Grilled Cheese and Cantonese

Yesterday (Saturday), we went and had Nathan’s TB test read… all was good!  After that, we met the rest of our group and headed to the medicine market.  It’s a street market of sorts with many vendors selling dried goods that are used medicinally.  There was also a pet market (dogs, cats, kittens) which I couldn’t take pictures of because seeing it once was enough.  So sad for an animal lover like me!  Keith stayed at the hotel and slept off his fever while Andrew, Nathan and I went with the group.  We used a stroller for Nathan which helped a ton even though he hated it for the most part. :-)

Pictures below - #1 – A view of the market.  Think of a flea market with stalls set-up on each side and cars driving down the middle.  #2 – Andrew approaching the pet market.  We saw fish, frogs, turtles, bunnies, salamanders, etc…  #3 – Albino frogs.  #4 – Andrew begging for a turtle.  Um, no.  #5 – Snake skin, anyone?  #6 – One happy boy, one boy bribed with cookies to pretend to be happy.

Last night, we ventured to Shamian Island for dinner with some our group.  Honestly, I wish we were staying over there.  So much more pedestrian friendly, lots of little shops and restaurants, lots of greenery, places for the kids to run and right near the Pearl River.  We ate at Lucy’s which is the Chinese version of an American dinner.  I went out on a limb and had grilled cheese and fries.  YUM!  It hit the spot. 

Pictures below - #1 – Lucy’s.  #2 and #3 – Pictures along the Pearl River – beautiful at night!

This morning we went the the Chen Family Temple.  It is not a religious temple, but one that served as a temporary residence for the Chen descendents.  The architecture is Cantonese style and was very intricate.  So many carvings with such amazing detail.  Andrew was at the front of the pack, listening to everything our guide Veronica had to say.  He had a hard time understanding some of it so we spent a lot of time trying to explain it in his terms.  Things like cooking a meal for your dead ancestors and letting them eat before you are allowed to eat.  How do angels eat?  Is the food gone?  How do they know they even came to visit?  Why do they burn money?  Phew!  Exhausting!

Pictures below:  #1 – Andrew showing off part of the temple.  #2 – A dragon on the roof of the temple.  #3 – The temple.  #4 – More detail. #5 – Fun in the stroller! #6 – My three boys. #7 – Ivory Carving #8 – A garden area within the temple

   

One thing that has really amazed us has been the ivory carvings.  I would love to see it being done just to get an idea of how they did it.  Absolutely amazing.

Once we got back to the hotel we decided to grab a quick bite downstairs at the Chinese restaurant.  How is this for role reversal?

Our Russian kiddo trying to use chopsticks and our Chinese kiddo insisting on using a fork! :-)

Tomorrow we will be visiting the Safari Park.  It’s getting chilly here – high of 59 tomorrow and damp, as always.  I don’t think we’ve seen the sun here once but it doesn’t stop us from trying to do some fun things!  I’ve heard great things about the Safari Park so I’m hoping we all have a great time!

Hope everyone is doing well!
Becky