  This was first on the agenda for Saturday morning.  

First, Claire had her photo made for the Visa application.   

Next, we had her height, weight, BP, and vision checked.   

Then an exam by an ENT doctor.  

And also a general exam by a physician.  The last stop was for a TB blood test.   Parents are not allowed to go back with the child, but I think Claire made it through with no tears!  

On our way out of the building, we passed this vending machine in the lobby.....only in China!!

Saturday afternoon we spent some time exploring the hotel and chatting with other adoptive families.   The hotel grounds are so beautiful that I just had to take some photos of the kids!!

Guangzhou!

Friday was a travel day.  We left Beijing and flew to Guangzhou.   I think we were all excited that we would soon be able to retire the heavy coats, hats, and gloves!

Our guide picked us up at 9:00 am to head to the airport.   Our flight did not leave until noon so we had plenty of time.    We arrived and Emma helped us check in.  We did not have Claire's passport yet so the check in process was different for her and required a good bit of Chinese back and forth between the agent and our guide.   Finally, we got the all clear and we headed to security.   This is where we had to say good bye to our guide.   We snapped a few pictures and joked that Emma will probably need a long nap today after dealing with our two families for a week!

We made it through security, grabbed some French fries at KFC, and boarded our flight.

The flight was easy.  Claire is pretty laid back so far and did not seemed at all bothered by her first airplane flight.  We landed a little late due to a late take off, but as soon as we stepped off the plane, we were greeted by the sun and warm temperatures!  Yay!!!!

We found our bags, met our new guide Sarah, and loaded into the bus to head to the hotel.

We are staying at the Garden in Guangzhou.   The hotel is beautiful....

....but our room was not good!  We are staying on the apartment side of the hotel which we knew was somewhat dated, but we were not prepared for just how bad it would be!  After two visits downstairs to talk with the manager, they moved us to room 1704, which was MUCH better!   Not only was room cleaner and larger, but it was actually a three bedroom apartment (instead of two).   We have a full size kitchen and a washer and dryer.   The extra space is such a blessing!!

Once we got the room settled, we headed out to get some dinner and pick up a few snacks and essentials at Walmart  The Walmart in China is a bit different than what we were used to!   Interesting selection of meats for sure!!

After Walmart, we headed back to the hotel.   It was a long day and everyone was so tired!!