We all slept in this morning and ate breakfast just before heading out to Shamian Island around 10AM. I'm not sure what exactly I was picturing the island to look like...but it wasn't what I had imagined. It's a beautiful place that was originally purposed for all things related to American adoptions. The Consulate used to be housed there, as well as the building where your child had his/her medical appointment. Families also stayed on the island at The White Swan where the famous red velvet couch belonged. Families always had their picture taken with their new child on this particular couch. Our guide said that the hotel was renovated some time ago and as a result, had the furniture replaced. But, because so many adoptive families asked about the red couch...they brought it back to be on display.
The other famous picture that families usually capture on the island is with the music teacher and her children. The entire island is sprinkled with beautiful bronze sculptures. Naturally, this famous spot was our first stop when we arrived! Josiah wanted nothing to do with it so we did the best we could. Ha!
We spent the rest of our three hours on the island searching for gifts for the kids. There are tons of little shops with souvenirs and other special items. Many stores are named after the owner such as Helen's, Michael's, Jenny's, and Susan's. I had flagged some posts in a Facebook China Group I'm in to determine which of the stores might be best for what we wanted to purchase. There was also a store called A Gift From China where the proceeds benefit orphans in China. We stopped there first...well technically, second. *Actually, Eric encouraged me to go to Starbucks first for a coffee. Great idea!* The owner of A Gift from China was so kind and we even heard Amazing Grace being played there! We found some neat items and continued on our way.
As we walked past another building, a girl pulled me into a very small shop and I noticed it said Jenny's. Ha! Perfect! It was another store I had wanted to check out. The signs on many of these stores aren't easily seen so you definitely have to pay attention and look hard to find some of these spots. Eric stayed outside with Josiah and I looked around. A man, who was actually one of the owners, began talking to me and asking me about my family. He was very kind and showed me around his store...all 8x10 square feet of it. I saw a few items I was interested in, but wanted to keep going. I told him I might come back. He came out as we were getting ready to leave and gave Josiah a Chinese flag. It was so sweet.
Our next stop was Helen's and this store owner was also very kind. She was also slightly pushy but not in an annoying way. She truly just wanted to show us all her store had to offer. We purchased all the kids a cultural outfit. The girls got matching silk dresses and the boys got matching silk short and shirt outfits.
By now, we were ready for lunch so we stopped at a famous restaurant called Lucy's. (They're all about the first names here!) They had congee on the menu so that was a bonus. I had sweet and sour chicken that was actually pretty good. It was more like American Chinese so it was right up my alley.
Afterwards, we only had about thirty minutes before the van came to pick us back up. I wanted to stop back at Jenny's... partly because the owner was so nice and partly because I wanted something else small to give the kids. We went back and picked up some handmade wooden frogs that make music and a pair of squeaky sandals for Josiah. These squeaker shoes are quite popular! I wasn't sure what Josiah would think so I put them on him and gave them a squeak. Instant smiles! Actually, we had to wear them out of the store because he didn't want to take them off! Here he is all smiles with his new shoes.
We had a few extra minutes before we left, so I snapped several pictures of the bronze sculptures because they were all very different. Here were some we saw as well as some views of our walk around the island. The buildings were just as beautiful.
Josiah fell asleep on the way back as he usually does any time we're in a vehicle.
Unfortunately, he woke up when we got to the room though. And since nap time was such a fiasco yesterday, Eric suggested heading to the pool. Josiah was very hesitant at first. But he sat on my lap and really enjoyed splashing. Once he warmed up, he let Eric hold him in the water and did not want to get out. The only reason we left was because it had started raining. Josiah loved the splashing part!
All in all, it was a great day. We even got Josiah to nap this afternoon... although he cried quite a bit before falling asleep in my arms. He crashed on the dinner cruise last night so we really wanted to try and encourage him to rest. We have NO schedule tomorrow except that we'll hopefully meet our guide at noon to get Josiah's visa. We're almost home, friends! Yay!! As always, thank you for your prayers!
No comments:
Post a Comment