China, Part 4: Guangzhou

We left Nanning the afternoon of August 11 in the middle of a rainstorm caused by the typhoon that was lashing the Zhejiang coast, but luckily the weather cleared by the time we got to the airport. We were leaving without Ningning's passport, which wouldn't be ready until 5:00pm, but our guide had arranged for another family to carry it to Guangzhou. She told us not to switch to the later flight because it always got cancelled... and so despite my misgivings about leaving without this document, I trusted the wonderful Grace and boarded the earlier flight. (Good thing, because the 8pm flight was cancelled, and the remaining families missed getting their medical exams done that Saturday morning!) We sadly said goodbye to Grace, our guide, as we would get a new, Guangzhou-based guide in Guangzhou. Maybe it was our imagination, but we thought that even Grace looked a little sad as she watched us go through the security line. Anyway, the flight was uneventful and we landed in Guangzhou and were met by Kelly, out new guide. Originally we were going to wait for another family arriving a bit later, but Kelly decided to send us to the White Swan with the driver. We checked in STARVING with a sleeping baby and splurged on room-service hamburgers. YUM! The next morning, Kelly took us to get Ningning's visa photo (as with any official photo, she howled), and then to the medical exam, where, you guessed it, Ningning howled: Seriously, they were only taking her temperature! With the medical exam out of the way, we had several days to kill while our paperwork was processed at the Consulate. Kelly went over the paperwork with us to make sure everything was right. She also took us to the Chen Family Temple and the pearl market. I bought matching pearl and earring sets for me and Ningning, and a "ice jade" buddha pendant for me. I shopped in my typical way: walked in, found what I wanted, bargained, bought. That left plenty of time for Ningning to run around the mall while we waited for the other families (who were much more serious about their pearl shopping!). Luckily, Ningning and Zifeng, a little five year old just adopted by a Florida family, got along great: Zifeng is quite a helper! And she loved to help out with Ningning. I hope she and her family are settling in well!! We pretty much did our own thing in Guangzhou. Kelly arranged one other outing, to the toy market, but James and I decided to skip it in favor of lounging by the White Swan pool. Ningning was uncertain at first, but the other babies at the kiddie pool convinced her that the pool was ok, especially with her stylin' pool wrap and rubber duckies in tow: We did tag along on a Pearl River cruise outting organized by the coordinator for another agency. We had made friends with one of those families while in Nanning, and they invited us along. It was fun to see the river and James got video, but overall it is pretty overrated. The food was terrible, and I spent most of the time trying to keep Ningning occupied and happy (she thought the food was bad too!) It was fun to hang out with our friends and their adorable kids though. We also went to visit the Swedish replica of a cargo ship that sank on its voyage to China hundreds of years ago. James works for one of the sponsors, so he wanted to see. The ship was docked directly across the Pearl River from the White Swan so we walked along the water on the Shamian Island side, then crossed the big bridge and walked around the peninsula where the daily light show occurs to see the ship. We did not get to go on board, but Ningning did get to ride a cannon: We enjoyed Shamian Island and the White Swan and spent most of our time playing with Ningning and strolling the quiet streets. We were between big referral groups, so while there were other families around, it was not a zoo. Unfortunately, that made the shopkeepers all over the island a little pushier! I got pretty tired of the shops filled with the same stuff, but did take advantage of the cheap baby clothes shopping and bought Ningning quite a few outfits and shoes. Here she is testing her new pair of pink squeaky shoes in our room at the Swan: I was a little disappointed with the food on Shamian, mostly because I did not think the Chinese food offerings were very good. We ate at Lucy's several times, and it was fine. Apparently unlike most babies, Ningning thought their mashed potatoes were awful and refused to eat them! She loved their chicken and noodle soup though. The breakfast buffet at the Swan lived up to its incredible reputation, and we LOVED the Thai restaurant called CowBridge. Here's James with Ningning on our last visit to the CowBridge: Tip for parents: Try the steamed beancurd and broccoli for your kids. It comes in this honey-sweet sauce and Ningning tore it up, as did another baby we ate dinner with one night. Ningning also loved the waterfall and koi pond at the White Swan, so we visited there a lot. It took many, many, tries, but we finally got a decent picture of me with Ningning (ok, she's sticking out her tongue, but oh well, she was mid-babblestreak): After six nights in Guangzhou, we were ready to head home! But first, a last stop at one of Ningning's absolutely favorite places - the tree outside the ice cream shop. I think she and James are actually celebrating the mango ice cream I went in to buy for them but she does like looking at tree leaves (as we first discovered during our nightly walks in Nanning to soothe her grieving spirit): On that celebratory note, it was time to pack up our room at the Swan, get a good night's sleep, and head for home. After being gone for 18 days, even I, the experienced China traveler, was more than ready to head for home... and our waiting friends, family, and menagerie! Next stop: Home sweet home, and life with Ningning!