Nice Day

Hello Again. This is going to be a pretty quick and simple posting today since Maddy is getting her evening bottle. Today we had an "Free" day, but it was actually fairly busy. This morning we took our time getting ready this morning, so we spent quite a bit of time on the floor playing in the room. After getting ready, we had breakfast downstairs, which is always fun. Maddy has really started to like the yoghurt, which makes us both very happy. Now if we could just get her to eat solid food we would be doing good.



After breakfast, we spent probably 90 minutes just walking around the island. The weather outside today was just outstanding. It was a little bit cooler, and much less pollution in the air. Yesterday was pretty breezy, so I think it blew some of the pollution/smog out of the air. It was really nice walking around just the three of us outside. We did have a big moment today. Today was the first day that Maddy really let us put her in the stroller. She was fine, just as long as we kept walking.

While we were out and about, we walked by the Polish Consulate, which was kind of strange to see. It's a pretty small building, but hey, it's technically Poland. There were even two Chinese Army Guards watching after the place. I might try talking them into letting me snap there picture some time over the next couple of days.

Out on our walk, we also stopped by a Christian Church that was holding service. We stopped by for a few minutes to listen to the service. It was actually pretty cool. I'm not quite sure what the requirements/standards are in China, but this sure isn't the China of Chairman Mao. Religion is pretty open are here now. Our travel coordinator even had a "Jesus is love" shirt on the other day, which was pretty cool. On the island there is at least two churches (One Christian, one Catholic).

After the nice long walk, we took a small break in the room, and meet a group of our travel mates at a really nice restaurant. It was pretty upscale, but some of the food options, was well, interesting. We ate very normal food (Fried Rice, Dumpling soup, etc), but we could of eaten:

• Fish Lips
• Water beetles
• Sand Worms. They are about as big as your fingers
• Baby Fish

It goes without saying that we stayed clear on those items on the menu. They had the food out front, still kicking, as you walked into the establishment. I'll have to see if I can get a picture to post.

After a very nice and long lunch, we came up stairs for a nice nap in the afternoon, and then went down to the playroom for a play date. Much fun was had by all. I'll try to get that video posted tomorrow afternoon if we have some time.

Following the playdate, Maddy took another short nap, and then we went out to dinner some other people we met on the flight over. They had just shown up at our hotel today, since there daughter was in another province. It was nice catching up with them and everyone telling the different stories of our trip.

Tomorrow is going to be a pretty busy morning. We leave for the local zoo at around 0900, so we will have to make sure we are up and out he door for breakfast pretty early in the morning.

Here is the slideshow from the previous 24 hours. Enjoy!