We're truly in Shangri-La!

Our hotel in Xi'an is the best hotel we've ever stayed in! Its so nice and clean, really wonderful after a night at a not-so-great hotel and a night on the train.

This morning we visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda - it was built during the Tang Dynasty, but there are lots of gardens and newer buildings around it. It was really nice.


After lunch, we went to the Xi'an city wall. The wall is a 3 km x 4 km rectangle that surrounds the centre of the city. It was also built during the Tang Dynasty and was very interesting to see.


The girls went swimming this afternoon while I attempted to re-organize our suitcases - we've accumulated a lot of stuff and we're starting to run out of space! Once we get to Nanchang, I'll be able to prepare half of the donations which will clear out some space. I'm hoping to not have to buy another suitcase this time.

Tonight we went for a dumpling banquet which was totally amazing. There were 16 different types of dumplings brought out to our tables. At first, I was doing a great job of trying each kind, but by about the 10th one, I was starting to lose it. Needless to say, I couldn't try all 16 types, but the ones I did try were really delicious. I think Avery ate the most she's ever eaten on this trip, which I was very glad about. She's been living on rice, noodles and watermelon for the last week.

Tomorrow we finally visit the Terracotta Soldier Museum. Tom's been waiting for this for 9 years (since we came to get Quin in Oct 98), so he's really excited. Will post again tomorrow night since I'm not sure how things will go once we get to Nanchang.

We're in Xi'an

I want to take a moment to talk about the great service we’ve been receiving in China. I’ve been mostly talking about what we’ve done every day, mainly because I’ve been so tired at night when I’m posting to the blog, that I haven’t been able to say much.

This is the first time CB has used Bridge of Love Adoption Services, and the service has been truly amazing! On top of the several gifts the girls have received (hats, T-shirts, puzzles and toys), they provided us with water in our hotel room and on the bus every day. We haven’t had to buy any water yet! The guides have been so helpful – even taking care of getting our laundry done in Beijing since the hotel prices are quite high. I got about 25 pieces of clothing cleaned and ironed and delivered to my hotel room for less than $40. Everything was wrapped in its own bag as well, which was great for re-packing. Anything we need done, they take care of it for us. I haven’t been to many other countries, but I can truly say that the service we receive in China is far above anything we’ve ever received at home.

This post is going to be fairly long since I haven’t been able to post for the last 2 nights. On Wednesday, we checked out of the hotel in Beijing and headed to Jinshanling where we finally walked the Great Wall of China. This was a new location for Tom and I so we were thrilled. It was about 3 hours from Beijing, so there are very few tourists there and we had the Wall almost to ourselves. We had lunch at the foot in the town and then headed to the gondolas.

The gondola ride was about 10 minutes and then we had to hike another 20 minutes or so up to the wall. What a fabulous view of the wall from all angles! It was just amazing. We walked along the wall for about 45 minutes (Tom was way ahead and we couldn’t catch up anyway). Along the way, there are self-appointed guides who follow you along, hoping for a tip once you get back to the gondola. I was a little annoyed at first, but I soon realized I was very glad to have her with us. She was a young woman who spoke some English and since I was holding Avery’s hand the whole way (the wall is quite rough and some of the stairs are very steep and crumbling), I was quite exhausted by the time we turned to head back. She held Avery’s hand the whole way back so I only had to fend for myself and make sure Quin wasn’t too far ahead of me. The heat was almost unbearable (the rainy days have ended and we’ve had scorching heat for the last couple of days) and we were all soaked with sweat. I was so glad to have her with us. We tipped her and also bought some postcards and a book (this is where they make the most I think) since I was so grateful. In talking with her along the way, I found out she was from the local village (along with all the other “guides”). The funniest thing was while we were riding the gondola back down the mountain, we could see them running down along the pathway – and they beat the gondola down! If I had known that, I would have walked down – the gondolas were a little scary.



Next, we headed for Chengde where we stayed the night. The city is quite beautiful, but the hotel was not the greatest, so I was glad it was just one night. The beds were like the ones in Changzhou when we adopted Avery - it felt like we were lying on a board! Anyway, we were all so exhausted from our hike on the wall, that we slept 10 hours. I really needed that!

On Thursday, we visited a Buddhist temple in the morning called Putuozongcheng. It was completed in 1771 and is an exact replica of the most sacred Buddhist temple in Lhasa, Tibet. It was a bit of hike up to the top, but with breaks along the way, we all made it and took lots of pictures of the building and the view. The girls even had an ice-cream at the top which stopped the whining for a while. We left the hotel at 8 am that morning to try to beat the heat and crowds, which was great. By the time we left, there was a huge line up to get in and the clouds had dispersed so it was getting really hot.


