Day 9 - Traveling to Guangzhou - Our last stop before heading home!!!

Well, it's our last day in Nanning and we will be heading to Guangzhou for our final stop on this trip.  Today we took our time packing and playing because we didn't have have to leave until 3:30pm.   Caitlin has really turned a corner today, smiling and giggling so much more now- I just can't get enough of her beautiful smile!!  She even has a dimple like her Mommy!!! :) Speaking of similarities... Mom and Noah think it's quite funny that Mom's little "wish" for me to have a daughter just like myself is coming true.  They seem to think she is stubborn like me (I'm not stubborn!) and runs around like a bull in a china shop (okay so they used to call me Gracie Traci). 

Love that big beautiful smile!!!

After we were picked up at 3:30pm we had to stop by the passport office to see if Caitlin's passport was ready to pick up.  Our instructions from Belinda were:  I am going to find out if the passport is ready, you stay in the van for 45 minutes with the driver (who speaks no English), if it is ready at that time, I will call the driver and he will pick me back up and we will go to the airport; if not, I'll wait for it and the driver will take you to the airport to catch your flight.  Okay, so the driver pulls down this side street and parks the van.  Caitlin, who does not like small spaces, was not content sitting there waiting, so we got out and wandered around. There were a few vendors on the street selling veggies, eggs, candy and oh yeah freshly plucked whole chickens.  (When we first drove by we could see the vendor actually wringing the chicken's neck and pulling it in boiling water to remove the feathers easier!  Talk about fresh to the table!!)  The driver gets a call and we get back in the van, and were ready to go.  We ask if Belinda got the passport and we would be picking her up? He just turns around gives us a huge smile and says "Okay."  I crack up and begin laughing hysterically as I think about the situation we are in... in a van with a man who speaks no English, we have no idea if we will be meeting our guide again and we need to be to the airport in about 1 hour and we are trusting this man with our lives!  Granted he's been our driver all week (and laundry man!) and he is really sweet, but the timing just struck me as hilarious!  We drive down the street a couple blocks and there she is - passport in hand!! Yeah!

Caitlin's first trip on a plane!!!  Zachary loved sitting next to his little sister!  She did pretty well until we hit some turbulence and her ears were popping!  Can't wait for the L--O--N--G trip home!  Ugh!  Hopefully by then she will has warmed up to the grandparents and we can take turns entertaining/walking with her.  I seriously think the airline companies should consider a playroom area for children on long flights - for every one's sanity!

When we arrived in Guangzhou,, Caitlin had a blast helping Zachary wheel his suitcase all around as we waited for our luggage to arrive.

While waiting, another little Chinese girl about 3 1/2 came up to take a picture of Zachary instead they each took pictures of each other taking photos of each other.  So cute!

Mr. Zhou met us at the airport and we headed to the Victory Hotel in Guangzhou.  It's good to be back with with our group and see other familiar faces and knowing they are going through the same stuff we are!

When we go up to check out our rooms - we find them quite spacious but the actual layout of our room is perplexing!!  I definitely will have to chat with Danielle to see how on earth one would furnish this space!!  Basically we have a curved bedroom within a  larger room - I know you're thinking  - duh - it's called a suite, but I question the hall to nowhere behind the room! I can't even do it justice by describing it!  I wonder if at one time this funky space was an open wrap around veranda.  (Noah calls it the in-law's suite!) I don't think they use energy efficient windows in this building - as we could see our blinds swinging in the breeze!  We play around with the thermostats - setting them up to 30 degrees Celsius - but no luck!  So after we bundle the kids up and put them to bed, I head head down to the front desk to get someone to fix the heater, instead I find an employee in our hallway and he brings us a space heater! Apparently this is not a new problem for this room!