Took a bus to visit the famous Great Wall of China with all the adopting families. Joy talked to us about Chinese culture while riding the bus. We visited a Cloisonne factory in our way to the Great Wall. There was a lot of traffic when arriving to the place where we had to park. Took a gondola ride up to the wall and went sight-seeing. There were so many tourists and so many pesty vendors! The tourist crowd reminded me of Niagara Falls.

Breakfast in the hotel was almost as good and delicious as we could have them at home! Met some of the other adopting familes. Assen and dad went swimming for a while while mom ran on a treadmill. Glad we brought our Bulgarian swim caps. Met the rest of the adopting families and went grocery shopping. We were brave enough to try some Chinese food. We asked for two different dishes. One of them was pretty good. In the afternoon, we went to see this Chinese Acrobat Show. It was really worth it! Assen kept attention the whole time!!!

Traveling

Flew from CID to ORD without major events (UA-7116). The plane in ORD was late, so we didn't leave ORD until about 4 PM (UA-851). Assen played for about two hours in the Children's play area. Geography lesson: The plane did not fly west to China, but north! We flew over Lake Superior, Hudson Bay, and very close to the North Pole and the Arctic Ocean. Then, we flew west, and then south through Siberia, Mongolia, and China! The airport at Beijing was huge and amazing (PEK). It looks like they are ready for the olympics. After about an hour-drive, we finally arrived to the Days Hotel and Suites. The hotel room is spacious, with two queen size beds. The beds are really hard, but the bathroom is also spacious and modern.

Two more days of packing before we leave. I am trying to put all my clothes in plastic bags under vacuum, so they take less space! I am making lists of all the things we need to take, so I don't forget anything.

China Itinerary

April 2 Depart CID to ORD at 7:27 AM. Depart ORD to PEK at 12:43 PM

April 3 Arrive to PEK via UA 851 at 3:00 PM. Stay at Days Hotel & Suites

April 4 Acrobatic show

April 5 Great Wall and Cloisonne Factory

April 6 Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and Hutong Tour

April 7 Flight to Guangzhou. Stay at the White Swan Hotel. Meet Sophia

April 8 Adoption registration and notarization

April 9 Passports

April 10 Free Day (geocaching)

April 11 Guangzhou Folk art Museum

April 12 Medical exam

April 13 Free day (more geocaching)

April 14 Visa

April 15 Consulate

April 16 Flight CZ3101 at 8:00 am to Beijing. Connecting flight to Chicago

Came back from Riviera Maya last Saturday. Now, it's time to wash clothes and start getting ready for the next trip. We celebrated Assen's sixth birthday last night. We've heard some stories about food in China, but my Chinese colleague at work, Jin, assures me they have both American and Chinese food in all restaurants in China.

Travel Dates to China

We received our Travel Package. We decided to fly from Chicago to Beijing on April 2nd (my brother's birthday) and return on April 16th from Beijing to Chicago. We will do some sightseeing of Beijing. We have our appointment at the US Consulate at Guangzhou on April 14th. Perfect timing. We still have time to go to Cancun next week. Time to pack!