After lunch, we made the long ride back to Beijing for a Peking duck dinner. Alice, our guide in Beijing, who didn’t travel with us to Chengde, met us for dinner. It was really great to see her again.

From the dinner, we headed to the Beijing train station for the overnight train to Xi’an. This was an experience I’ll never forget. The train station was a complete zoo! It was so packed with people, that I was terrified we were going to lose one of the kids. We were each pulling our own suitcases and Tom and I had a bag and backpack as well, so we couldn’t hold their hands. They were real troopers. A couple of the kids were crying and scared, but Quin and Avery stayed calm and just followed along. The cabins in the train are pretty much what you would imagine. No frills. Just 2 bunks and a small space in between. We had to shove the 4 suitcases under the 2 bottom bunks and the backpacks on an overhead shelf. A few other families paid extra for the bunk in their own cabin (if they had fewer than 4 in their family), but we didn’t have this luxury so had to use every square inch of the cabin. The bunks were as hard as the floor, but at least the sheets and blankets were clean. Once we were settled in though, it was fine. The train left around 9:30 and the girls were asleep by 10:30. It was an 11 hour train ride, so we arrived in Xi’an at 8:30 this morning. By the time we got to our bus and then to the hotel, it was 9:30 and we were all ready for breakfast! The buffet was awesome and we've now checked into our rooms.



Since the internet is working much better here in Xi'an, I've posted a few pictures from Tuesday as well. Will update again this evening about today's events.

Another busy day!

Today was our busiest day yet. Our day started at 4 a.m. with a trip to Tiananmen Square to see the flag raising at sunrise followed by a trip to a local park to learn Tai Chi at 7 am. OK, OK, Tom was the only one to go to the flag raising, but he woke me up when he was getting ready at 3 am!

After the morning activities, we visited the Bridge of Love Adoption Services (BLAS) offices where the staff put on a wonderful presentation for the girls. They even got to do some caligraphy in the big boardroom! They all had a lot of fun.

After lunch, we finally got to go to the zoo to see the pandas. This had been something the girls have really been looking forward to (this and the Great Wall tomorrow). It was quite amazing to actually see the pandas in real life. They look just like all the stuffed animals the girls have - they are so cute!


From the zoo, we went to a Hutong area (backstreets), where we got a rickshaw tour of the residential streets of China and a tour of a local family's home. This was quite the experience for all of us. The homes in the Hutong are built around a courtyard. Its like having your backyard in the middle of your house. It was really neat!


We only got about 1 hour to rest at the hotel before we headed out for a traditional dinner of Hot Pot (the girls ate very little) and then on to the Chinese Acrobat show. It was fantastic! You would not believe what these acrobats can do - Avery's eyes were glued to the stage for the whole show (even though she was up at 6 am this morning). She was competely fascinated with the act.


So now I'm packing our suitcases because we leave Beijing tomorrow. I can't believe our 4 days here are almost over already. The time has flown! We head to the Great Wall and then on to Chengde. I will try to post again tomorrow, but I will have to figure out the internet thing again. Hopefully, it'll be as easy as this hotel was.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Guests of the State

Today was quite the day! We started with a visit to the Childrens’ Palace, which is a huge complex with everything from a sports arena to a small amusement park. The girls learned how to use a Chinese yo-yo (and were given one as a gift) and how to tie-dye. They took a couple of rides at the amusement park before we headed out to lunch.

After lunch, we drove about 45 minutes to the Summer Palace (where the Emperor spent his summers), but a thunderstorm started as soon as we got there, so we had to hurry through. I was a little upset about that because the last time we visited the Summer Palace, it was a freezing day in January and we didn’t enjoy it much then either. Maybe next time we’ll get better weather!

Speaking of which, except for today’s thunderstorm, the weather has been fantastic! We haven’t had much sunshine, but the temperature has stayed in the 20’s, so it has been great for sight-seeing. One of our biggest worries about coming in August was the weather. When my sister traveled in August to adopt my niece, it was brutally hot and I was a little stressed we would get that kind of weather as well. We’re expecting the provinces to be much hotter, but at least its not bad for the first week here.

When we arrived back at the hotel from the Summer Palace, the girls’ dresses were waiting so we all got ready quickly and headed off to our meeting with the Vice Director of Civil Affairs for China. He is the highest ranking official in charge of adoptions in China. We were brought to a press conference room where each family was seated together (they had name cards for each family). The girls all sat in the front row with the parents behind them. There was a photographer there and some other officials.

