Today is Sunday in Guangzhou and we have no official business to take care of so we are meeting up with the other families for some sightseeing. Our first stop was the Six Banyan Tree Temple. It is a well-known and beautiful Buddhist Temple in the city. Locals were coming with offerings of incense, flowers, and fruit. Our guide Jack gave us the background of the temple and the various Buddha statues that people were praying to. We then entered the main temple and watched the monks perform a ceremony. Their chanting was wonderful to listen to and it was so cute to watch the children and their parents pray together. The monks finished their ceremony and we were invited up to the alter and each child was blessed. It was a very moving experience. Afterwards we headed to a local park to walk around. Most Chinese people in the cities live in apartments so they don't have much room at home. The city's parks are like their backyards and playrooms. The elderly are doing tai chi and karaoke while the parents and their children go for paddleboat rides and enjoy amusements rides. We spent most of our time at the playground with the kids. Blythe went on her first rides, the merry-go-round and this little elephant ride. Again, I am in awe of her - she was totally calm for both! We let her practice her walking for a while. She loves to walk but needs to hold on to one of us with one hand. She is getting stronger everyday and I think she will be walking in no time at all. I was homesick at the park for Avery and Claire. They would have loved this place! There was a craft area, goldfish games, go carts with no seat belts for toddlers (very scary - Claire would have been in heaven), and a huge fury pink mechanical dog that the kids sat on and drove around the park. I think I could make a fortune selling them to parents in the US! After the park we headed back to the hotel and sat outside for lunch. The hotel staff set up a play area for the kids in the restaurant and Blythe loved playing with the other "Ritz Kids". It was all fun and games until the French girl fell in the fountain! Jack our guide came by and we finished up our US Consulate paperwork for Monday. After Blythe's nap we headed back outside for a walk around the adjacent park. Christian got us tickets to tour the Guangzhou Opera House, an open-air park and performing center that recently hosted the Asia Games. They love exterior illumination here and the whole place was lit up in colored lights as the sun went down. We got back to the room around 8:00 p.m. and started the evening ritual of rocking Blythe to bed. It is a little scary trying to picture putting three toddlers to bed...so I try not to think about it!
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