March 27th-28th

After a restless nights sleep, due to the fact that they love rock hard beds over here, and that there is no air conditioning, only a fan, I am finally starting to feel better.
I woke up several times last night, but made myself go back to sleep. Finally by about 5:30, I just went ahead and got up. We talked to the girls via the webcam. Madilyn is still sick, I hate being away from her like this, I was hoping she would start to get better by now.
We got ready and went down to get some breakfast. I was relieved to see normal food today. They have a really nice western breakfast bar set up. They also have an omlet station where they will make it to order. I did try some of the noodles, and dumplings here, they were really good, even for breakfast. We met some more people from our group, and they are all very nice. I am so thankful that it worked out for us to be able to travel with this group, I can tell we are going to have a good time.
We met at 9 a.m. for our day of touring. We got on a big bus and hit the road. Our guide Grace is very cute and sweet, and she stood at the front talking and telling stories.
We pulled up to a curb, and she let us know that as soon as we would be getting off the bus that people would be trying to sell us stuff, and told us to just ignore them, or to say wo bu yao, which means I don't want.
And yes, that is exactly what happened, I guess they see us Americans, and they all come running with stuff. DH got hit right off the bat with a guy trying to sell fake Rolex watches. We walked for several blocks and everytime I turned around to check, he was still right there with us. By the time we got to the intersection to cross the street, he had bought one, for $5. It is soooo fake too! And as soon as the others saw that he bought one, they started it up again.
We went to see Tian An Men Square first.

I have seen this place in pictures so many times, it is unreal that we are actually here. I have been to crowded places before, but oh my, never like this. I guess since it is a Saturday, more people are here. There are just lines and lines of people trying to get in. It is really cool today, and I am glad I decided to bring my coat, but it is a beautiful and sunny day.
Grace is leading us all around with this big stuffed flower on a stick, and she is fast too, one minute she is telling us something, the next we see her flower way up in front.

We are getting all kinds of looks and stares, but I did notice if you smile at them they usually do return the gesture.
From here we went under the street through a tunnel and went into The Forbidden City.
There are just as many people in here! At one point there was a group of older Chinese ladies who were getting a kick out of saying “Hi” to me. They would say it, and when I said it back they would all just giggle, it was so cute! We also had people taking pictures of us. This is another one of those places where pictures just don’t capture the magnitude of what you are witnessing in person. This place is huge! We go through one building, and there is a big courtyard, and then another, and another, and another! All of these buildings look very similar, if you are looking at pictures, you probably think it is just the same one over and over again. We went out through the back exit, and passed through a garden area with these trees that were marked by their age, most were either 2-3 hundred, or 4-5 hundred years old.
As we were walking to where our bus was parked we again met up with more folks trying to sell us stuff. We also passed a couple of older ladies with children, the first one was holding the baby, who was about 18 months/ 2 years old. We did not know what they were saying, but they were trying hard to say something. I just assumed that they were asking for money. After a few minutes there was another lady with a little boy who looked about 3-4 years old. When she started doing about the same, I just kind of ignored her and thought she wanted a hand out too.
Until we got to the bus. Another couple had mentioned it, but they said that she was actually trying to hand them the child, that she was holding him, and was trying to make them take him. How very sad.
It was after lunch time now, so our guides took us to a real Chinese place. This is probably a stop for many tourists. It is also a shop that makes and sells cloisonné items.
We ate first and then shopped. I saw lots of things I liked, but this was our first shopping trip, so I did not want to get stuff here if I knew I could find it in other places. Looking back now, I do wish I had gotten a couple of the things that I saw there. I did get a few small things, one being a gift for Tessa. I had heard before that some people buy small gifts from China to give their daughters for the first 15-18 birthdays. I liked this idea, and planned to do the same.
On our drive to the Great Wall, I saw something else that made me sad. We were on a very busy street, with about at least three lanes going each way. We were going over a bridge, with a side walk. I saw a little girl, who looked to be about 5 years old, just skipping down the sidewalk, right next to the busy road. She was all by herself. I looked around her, and did not see anybody. I wonder about her still.
Driving up by the mountains, where the wall is, was very beautiful. It was the perfect day for this. Except for the smog, which I’m sure is here on most days.

First we all got together for a group photo. DH did not want to buy the book with photo, he wanted to just have them take a picture with our camera, yeah right. I don’t have a wide angle lense yet, and we would not have been able to squeeze everybody in. I got the book.
I also had to use the potty, so went to find one. Yeah, I found one alright. It was nasty! I did find a western toilet, but there were prints on the seat. Dirt prints, from shoes! I guess, they think we are weird for sitting down, so when they use this stall, they just jump up there and squat. I am so glad that I packed those paper seat covers! Plus I squatted too. TMI??? Sorry, even though it was covered, I just could not let myself sit.
Anyway, now that I was ready I found the rest of the group, and started the climb.
I was bound and determined to make it up as far as I could. I believe we made it to the second tower. Some of the steps were not so bad, but then others were like two feet tall. Plus really steep. We kept stopping to take little breaks.
The way back down wasn’t too bad, just kind of scary because it was so steep.
My legs were like jello.














On the way back to the hotel, we drove past the Olympic park. We had spent all day out, and did not have any time to stop, but it was neat to see it.
It was about supper time when we got back to the hotel. I wanted to venture out of the hotel, but we didn’t know what was even around, and didn’t want to get lost, so we went down to the restaurant in the hotel (the one we ate at for breakfast) and had an American meal. DH ordered a pizza, and I had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with French fries, and they brought out a little bowl of katchup.
We pretty much called it a night after this, cause we had to check out and get on the bus by 6:00 a.m.
We woke up around 4:30 a.m. on the 28th. We had to check out of the hotel, and get on the bus that took our group to the airport for our flight to Guangzhou.
We flew China Air, and this was also a nice airline. This was a relatively uneventful flight, and I tried to take a little cat nap.
We arrived in Guangzhou around 11:00-11:30. This is a very nice airport. We got on another bus that took us to the White Swan Hotel. At first this place reminded me of Florida, with all of the greenery and Palm trees, but as soon as we got closer to the center of the city, there is a huge difference. There is not one wasted space in this town, every single little nook and cranny is filled. They try to make this a pretty place, there is plants everywhere, but then some of the buildings look as if they could cave in, in an instant.
It is also funny that on most of the balconies, there is clothes hanging to dry. They have no shame, even hanging out their panties and bras to blow in the breeze.
The streets are lined with rows and rows of little shops, it would be fun to just go out and walk around.
We made it to the White Swan and went to check in, but our rooms where not ready yet, so we sat in the bar, where they gave us a complimentary drink. I chose a non alcoholic fruity slushy type, and it was really good.

After the drinks, our guides took us on a short little walking tour, we did not venture very far, and we actually decided to get something to eat, so we went with some of the others to Lucy’s. They have tables set up outside, and it was the perfect day for it.

After lunch we went back to check in and get settled in our rooms and took a nap.
This is what greeted us when we got to our room!

I forgot to pack wipes, so I needed to buy some before we are to get the babies. We went walking around the island and found some at one of the little shops there.
We didn’t do a whole lot for the rest of the night, I took a bath, in yellow water, and tried to get ready for tomorrow!