Last day in China!

I really enjoyed the exotic nature of our trip for the first week or so - trying to talk to people in Mandarin, seeing Chinese writing everywhere, and being novelties ourselves. Now I just really want to get back home. Luckily, our last day is very pleasant - high of 77 degrees today.

Yesterday, we went to the U.S. consulate and waited in a room with about 20 other families for Alex's visa so he could enter the country. Gave ourselves a big round of applause - that was our last diplomatic hurdle! Oh, and I learned Alex's official adoption date: 12/16/2008.

Down the road from our hotel is a restaurant called Lucy's that caters to American tastes, and we've been trying to pour more calories into Owen there. Lots of people of all ages playing a hacky-sack game just outside this patio.
Guangzhou, especially Shamian Island, which is where our hotel is located, is a beautiful place. You can see a lot of colonial influence in the architecture:

We've also been spending a lot of time in the play room. Can't wait to get Alex and Owen home to their own toys.

Here's the view out of our hotel at night. Beautiful, and we don't even have the good side (the river side). Last night was Christmas Eve, and the locals treat it like a great opportunity for a party. The street outside our hotel and the first several floors were flooded with people wearing flashing headgear or Santa hats. Last night, there was a big Met Life blimp drifting above the skyscrapers.

Here's the view out of our hotel during the day.

Had a very small Christmas celebration ourselves this morning. We picked up a book of Disney's Mulan for Owen, all in Chinese, as well as a squeaky panda for Alex. Tomorrow at 6am we meet our guide in the hotel lobby and depart for the airport. Hopefully our journey will go smoothly. So far, Alex has been a great traveler.