Today was another free day for us. After breakfast, Chris and I got foot and shoulder/back massages. They applied much pressure but we felt very relaxed afterwards. Lixia pretended to help and she was very patient. We grabbed lunch at OGGI which is a pizza place. It was a nice change and even Lixia seemed to enjoy it. We did some boutique shopping near our hotel. Lixia had fun trying on different dresses and twirling around. We were trying to kill some time because it was raining again. We were getting close to time on when we were supposed to be meeting our guide for sightseeing and it was not letting up at all. So we had to run several blocks in the pouring down rain back to our hotel. There were several inches of water in the road because the rain was coming down so quickly. By the time we made it back, we were all drenched!
Our guide, Kelly, took us and another family to the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall which is a family temple and not religious at all. It was one of the few activities we could do because it was partially inside to protect us from the rain. We toured the temple and viewed the intricate displays of wood carvings, porcelain painting, ivory carving and more. There were also several souvenir shops. After we were finished, we visited OneLink Plaza which is a multi-level wholesale toy market. It is a misnomer because they actually have many items in addition to toys (household, gifts, etc.). There were literally thousands of vendors. We wondered around and did some more souvenir shopping. It was great to be inside and out of the rain.
We stopped at the Guangzhou Friendship Store and ate dinner at a place called the Banana Leaf. They serve Thai food and Lixia was thrilled to be eating noodles. This girl requests to eat noodles all day long and generally eats 3-4 servings per sitting.
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| Looking at the front of the temple |
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| Very detailed and bright, vibrant colors |
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| This girl loves to ride in the stroller |
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| This is one of two statues; the female one looking very playful |
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| Very large wooden door symbolizing protection |
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| Ornate wooden screen |
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| Inside the temple |
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| Inside the temple |
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| Porcelain display |
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| Porcelain display |
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| Ivory display (Ivory cannot be removed from the country without government approval) |
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| Ivory display |
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| Statues |
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| Calligraphy for Lixia |
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| He wrote her name with the Chinese characters and signed it |
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| The Toy Market |
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| A small glimpse into two vendor booths |
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| Very chaotic |
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| Turns out this girl loved the moon cake; she and mama devoured a whole one by ourselves |
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