First day in Guangzhou

Kelleytao slept in this morning till almost 8:00; she was tired after yesterday's flight. She was very quiet all morning and most of the day...even had a few short breakdowns, crying for Nye-Nye. We had another wonderful buffet breakfast, that is included in the price of the room of $140/night for this 4 or 5 star hotel. Breakfast is becoming my favorite meal of the day! She tried a banana and some pears today and loved them and is not so fond of scrambled eggs.

Dan woke up with back spasms from sleeping on a hard bed. Lucia, our guide said that these beds are soft by Chinese standards! It took him some time (and a pain pill) to get his back straightened out. He called the hotel staff and they brought up some extra padding to put on top of the mattress and under the fitted sheet. He is hoping for a better night sleep tonight. He was also complaining of ear pain from a possible infection. Lucia said that we could pick something up at the pharmacy to help.

Lucia picked us up at 9:30 and we headed by van to the medical exam, which is close to the US Embassy. Kelley had to go thru 3 stations. The first one was for weight, height, temperature and ear/nose/throat. I didn't see the doctor look in her ears or nose, but he did check her throat. The same doctor looked at Dan and said his ears were inflamed due to runny nose. He told us what to pick up at the pharmacy to help. The second station for Kelley was a blood draw to test for TB (no tears). We will get the results back Monday afternoon. The last station was a general exam of her body and verifying her special need. Kelley clung to us and watched all of the other kids in line doing the same thing. She has already had 2 surgeries in less than a year on her hand. I don't think she was scared of the doctors, but more missing Grandma who was there for every surgery.

On the way back we stopped at a pharmacy and picked up some nose spray for Dan. Then we shopped at a local super market for some snacks: water for us and yogurt drinks for Kelley. We saw a live fish market inside. You can select your fish for dinner and they will kill it for you. There was also other dried meats and sausages hanging on the wall. I was afraid to look to close. Kelley kept it under control; better than at WalMart. She did throw a few things in the cart that I put back when she wasn't looking. I managed to get them safely back on the shelf before she noticed.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was ours. What is there to do when you are by yourself in a different country? Without a car? With a 4 year old child that may start screaming Nye-Nye at anytime? And it is 93 degrees (96 with heat index) outside? Well, we went to the children's playroom on the 6th floor. The problem is that the 6th floor of this hotel is closed. We found that out after riding the elevator for 5 minutes. The playroom is on the 6th floor of the Garden Tower Apartment building, which is attached. She played there for almost an hour by herself (and with us). Then we headed back to the hotel to meet the laundry guy. We took a walk down the street, just to see what was available. Lucia had shown us many restaurant options for dinner.

Kelley played some games, cried a little and colored with crayons until dinner time. She has been snacking on snacks everyday around lunch time, so we've just been going out for dinner. We headed back to the hotel restaurant for a buffet dinner. We should have listened to Lucia. They were supposed to have a bbq buffet tonight, which sounded good. The problem was that we were there at 5:30 and the buffet didn't open till 6:00. We took a little stroll thru the outdoor courtyard and watched the fishes swim and a large waterfall. That wasted 20 minutes so we went in. At 6:10 there was still nothing set out for the buffet (may be because nobody was in the restaurant). Dan and I decided to eat off the menu. Our caeser salads were good, but not that filling. We ordered chicken fingers and French fries for Kelley. She loved the fries and wouldn't try the nuggets. There is a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Starbucks and Subway within walking distance of our hotel. We will have to check those out for lunch tomorrow.

After dinner we went for another outdoor stroll down a side street and finished the day with some ice cream for Kelley. She loved it, but didn't like the outside cone. At 8:00 bedtime we skyped with Kimmy and family. Kelley was playing by the bed and came running to the computer as soon as she heard Kimmy's voice. She was doing her best to play with Kimmy thru the computer. She showed her a doll, waved it at her and pressed the belly button. She made a bear noise and face for Papa. Our quiet little girl just came around at bedtime tonight.

Tomorrow's excursion include the Chan Clen Temple (which is tall according to Kimmy) and the FolkArt Museum.