A Day at Shamian Island...

Today we decided to spend a few hours on Shamian Island; it is a nice place to relax and shop. We visited many of the shops that we visited last year, but fortunately, the island is no longer under construction. When we were here last year they were renovating many of the buildings and sidewalks for the Asian Games that took place last November. It was very difficult to maneuver around to the shops, but this time it was much better. It was very busy, but the weather was fairly nice.

As we were walking down a center square we heard a "Hello", and as I turned to see who it was I realized that it was Jordon. I said, "Hello Jordon" and he immediately smiled and began to ask about our daughters. He owns a shop on the island and does your child's name in Chinese characters for free - it is beautiful. Below is a picture of him writing Lauren's name. We spent a while talking with him and looking through his shop; he carries the adoption barbie doll just in case anyone is still interested in attaining one after the White Swan closes for renovations. I believe he may be one of the only places here that sells them - RMB130.

We ate a late lunch at Lucy's and it was actually very good! Then we found a shop that borrowed us a stroller for the duration of our trip - truly a blessing since Jadyn seems to either fall asleep or ask to be picked up within 30 minutes of venturing out. We made our stop to Jenny's Place; they are truly nice people there! About two hours after visiting their store I heard "Hello Suzanne", and it was Jenny's husband calling out while riding his bike across the street:)

We came back to the hotel and did our laundry and then ventured out to the play area in the courtyard of the hotel. They have a nice swingset and play set for young children to play on and there is a soft rubber floor. We met a nice family with four-year old and one-year old daughters. The wife is Chinese and has lived here her entire life and the husband has lived here for seven years. He came to China for work and that is how they met. Their older daughter has been fluent in Mandarin, but just began speaking English last year since she began going to an International kindergarten. She was quite good now!
Here are some pictures from the island -