HOMEWARD BOUND

After getting comparably late (8 AM) on Wednesday we caught the 10:30 shuttle to Hong Kong, 3.5 hrs later we arrived at our next hotel, the luxurious SkyCity Marriott at the Hong Kong Airport.  Quite a place and with views of the China Sea and nearby islands.

We only got to spend a few hours there and then were off to the airport to catch a 12:30 AM flight to Seoul.  The 3.5 hour flight was quite nice, Asiana is great airline, would recommend to anyone.  Although the flight was short our layover at Seoul was not.  After landing at 3:30 AM we had 12 hours till our non-stop to SFO.  What do you do with a 12 hour layover?  Well it seems like we were not the only ones asking that question, but when there is a need a solution can be found.  There is a short stay hotel for travelers right in the Asiana Terminal at the airport.  We both got rooms and got a bit of shut-eye before getting up to catch our 4 PM flight home.

Notice that there are no photos yet, that's because we were so tired we forgot to record our activities! When we got up from our room we went to Dunkn Donuts for breakfast and then on to our flight.

Our 4:30 was right on time and even though at 10 hours it was shorter that the flight over, it seemed like it was taking forever.  Elle was not happy that she did not have a bed to sleep in and let us know of her unhappiness.  Yet when we arrived at SFO she calmed right down, must have been happy to be home too.  One can't quite believe the energy that Hannah and Essie displayed when we arrived at SFO and while waiting for Brad to return with the van.

We're sorry the trip has ended, but we are very happy to have a new granddaughter for a total of 3 great girls.  Who could ask for anything more satisfying!

Now that we are home it's time to pack the Tudor to attend the Northern California Round Up over this Memorial Day Weekend.  Oh what fun, especially in a Model A.

Tune back in around the 12th of June when we leave for Utah to visit the many parks around Kanab.  Life is good, till later, Rodg and Norene

LAST FULL DAY IN GUANGZHOU

This last day here started with a rather quiet breakfast.  The girls are all dressed in matching flower dresses.  No doubt that they are together!

Since this is the last day here, shopping was in order.  The entourage was off to the Gong Dong Center next door.  Colleen's suitcase did not survive the flight and now we were face to face with a vast array of choices.  While Colleen negotiated for the luggage, the girls were doing their own negotiation for candy, both were successful.

While the girls went to the pool, Norene and I went to a nearby museum.  This museum is located on a recently discovered tomb along with the some magnificent content.  The museum also had a very extensive display of African weapons from the late 1800's.  There were some very scary spears, arrows and throwing knives.  Another level had a display of Chinese Porcelain Pillows from the 11th - 14th Century.  They did not look comfortable at all!

Before dinner we all assembled in the lobby for some pictures of the girls in their Chinese Dresses.  Someone should have told the girls that they needed to hold still for a good shot.  About the time the third  one was in place, the first would leave.  Moving targets everywhere, but we got lucky on a few shots.

Around 6 we left the hotel to walk to dinner at the Macao Restaurant around the corner.  Our selections were quite flavorful and a fitting end to our journey.  The fish are fresh, you can select them from the tank just like picking out your own lobster at home.  I tried to talk the group into going to a famous snake restaurant where you select the snake you want, have it dispatched table-side and then cooked, but now one took me up on the offer.  I think that they let a great experience just slip away.

The girls were so well behaved at dinner, afterwards we made a stop at McDonald's for their dessert, just cannot get away from the arches.

Next report will be from Hong Kong before catching our flight home on Thursday morning.

SAFARI LAND IN GUANGZHOU

Now that all the paperwork is handled at the US Consulate we are free to roam about the country!  Even though it was quite hot, the group decided to foray out to Safari Land.  Talk about lush planting, everything grows in abundance around here.  The girls had a good time getting close to some of the animals.

After walking the length of the park we found the tram to ride around the different animals grazing in a natural setting.  While on the tram it began to thunder, lightning and rain very hard.  The rain was welcome as it cooled things off quite a bit.  The animals took shelter from the rain and one giraffe in particular was quite protected by a tall grove of bamboo.

The ride back took us back through the suburbs and some heavy traffic.  The bridges here are quite dramatic and there are many of them across the many outlets of the Pearl River Delta.  due to the heavy storm outside we all decided to eat in the hotel and take it easy.

HISTORICAL VISIT & WALK AROUND GUANGZHOU

Guangzhou is the historical name of what the Europeans called Canton.  Today we visited a couple of historical areas of the city.  First we went to Chen Jia Ci also know as the Chen Family Temple.  It's name is temple even thought it never was used as one.  When built in the late 1800's, it was a school and later after the 1949 Revolution it was confiscated and used as a warehouse.

The stone carving is spectacular and it's rather impressive how the colors have held up.  Inside there are many artifacts some historical and some rather new.  I get the impression that many of the ancient historical structures and items have been lost or destroyed during the struggles of the 20th Century.

For lunch we traveled to Shamian Island an area that was developed as a European enclave, hence the architecture is very much a classical representation of Europe in the 1800's.  We enjoyed lunch at Lucy's on the shores of the Pearl River.  Food types at Lucy's are mixed, Norene and I had Thai dishes, Brad had a currie dish and the girls had pizza, a quesadilla and french fries.  An interesting note on the pizza, the sauce was ketchup!  But that didn't phase Hannah, she ate most of it.

After lunch we spent some time walking around the island and visiting some of the shops.  Norene found a fan that pleased her, but did not find the silk umbrella for which she has been searching.  We saw several photographers with models donning clothes for some fashion catalogue.  Whilee we were melting in the heat, they looked cool, calm and collected while dressed in leather coats, fur coats, etc.

