Sunday- a day of rest (sorta)

So today was a very welcome day of (sorta) rest after a long day(s) of travel. I think the entire crew was up by 5:30 and HUNGRY1 Fortunately, breakfast started at 6:30. I think we were the first people to eat. There was some confusion as the hostess tried to figure out, in her limited English & our non-existent Chinese, which room we stayed in, but eventually it was worked out and off we went to an adventurous breakfast. The buffet had many pastry type items, fruit, yogurt, pot stickers, potatoes, corn on the cob, french toast, sausage & bacon, chow mein noodles, and several types of hard boiled eggs, including duck eggs. Fueled for the day, we met our guide Savor & another adopting couple from our agency, Jeremy & Sarah Farley, and went on a tour of Hangzhou. We went to West Lake and the National Silk Museum. I'm so thankful for our driver, because I was quickly lost as we weaved in & out of traffic & made numerous turns to end up at a picturesque lake.

Savor told us that the lake is only 1.8 to 2.8 meters deep, hence its brown & muddy waters, but the setting more than makes up for the dirty water. We were again the focus of many stares, and our kids were asked to take a picture with a passing family.

We'll get a chance to take a boat tour of the lake later in the week. The National Silk Museum was interesting, but mostly in Chinese, so I think a lot was missed. On the way back to the hotel, we were able to visit the hospital where SongLian was found. Not what we as Americans would probably envision as a hospital. Made me think more of a dilapidated old apartment building. Still, I’m thankful that such a place existed to take her in and care for her until she was able to be placed in an orphanage. When we got back to the hotel, we were all hungry for lunch, so we set off, with the Farleys, in search of Pizza Hut and lunch. I don't remember Pizza Hut being this nice back in the States. We had to flip through a very extensive menu before finding pizzas, and while waiting for our order, we were a little nervous as we did not see very many people ordering pizzas. Nevertheless, our pizzas appeared (as ordered even!). Our poor little waitress was very nervous, but braved the scary American invasion.

We next decided to brave a Chinese grocery/department store. Anything you might need was to be had in this store. From electronics, to household appliances, to sporting goods, to live turtles, frogs, and crabs (all in the meat department). The only things we could not find were applesauce and sliced bread. Apparently, the Chinese don't use the saying "the greatest thing since sliced bread". We even stopped at a bakery we found and didn't find it their either. Guess we're going to be eating PB&J on crackers. It's off to rest and get ready for the real reason we're here. Tomorrow, Monday at 9am (6pm Sunday PST) we get to meet and hold our sweet SongLian in person for the first time. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. ~ Kyle