Nanjing...Old City tour

So we finished up yesterday with a little shopping and a tour. Our guide Jin took us for a walking tour of the Old City of Nanjing. Our hotel is actually located right in the heart of the Old City, so we only had to stroll about 4-5 blocks to get to the center of it all. It was all pretty neat to see. This country is filled with significant history and it is all mixed in with today's culture and markets.

We are heading out to Guangzhou later this afternoon. Our flight leaves at 6:30 pm, so we spent most of the morning packing our suitcases and getting geared up for a 2 hour flight. We had a sinking feeling in our stomach's this morning when we woke up....heavy fog! It has seemed to clear us a little bit, hopefully, no more delays at the airport. It is one thing to have a 4 hour delay with Jen, quite a different with Hannah onboard! She is one busy girl. Always on the move and always opening and closing ziploc bags, containers...you name it, she has opened it and closed it a dozen times and filled and emptied it 2 dozen times. We are excited to get into a new city and a new hotel. The walls are sort of closing in on us. We will meet up with the other families, who we met in Beijing, tomorrow morning.

Hannah seems to be understanding us more and more, but the language barrier has been tough. We are implementing sign language as well, and she is starting to sign her needs to us. More...Please...All done...Eat...Thank you...are all becoming more clear in her mind. We pray that she picks up more of this before we get home so the transition might be smoother.

A cute story from this morning. Hannah was playing with some Chinese coins that we have acquired along the way. She was putting them in and out of the box her new shoes came from. Shaking it like a tambourine. You could almost sense that the coins were going to explode out of the box at any moment. And sure enough they eventually burst out like a volcano. I had noticed some of the coins rolled under a table. So later on, I went to pick up the coins from under the table. I got on my hands and knees to look to see how many were under there. I only found one. But I also noticed another thing. Hannah was trying to crawl on my back. She thought I was getting down for her to get a piggyback ride. It was so precious! So we ran around the hotel room (all 10 feet back and forth). She was laughing so hard! I put her down on the bed and she kept asking for more in Chinese. So I showed her the sign language motion for more, and she repeated it. These are the moments I'm holding strong to. These are the moments that relationships are built on. These are the moments father's long to have with their daughters. This was a moment I had been waiting for, for a long time.

Stepping out for a tour of the Old City

Street vendors everywhere. This one was selling roasted dates.

Taking a snack break and waiting for business. These guys give one-on-one tours of the Old City in a rickshaw.

A view of some of the street vendors outside Confucius' Temple

Not sure of the name of this...two dragon wall?

Hannah has really taken a liking to the stroller.

Jen's back and arms are very appreciative for this.

Three's company

A view up the canal

The view down the canal. This has been the economic hot spot of Nanjing for over 1000 years. Also, this area is where scholars take their Imperial exam. The top scoring student is referred to as the "Mandarin". Hence the name of our hotel.

More street vendors

Paper lanterns outside the entrance to Confucius' Temple

Confucius' Temple

A pavilion (pagoda) that houses a large bell

These brass instrument pieces are over 3000 years old. We are told that when played, the sound is amazing.

A woman dressed up in customary attire. You can pay to dress-up in Chinese clothing. I opted out since it would likely come up to my knees.

Another view of Confucius' Temple and garden

East meets West...adjacent to the Temple only a stones throw.

Hannah was getting tired and hungry by the end of the tour, so we headed to our room to get settled in for the night.

This photo depicts what life sometimes feels like to us...blurry, tired, ready for home!!

One last goodnight to Nanjing and the hotel

The view from the hotel parking lot. There is a little alley on the left between the two buildings. We found a couple great vendors including a laundry service, porcelain shop, grocery store, and our favorite authentic Chinese restaurant. Not a fun walk after 6:00 pm, lil' sketchy!