Tuesday and Wednesday were our "off" days while we waited for Maggie's visa paperwork to be processed so that she would become a U.S citizen upon entry.
On Tuesday we had a later morning, as we were waiting for another family to finish their consulate appointment and then we headed to two local historical sites.
The first place was the Chen Family Academy, a stunning and hyper-detailed family home that was turned into a an academy. It is now used to show traditional Guangdong art from Canton blue glass sketching, to ornate bone carvings. We watched an artist create his finger paintings...which look nothing like a finger painting.
We did enjoy the signage around the place, as the English translations seemed to be a bit off!
The next stop was the 6 Bayan Tree Buddhist temple. The pagoda was beautiful with different buildings that held different buddhas around it. The pagoda is no longer functioning, but monks do live near by and upkeep the temple areas.
Lunch was our favorite noodle place that allows "take away" and little Miss napped. Instead of hitting the pool, we decided to walk around the outdoor pavilion that was part of our hotel. It was a beautiful little getaway on the 3rd floor and we enjoyed it, despite the heat.
Dinner was another Cantonese family style that was located in our hotel.
Maggie is becoming more and more comfortable with us and is even starting to smile at other members of our traveling group.
Wednesday was our last full day in China and we went the the Chimelong Safari Park. It was crazy busy, as it was the summer holiday and many people travel from all over China to visit the zoo. We waited in crazy lines to get on a safari tram. It was a fast trek through the natural jungle that held white tigers, lions, zebras and giraffes. And it was not just one tiger, or one lion, it was 10-15 of them in their area, moving around. Maggie liked the ride...and never once noticed the animals!
We separated from the group and tried to see as much as we could while the babies lasted in the intense heat.
They had a large reptile area that had glass floors and ceilings with large snakes moving all around you. It was very cool. All I could think about was how much my boys would have loved that experience!
The main attraction at the zoo was the panda triplets that were born a few years early. They are the only known panda triplets in the world. The panda is a very revered and special animal in China. The fact that they were triplets was a sign of a big blessing. The triplets were a few years old, but still very cute. They were inside due to the heat, but we were able to see them for a bit.
Triplet #1
Triplet #2
Triplet #3
We made our way back to the hotel to rest and finish packing up all our of bags. Ryan took the opportunity to go to a park near by and take some pictures while Maggie napped.
We took the restaurant advice of our guide and went to our last family style meal in China. Part of me just wanted to go get room service and get the burger, as one more Chinese food meal did not sound good. But I knew that I would regret not going out, so we enjoyed one of the best meals we had in Guangzhou together.
Not dinner.
It was bitter sweet to walk back to the hotel that night. We all decided to stop and get ice cream before we packed up for our early morning flight. I tried to absorb the last little bits of China, the humid, heavy air, the streets being cleaned by buckets of water and the buzz of lights and bugs around us. It made me sad to think that this was Maggie's last night in her home. She has never not known China, the sounds, the smell, the feel. Michigan is a world away, and we were going to take her from all that she has known. We would be giving her two brother, a sister, grandparents and family...but there will always be a side of me that is sad that she does not get to experience her home as well. I know that we will try to bring her back to China, to let her see and experience her heritage, what makes up her DNA and made her into the person she is.
The longing to be home, to hug my kids, to hear them laugh, was strong, but there was a tinge of sadness as we walked that side walk one last time.
Someone was not sleepy...even though we had to wake up at 3am.
Our time in China had come to a close. One more major day and we we would home. Forever.
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