Sorry I’m so delinquent in writing. We’ve arrived in Beijing. I would hope so by this time!!
Anyway, we’re super proud of Jonah. He’s really taking things in stride on the long trip. He slept ~1 ½ hours on the plane from San Fran to Beijing. He was pretty much passed out while we cleared customs and met up with the other CCAI families. We were so excited to see our friend Cheryl!!
We came to the Peace Novotel Hotel. It’s definitely a much swankier place than we Selfs are used to….Jonah better not get used to such luxury! Katie was trying to make the little guy feel at home while Ryan and Cheryl went out to try to get us some Chinese food. They came back with French Fries for the little guy (he was already taking his shower and missed out) and some excellent Chinese food for us. Jonah woke up once last night, but we were able to get him back to sleep (with the help of our trusty Tylenol)!
Today, we had the breakfast which was included with the hotel and then went to see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden city with the group. I really like Tiananmen Square, and its size is definitely impressive. Jonah started singing Jesus Loves Me right by some soldiers at one point (why he picked that song out of all the ones he knows is beyond me), but with no repercussions! ☺
After Tiananmen, we went into the Forbidden City. That place is also enormous. It is laid out in a straight line following feng shui, and you go through one gate and enter a courtyard that looks much like the one you left. Jonah had a great time there. He could run around, and managed to make friends with a few little kids and play with them. You can get a long way with ”Ni hao” and “Hi” if you’re three. He played ball with some kids, held hands for pictures, and tried to teach one little boy “Ring around the Rosies” (he didn’t understand). Jonah did run into one “little emperor” (what the one child policy only children are sometimes called) who was not interested in sharing his ball, however.
The guide then took the group to have some Sichuan food, which was excellent. Seriously, you can give us pretty much any Chinese food (and lots of other kinds of food as well), and we’ll be happy!! ☺At that point, we split off from the group tour and came back to the hotel so Jonah could take a nap. He went to sleep without an issue. Cheryl and I went off in search of adventure while Ryan manned the fort here back at our hotel, and almost got roped into buying some overpriced tea after a few complimentary glasses and some free tea cookies…after narrowly escaping, we picked up some drinks, toothpaste, laundry soap, and excellent fruit snacks and made our way back. ☺
This evening, we had Beijing duck for dinner. Cheryl was extremely excited about the certificate they gave us authenticating the duck. The restaurant has actually counted every duck they have served since 1860 something. It was gaudily decorated, and even had some type of pillar that was roped off so people couldn’t touch it like the nice things at the Forbidden City…but the food was good!
The trip is going well. Jonah is getting along swimmingly with Cheryl who he hasn’t seen for a long time and everyone is healthy and happy. Jonah keeps asking when we’re going to get Grady. Like when we were in the airplane, he said, “When we get to the airport, will Grady be there?” And this morning when he woke up and asked his customary Jonah question, “What are we going to do today?” and I told him, he wanted to know if we were going to get Grady afterwards. He alternates between excitement to meet his brother, and worry about how things are going to be. This morning he said, “All my toys are special and he can’t use any of them.” However, we are all so excited to meet the little guy…only three more days!!
Tomorrow we are going to the Great Wall, so hopefully I’ll have more to write then!
1 comment:
Your narrative is fabulous. We're waiting for the next installment!
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