Pharmaceuticals, Poultry and Pearls

After the medical exams this morning, several of the families in our group walked a few blocks with a destination of the Pearl Market. To get there, we walked over the bridge of the Zhujiang River and through an open market with wholesale materials for traditional Chinese medicine. Among the many things to see there, live scorpions for scorpion soup, bags of dried seahorses, dried animal parts of many kinds, and for eating, several stores selling while chickens, geese and pigeons, cooked and hanging with their heads still attached. Our guide suggested that the reputation of Guangzhou citizens is that they'll eat anything in the air but the airplanes and anything with 4 legs but a table.

When we got to the end of this market, we were near the Holiday Inn, where one of the families in our group was staying and found it an opportune spot for all the families and kids for a bathroom break (Western-style toilets are always a welcome sight.)

We proceeded from there to the "Times Square" of Guangzhou, complete with a big screen tv, McDonald's, KFC and Papa John's Pizza. Near there was the Pearl Market -- a kind of a mall where in the lower level are all manner of jewelry stores, each specializing in its own kind of jewelry (jade, pearls, turquoise, amethysts, etc.) Our guide Molly was especially helpful in pointing us to the best prices and the best quality stores. Mom and I found a little something to remember our trip by.

After jewelry shopping, we went to the McDonald's for a little taste of home for lunch. The food was just like back home and a welcome treat. Ahn-Bao ate what has to be his first chicken McNuggets and loved them.

After lunch, we walked back to our hotel and Ahn-Bao had his nap along the way and then a little longer with Mommy back at the Hotel. After a nap, we discovered that his cup had a leak so a little more shopping was in order before dinner.

We found an appropriate sippy cup at one of the many stores in the neighborhood which cater to adoptive parents. We also returned to Susan's Place and were able to exchange the shirt for Mom's pajamas per the laundry adventure from the day before. Then we went to dinner at the place we had eaten lunch at on our first day in Guangzhou, Lucy's Cafe and met up with Joel, Alayne and their 3-year old Mimzie and had dinner together (fried chicken, fries and broccoli, although the broccoli was not as big a hit tonight as it was a couple of days ago, he is a fickle eater).

We got back to our hotel room and Ahn-Bao is asleep once again in the crib and I'm headed to the same place. Guess that's our story for today.