Lucie's passport

Hello from Guangzhou. It's almost 6am and the rest of the family is still sleeping, so I thought I would take a minute and blog. Yesterday was another busy day. We met Lee and she took us to apply for Lucie's Chinese Visa. We met her about 2:30. First we had to go to the Civil Affairs Office again and pick up the paperwork that they processed on Friday. Then we were off to the passport place. It was a very official looking government building. It went relatively quickly. They looked at our application and our American passports and then snapped another photo of Lucie. That was about it. Now we wait to get the passport back.

It is kind of fun to go to appointments like this, because you get to travel through the city on the bus and see all of the comings and goings. I love to people watch. This city is very interesting. It's very difficult to describe--you almost have to see it to believe it. People everywhere and the traffic is unbelievable. One of these next days I am going to do a whole post on traffic. Pedestrians, bikes, cars, buses, little carts...all maneuvering around each other with no apparent rhyme or reason. I don't think I will ever get used to it.

After our official appointment, we went to the Carrefour store. It is a LARGE department store...similar to WalMart, but not. There were multiple levels with escalator type ramps leading from one to another. Merchandise everywhere the eye can see. We bought a few little things--mostly snacks. We got back to the hotel around 5:30. We set off for shopping at Haizu Square. We decided to eat dinner first at a German restaurant one of the ladies at church had recommended. It was very delicious. But by the time we were finished and walked down to the shopping square, all of the shops were closed. We were so disappointed. Who knew that they would close before 7pm?? So, we walked around for a while and then took the taxi back to the hotel. At least the taxis are cheap. It only cost about a dollar. So, we will try again this morning.

This was taken on a bridge across from Haizu Square.

We have Lucie's medical appointment scheduled for this afternoon. That should be interesting. Then Ali will be leaving for the airport around 6pm. S will take the shuttle with her to the airport and help her get settled in and then take a taxi back to the hotel. The kids and I will just hang out while they are gone. maybe go the pool. We'll check back in with y'all tomorrow. Have a great day!

I will try to get some more pics downloaded later today.