Travel Journal-Day 1
We just completed our first full day in China. We arrived yesterday afternoon and had the rest of the day to get settled in our hotel and adjust to the time difference. Our hotel is wonderful. We have a great view of Beijing from our window. Chris has enjoyed looking at the various unique vehicles. We are also right next to a store called Carrefour. They call it the "Chinese Walmart." We went there last night to look around. We purchased some water and some chocolate but decided to pass on the live carp (which they will kill and clean for you right there) the chicken feet (yum) and the pork livers.
Today was a very busy day. We started with a tour around Tiananmen Square and then on to the Forbidden City. It was all very interesting but it definitely feels like "filler time" until we get to meet Lucy. The best part has been getting to know the other families, hearing about their daughters and how they came to adopt from China. We've met some really amazing people and look forward to getting to know them more. Our group is over 90 people so we aren't likely to get bored anytime soon!
After lunch (Chinese food!) we went to a pearl factory where I got suckered into spending too much money on a pair of pink pearl earrings. The salespeople here are very good. I wish I could bring a few home with me, as they would make excellent SPC's! We also went to a silk factory where I managed to hang onto a bit more of my money. It wasn't easy because they had many beautiful things. We ended up purchasing a pair of pajamas, a pants outfit and a beautiful pink dress for Lucy. I hope I bought the right size!
We visited the Summer Palace after lunch. Again, it was interesting but most of us just want to get to our babies! Fortunately our weather is perfect and our guide, Sherry, is very good. She has a great sense of humor and is very well versed on Chinese history and culture.
A couple of interesting notes about our flight. We flew from Chicago, up through Canada and then over the North Pole. It was very cool to look down and see a vast land of snow and glaciers! I looked out the window quite a bit but did not spot Santa Claus. I also met a very nice man from Beijing who let me test out my Mandarin. Either I did a pretty good job with my proununciation or he is a very nice man who pretended to understand me!
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