Everywhere we go, Hannah and her blond hair catch peoples eyes and turn their heads.  Today we were taking a rest from the heat when a couple of girls spotted Hannah and began taking pictures.  After just a few minutes there were a dozen people taking her photo.  Hannah, ever the ham started posing like the models that were doing the nearby photo shoot.

Taking a break from the heat we took refuge in a Starbucks.  Not your normal Starbucks,, but in a very  old restored building.  

Tonight the kids are all going to dinner with their Facebook group while Norene and I are going to a Cantonese Restaurant.  We hope to have some good reports from the dinner tonight.  Talk at you later, Rodg and Norene

HANGING AT THE HOTEL

This afternoon we spent hanging around the hotel, i.e. A/C!  No wonder we were hot so quickly on our walk to the park, it was 91deg and with the humidity it felt like 106, yikes!  cooling off in the pool was in order.

Norene and I went to lunch while the girls were put down for a nap,  We found a small bar on the second floor that has views of the city and some small bites.  They even had wine from Domaine Serene, a winery in Oregon that we are going to visit on the Pinot Pilgrimage after the Bend Meet.

Tonight was a group dinner at a restaurant about a half-mile away from the hotel.  The walk took us by a very calm lake with an exclusive restaurant across the water.  Tang Yuan is supposed to be very expensive and it looks like it's reputation.

The lights are comming on slowly now.  Talk at you later, Rodg & Norene

RELAXING DAY IN GUANGZHOU

After breakfast we went for a walk around a bit of the city and if a walk wasn't good enough we took a boat ride as well.

Today is quite warm and with the humidity it's even stickier.  What better than to be on the water.  The park is very lush and the planting is abundant and very healthy.  The girls enjoyed the ride around the lake and Hannah tried her hand at controlling the boat.  With a little training she will be a terror on the road for sure!

We are back at the hotel and heading down to the pool to cool off a bit, will have more to report later.  Norene wants to give a go at shopping so we should be overweight on our luggage for the return trip home for sure!

THURSDAY WAS TRAVEL DAY

On our last night in Hangzhou we attended the theater with a live performance that illustrated the history of Hangzhou through dance , acrobatics and motorcycles! 

Now that all the paperwork is in order, it's time to leave Hangzhou and go on to the American Consulate in Guangzhou to secure permission for Elle to leave China.  Loading the van with 10 passengers and ±16 bags is quite a project.  Thank goodness the airport is nearby and the trip is relatively short as the knee-room was less than on the airplane.

We arrived early at the airport only to find that our flight had been canceled and we were now booked on another flight later in the afternoon.  There was not gate number assigned and the time was approximate, go with the flow! So lunch at the airport was now necessary.

We were surprised to find a very nice selection of traditional dishes available.  Norene had some awesome tasting scollops and I ordered some kind of duck.  We were surprised when the duck came with little split pancakes that were like eating lettuce cups.  Both dishes were enjoyed and savored while we waited for a gate number and flight time.

The girls are real troopers and endured the delay quite well, they can find fun in any circumstance.  They were delightful on this short, 1.5hr flight.  Hannah slept for 1.25 hrs of the flight as did Essie.  Elle was awake and active for the entire flight.  She seemed to enjoy the take off and was quiet during the landing.

We arrived in Guangzhou about sunset and the lights were just coming on.  Some of the city glowed like Las Vegas, lots of colored lights.

Tomorrow Elle goes to the Doctor for a TB test and physical, results will be available on Monday.

SIGHTSEEING IN HANGZHOU

Now that the Adoption formalities in Hangzhou are complete, we got to play tourist. This is a very large city by US standards at 4.6 million and quite small by China standards as Shanghai has 16.7 million and it's only a short ride downstream from here. Although this is a very metropolitan city with lots of cars, motorcycles and bicycles, there are many parks and open spaces.  Today we visited the West Lake side of town and took a boat ride on a very large lake.  West Lake covers 6.5 square kilometers and was hand dug by 180,000 laborers over 1300 years ago.  Some things are very old here and some are very new.

While on the boat ride across the lake we heard something very strange.  A Chinese lady was giving tourist reports to some German tourists and she was speaking German, very peculiar.  But, this was just a reminder as to how international this city is.

The boat ride ended at what appeared to be an island with some splendid gardens that date back 400 years.  Wonderful stone walkways, rock fountains brought in from the mountains and a few very old and beautiful temple like structures.

After walking for ±1 hour we came upon a parking lot that made it clear we were not on an island and there was our van waiting.  Since it was nearly lunch time and we were standing in front of a restaurant that was nestled into the park, we decided it was time to have lunch.  Turned out to be a good decision as the food was delicious and with very nice service.  In addition to the fried rice and several types of Dim Sum we ordered Mao's favorite dish of very spicy pork and peppers.  We all enjoyed lunch and then we were off again.

This time we headed for the Mei Family Valley where Green Tea is famously grown.  Entering the valley felt much like touring the Napa Valley, except the rows of plants were Green Tea bushes.  We stopped at a tea farm and participated in a Green Tea tasting ceremony.  The tea there is known as Dragon Well Tea and the first cutting is known as the “Empress” or best cutting.  To our amazement, Hannah like the Green Tea and finished off three glasses.

We headed back to the hotel to refresh and rest the girls before heading out to attend a traditional dance program that is in town this week.  Will talk at you more later, Rodg & Norene