June 28, 2009

We didn’t have any plans until the afternoon so we took a walk and went to the playground on Shamian island. Young and old were out exercising on the equipment. We then went down to the Pearl River and it was like a festival. People dancing, exercising, talking and even a swimmer in the Pearl river!

We walked over to the White Swan since Yihui had left her jacket there and luckily they had it in the lost & found. After a light lunch we let the girls relax until Yun, her husband and Anna came over. Yun is very good friends with Xin and their family is lovely. Anna, their 13 year old daughter spoke English very well. Yihui immediately bonded to her and felt comfortable. They took us in their car on a tour of the city and shopping to the oldest street of Guangzhou where the city gate is buried under glass. Bob looked at pottery and jade and other things- all too expensive to buy. Zoe crashed & fell asleep in the car going to the next mall. I stayed in the car with her at the next stop and Zoe slept 2 hours. Yihui loved shopping. Yun’s family then took us to a famous Guangzhou restaurant called the 4 Seas International house. It was quite a ways away from the downtown area. We ate an amazing meal- it reminded me of Hong Kong restaurants in the atmosphere and the food. The seafood was very fresh. On the way back we walked along the Pearl River with the beautiful lights. Yun’s family was so warm and generous. They gave each girl an outfit, and a bag full of typical Guangzhou foods. No matter how hard we tried to pay for dinner, they would not allow us. So we made them promise to visit us in CA so we can return the lovely evening.