And Then There Were Three!: One day at a time….

….is how we are approaching these final days. There is not much to do logistically as all we have left is the TB test follow-up and the US Consulate appointment, but scheduling keeps us here these extra few days. Luckily, as a family that has done an international trip or two, we know how to manage the downtime.

This morning we all seemed to be a little lethargic when getting out of bed. It may be that our bodies are finally adjusted to the time zone (which could be a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it), or it could be that we are just plain tired. Either way, we all got dressed and ready for breakfast in the lounge. The kids were actually well behaved this morning and ate great breakfasts, which made Mom and Dad very happy! After breakfast we returned to the room to finish getting ready for the day.

At 9:30 we met Leigh downstairs in the lobby to tour the Guangdong Folk Art Museum in downtown Guangzhou. The neat part about this trip was that we were actually here in 2006 with Savannah and we took a picture in the exact same spot as that trip over 5 years ago. It’s amazing in not only the changes in our family, but in the area as well. Although the museum had not changed, we could see many more tall buildings surrounding this cultural oasis.

Established in 1959, the Guangdong Folk Arts and Crafts Museum is an art museum that collects, exhibits and researches Chinese folk art works and handicrafts. With the popular name Chenjia Temple, the Chenshi Academy was established in the 16th year (1890) of the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty. Consisting of 19 buildings, the temple includes three rows of houses and five other homes. The temple's layout is precise and symmetrical, with stone a carving, brick relieves, wooden sculptures, color glazed pottery figures of Shiwan, iron casting and decorative paintings. The temple was regarded as the gem of architecture in South China.

Since its establishment the museum collected artworks, crafts and works of famous modern artists, as well as historical materials. There are over 15,000 pieces of cultural relics with over 300 being first-class cultural relics. Most of the collection is Guangdong folk art works and handicrafts from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to modern times as well as Shiwan pottery and porcelain.

After leaving the museum, we ventured into the Chinese version of Wal-Mart to grab some simple items for the remainder of the trip before heading back to the hotel. One thing that was neat about this visit was the parking system. As you could imagine, parking is very limited downtown and most square footage is used the commercial space. For parking at a consumer driven business, it is quite a feature to include space saving parking methods like the one we saw. Cars are racked two high in what would typical be a single space in the United States. All valet parking, shoppers are reimbursed for parking based on the amount of their purchases. An effective system based on the number of shoppers I saw and hardly a single empty space to be seen!

Once we got back to the hotel, a quick lunch and the kids were down for a nap. As our night was free, we decided to settle in at the hotel for the evening. After nap we spent a couple of hours of playtime with the kids in the hotel playground followed by dinner in the lounge. Dinner tonight was very good and the kids enjoyed it immensely. Lamb with peppered jelly, focaccia bread sandwiches, ground lamb hot pockets, roast potatoes…and the list went on and on! I have to say, we are being well taken care of here at the Marriott and our waistlines will show it when we get home! After dinner we were ready to call it a day so it was baths for all and a small prayer that a good nights rest was in the cards!

With the kids in bed, the last order of the day was to procure the laundry. For those who have not been to China, the laundry service here is second to none! Picked up and dropped off right at our hotel, individually bagged and pressed to perfection, this system has allowed us to bring only enough clothes for half the trip and is very economically priced compared to the hotels service!

As for the family, all are doing well. As one could expect, being together for this long will bring about its moments, but overall I think we are fairing better than expected. Declan is doing so well its almost like her has been with us for more than the week that he has. Physically we are learning to manage all the obstacles his condition brings about and he is actually doing much better than we expected. This is all due to the great care that we know that he received prior to his joining our family and with that in mind our family is eternally grateful for all those who have cared not only for Declan Xia Yu, but for Aiden YangYang and Savannah Ming Quan as well.

With that, we will call it a night and check back in with you all tomorrow! Don’t forget to vote today everybody! Its so important as each vote counts and its your constitutional right!

Till next time….

Michael (Free food equals indulgence!), Ann Marie (Not straight ticket, but damn close!), Savannah (Can I have a frappaccino with no ice?), Aiden (Barrack Obama is a bad guy), and Declan (wǒ qù měi-guó) Kennedy