The Vice Director made a very nice speech and then presented each girl with a certificate and a stuffed Olympic character. The girls were all thrilled, to say the least – I think they felt a little like celebrities! The Vice Director then hosted a fantastic dinner at their offices. It was very elegant – we were quite impressed.

So far, this trip has been fantastic! Bridge of Love Adoption Services has taken really good care of us, and we could not be happier with their service. We are all having a wonderful time, and once we’re over this lingering jetlag, the trip will only get better! We’ve managed to keep Avery up tonight until 9:30, but Quin skipped out on the swimming because she could not keep her eyes open. She was asleep before 8 pm. Seeing as they were both up at 3 a.m., I’m a little surprised she made it that long! I’m hoping for a much later morning tomorrow – keeping my fingers crossed!

Jetlag

I was having some trouble viewing our blog from the laptop in our room yesterday, so I decided to come down to the business centre to do it tonight. But, its the same on this computer, so I guess for some reason I can't view it from China? Not sure why, I'll ask Tom to figure it out tomorrow, if he can. Right now, he's asleep with the kids - we're not quite over the jetlag yet.

We all woke up several times during the night last night, and we were up for the day by 4:30 am. I'm hoping tonight will be better and by tomorrow we'll all be adjusted to the time zone. It will be a long day if we're not! Tomorrow evening, we meet with the Vice Director of Civil Affairs (very high ranking official in charge of adoptions for China). He wants to meet all the girls and give them each a gift.

Today, we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was overcast and humid so it was very nice. If it had been sunny, it would have been unbearable to walk the length of the Forbidden City.

After lunch, we all took taxis to the Silk Market and shopped for a couple of hours. The girls cannot stop talking about this experience. We were hounded like crazy by the salespeople. You could not walk by a stall (and there are thousands of them), without the salesperson calling out to you to buy something. If you show any interest, you will not get out of there without buying something. I ended up paying too much for a T-shirt for Quin, but got a great deal on a pair of shoes. We bought some Olympic souvenirs too. That was great because the sale of Olympic stuff is all regulated in China, so there is NO bartering. You pay the price and that's it - just like at home. Quin was so anxious to come to China and barter for things, but once she got a taste of it, she was very happy to go back to our way of shopping. She's figured out that bartering can be very stressful!

We're in Beijing!

We’ve arrived in Beijing! What a difference in just 6 years – you would not believe the construction that’s going on here. Its incredible! We didn’t get to see much yet – just on the drive from the airport to the hotel, but we’ll have lots of time to explore over the next 3 days.

Our day has been long and very exhausting. We arrived in Beijing about 3:30 p.m. local time and got to the hotel by 5:00. There were several different lines at the airport (even one where they take your body temperature as you walk through to make sure you’re not sick), but we made it through them all pretty quickly. Everyone was a little cranky tonight while we waited for the pizza to arrive, but it finally did and everyone (except me) was asleep before 8 pm. I guess that’s what happens when you add an extra 12 hours to the day!

The girls were fitted this evening for their traditional Chinese dresses as well. It was supposed to be tomorrow morning, but our guide has told us that the Deputy Director of CCAA (China Centre of Adoption Affairs) has invited us to meet with him on Tuesday. So I guess those 15 dresses will need to be made quickly!

Tomorrow we’ll be visiting the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in the morning. So far, it looks like we have a free afternoon, so the shopping will begin earlier than I thought!

We leave tomorrow!

Well, we leave tomorrow for Beijing and we are busy with last minute packing and shopping. The girls are quite calm, but Tom and I are bouncing off the walls! Avery's still asleep (her schedule hasn't been the best this summer) and Quin was up early as usual. She's been worrying about missing soccer while we're gone.

Speaking of soccer, the girls both won their games last night. Here are a couple of shots with our new camera (which Tom insisted we needed for the trip to China).
Quin was lucky to get to her game last night. Our van broke down (great timing!) and thanks to Michelle and Maddy, we were able to hitch a ride to Lake Simcoe. All's well though, the van will be ready today (with its new alternator) and we'll be ready to leave when my brother picks us up tomorrow - thanks Aurelio!

Our flight leaves for Beijing at 2:30 pm, but we're going to try to be at the airport by noon. The flight is only 13.5 hours long, but we arrive in China at 3:40 pm Saturday because of the 12 hour time difference!

We will be in touch as soon as we can figure out the internet access in our hotel in Beijing. Hopefully, on Saturday evening.

Thanks to everyone for their best wishes,

Tom, Paola, Quin and Avery