Thursday, June 4, 2009

Day 4 - Mountain Park

Today all the families took the tour bus and some strollers to Nanning's Qingxiu mountain park.  This park truly is amazing.  Like the peoples park, it has a large pond with thousands of carp that you can feed which is a big hit at the park.  We also traveled to the top where there is a 10 story pagoda with commanding views of the area.  Unfortunately, it was quite hazy and smoggy today so the views were limited.  It was over 90 today with severe humidity, so the climb up 10 stories was a sweaty affair.  The park is absolutely enormous and it is obvious that it is a popular destination for Chinese families to take advantage of some open space as the population lives so densely in this city.  Lots of people were there to sit in the shade and take in the sights.  On our bus ride, it became clear that while Nanning is no Beijing, it is a very large city that is growing and the Chinese take great pride in the lush landscaping both around the city and specifically at their parks.   After Siena's 2 hour nap after our return, we took her down to the pool for some swimming.  I have to say her first swimming experience was a positive one.  Despite some whining, she went into the pool up to her armpits (with the help of Dad) and seemed to be fine with some splashing.  At one point, she flung her sunglasses into the pool and went down to reach for them and dipped her face into the water.  It was quite a surprise, but she laughed instead of cried.  Tonight us and another couple decided to brave the streets and put our kids in strollers for a 25 minute walk to Pizza Hut for some western fare.  While the pizza was not anything to remember, it was a nice change from the local cuisine.  The streets here are amazingly busy with so many cars, mopeds, electric bikes and bikes.  We were quite the spectacle on our walk and turned many heads, most with smiles at how cute our daughters were.  The crosswalks are like playing frogger dodging the various vehicles. 

Tomorrow we visit Nanning's city People's Park while we await our final paperwork to take this Saturday to Guangzhou. 

J

2 comments:

Anne-Marie RajGuru said...

Deborah & Justin

Congratulations!!! Siena looks precious. Can't wait to meet her.

Sounds like you all are having a memorable journey. Savor every moment - the journey will continue.

Loved to bath story - so similar to Maya - her foster mother said she liked baths, but the 1st year there was no liking of it (for either of us), esp water on the head... Now she's a water rat, can't get enough.. It will all keep on changing.

Congratulations and best wishes from us all.
Anne-Marie & Sand,Jasmin & Maya

Jeanne Dickover said...

I just love your daily updates and it brings you and Siena that much closer to us. When we finally meet and hug her, it will be like we've known her all her life. She is so beautiful and quite the charmer. And she is so lucky to have you two for parents. xoxoxo