Day 4 Free Day

We had a free day today. Actually, the rest of the week is free because we've completed all the "business" for the adoption. At this point we are just waiting for the notarized documents and Amy's Chinese passport to be finished. Our guide will pick them up on Thursday and Friday respectively for us.

Before I tell you about today, I need to share about bedtime last night. We are in a room with 2 twin beds for 3 of us. The first night was fine with just Alice and myself. The second night we tried putting one of the mattresses on the floor and then using an extra blanket to pad the box spring to make 3 beds. Amy didn't sleep well (she was on the box spring), so I decided to reassemble the bed and put the girls in the beds while I took the floor. Amy figured out what was happening and wouldn't have it. She literally lifted me out of my bed on the floor and insisted that I take the bed while she took the floor. She refused to use the bed if I stayed on the floor! This morning she explained that her nanny had told her that American beds are much softer than Chinese beds (which sometimes seem more like sleeping on boards), so she figured that she would be more comfortable on the floor than I would. Very thoughtful.

So today we went to a famous pavilion here in Nanchang. I'll have to find the name later. Amy enjoyed the first part, but once inside it was less interesting for her with more things to look at rather than touch. I'll let you see for yourself.

This is one of the guardian lions. I learned about these during our first trip to China. They are always in male/female pairs. You can tell them apart looking at the object under their front paw. The male has a ball, while the female has a young cub with her claws in its mouth (supposedly "feeding" the poor thing). Amy didnn't know how to tell them apart. There was another pair, much smaller, inside that she was able to feel the difference quite easily.

This was the ceiling in the center of the to floor. Hard to get a sense of how 3 dimensional it is from the picture, but still a striking image.

 

Rather sad image. Elsie, our guide, said that when she first started coming to Nanchang, the river reached right up to the wall. Now water levels are down and don't appear to be seasonal. Also, the little bit of blue sky was a pleasant break from the heavy haze that has become the norm here and in many Chinese cities.

 

 

I knew we need to take a picture of this statue - Alice was born in the year of the Rabbit!

This was an interesting sight I noticed on the drive back to the hotel - laundry and meats/sausages hanging out to dry, sometimes on the same racks!