July 10th

It's great to report that each day gets better with Julia. Waking up today was really good. At breakfast we tried putting her in the stroller and she did fine. She also seems to be feeling better. No fever today.

Today we had to get her medical check and photo for her passport. She did not enjoy this outing. A picture's worth a thousand words.....or screams

After our appointments, Eva told us we were close to Shaimen Island for lunch and shopping.

To explain Shaimen Isand I'll sum up some info from Wikipedia: Shamian Island is a sandbank island that was divided up into 2 concessions and given to the French and United Kingdom from the Quing government in the 19th century. The island is built in a colonial European style.

The island used to be where most of the adoptive families would stay. The American Consulate (if you are American you must finalize all paperwork here) used to be on the island but has moved. The famous White Swan Hotel is here. The White Swan is famous for having your child's photo taken on their red couch. The hotel is closed now for renovations. I am sure when the White Swan reopens it will be a booming area again.

When we arrived, the island looked pretty quiet. Not too many people or shops. We did see some photo shoots going on for clothing ads. It was funny to see a model with a fall jacket and business outfit posing in such hot weather. I wanted to take his picture but sort of felt a little awkward taking it. So here is the picture from a distance.

Eva brought up eating lunch at a popular American restaurant called Lucy's. Since it was American food and we are all still burnt-out from the fast food chains, we all agreed we wanted Chinese. Eva knew of a family owned restaurant on the island and she ordered for us. We all enjoyed the meal so much.

After the appointments, lunch and shopping, Julia and I called it a day. With the exception of her appointments, she really did good having a full day out.

Eva had informed us if we like phones, computers and such we were close to the electrical market. The electrical market sells everything in the electronic world you can think of. In the evening, Nick and the boys went to check it out. Based on all the tech talk chatter going on and several "mom, you gotta see it" phrases, (that's about all i remember from the tech talk chatter) when they came back, it must of been an interesting adventure for them.

Speaking of electronics, I just thought of all the electronic ads that are lit up. Even the buildings have amazing displays. Here are the views from our windows at night in downtown. All the lights change colors on the buildings. It is a stunning sight, to say the least and pictures don't do it justice.