Journey: to the island

Yesterday we went with one of our agency families to Shamian Island. For previous adoptive families, like my sister, this is where the White Swan Hotel is located and where the American Consulate used to be located. In the past, all adoptive families would stay on the island during their time in Guangzhou. Now the consulate has moved across town and the White Swan is undergoing MAJOR reconstruction. We wanted to visit the island though because we have heard how beautiful it is and what good shopping there is to do.
One thing is for sure -the island is beautiful!!! There are beautiful plants, trees and flowers everywhere! It is a popular place for wedding pictures and we saw at least a dozen brides while we were out and about. We ate at Lucy's, which is a western type restaurant. We got a yummy hamburger and fries. David loved his grilled cheese sandwich, a true American kid :) We also enjoyed the shopping as well.
Today we visited the Chen Family Temple. It was very beautiful and there were several artists working on their crafts. We also visited old Guangzhou which was neat. We managed to get caught in the rain, now I know why the hotel provides an umbrella in our room. This afternoon one of my parents former international students came to see us. It was fun seeing Lu again! After her visit and a nap for David we went to the playroom and David got to play with his new friend. They had lots of fun playing and David especially enjoyed the little slide and the bouncy toy. He's going to wonder where our playroom is at home and what new place we will go to each day-poor kid is going to be disappointed that we won't be going somewhere new each day!!
Tomorrow we're going shopping with a personal shopper. Not sure how excited the guys are about this putting but my mom and I are ready to shop!
I know y'all want pictures some from the past few days so here are a few... :) Have I mentioned I cannot wait to be home?!?