Hope: One Less: Free Day

We had another low key day today. We visited an H&M store right by our hotel and Lixia enjoyed trying things on and having a fashion show. We also walked to Martyr's Park which is several blocks from our hotel. Our hope was that Lixia could play on the children's playground. It rained on and off but we still enjoyed our afternoon out and about. The park was beautiful and the pictures do not really do it justice. The park included monuments, temples, tombs, pavilions, and a cemetery. There was live music playing in several areas, but the children's playground was lacking so Lixia just rode around in the stroller.

Tonight we went on a river cruise with two other adoptive families from our hotel and met several others there. The cruise consisted of riding on a boat for one hour and twenty minutes up and down the Pearl River. It included a dinner buffet. The guide told us to eat as soon as we could and not to wait. There was no organization or line formation; people would just go to the dish they wanted and often would remove the serving tongs to take to their next dish of choice. It was crazy. The food was okay but not anything special. The kids all seemed to love it. Leave it to my child to select chicken feet and proceed to eat them. It was disgusting! Our table was on the second level and after dinner, we were able to visit the open third deck to take photographs of the City at night. There was also an entertainer which made the children balloon animals and juggled. Many of the kids got to be part of the show. Lixia really seemed to enjoy the evening with friends.

The lines to purchase moon cakes for the Mid Autumn Festival are getting out of hand and zig zag all over the hotel lobby. We are having difficulties getting to the elevators to reach our room.