At the Park and the Pool

One egg, some bacon, three dumplings, two hash browns, and a bowl full of water melon is what Zoe ate this morning!  Maybe she is learning what the rest of us have figured out here….the breakfast is fantastic, and you never know what lunch will be, or if you will get it, so fill up.  Noah and Adam run next door for a few cold drinks to bring, watch a man get hit by a car (don't worry, he's fine!), and jump on the bus.  We head to a very large park.  Our guide tells us that since the city is so built up, people use the park as a place to exercise, walk without fear of a traffic death, and get 'away' for a time.  Although not as big, this park resembles, and serves somewhat the same purpose as Central Park in Manhattan.

The scenery was amazing.  We walked on nice brick paths through flower gardens, past gazebos where people were playing various instruments and singing, over bridges, and along the river.  There was a playground in the middle that the kids used, while the parents used a bench to watch.  The temperature today has to be our record so far!  At one of the bridges, we paused to buy some fish food from a vendor.  As we threw the food into the small pool of water below, thousands of koi, carp, and various other fish made the water come to life as they scrambled for a piece of the food.

The bus, and it's struggling air conditioner were a welcome sight.  We got on, and a few minutes later stopped at a large store on Porcelain Street.  With two floors of authentic, hand made tea sets, bowls, and vases, it was beautiful, but we were anxious to get out without any "You break it, you buy it" stories!  Back to the bus, back to the hotel, and back to the tub for Zoe.  Chrissy sat again for over an hour on the floor, blowing bubbles, and splashing.  Then the two of them sat on the bed and shared some pretzels.  One thing we have noticed with Zoe is that she loves to be in the hotel room.  After a couple of hours of being out, she quiets, and seems to be nervous and pensive.  Today, when the bus pulled up to the big revolving door, she smiled, pointed, and started to get out of her seat.  In the room, she acts much more free, and excited.

After some rest, we took a walk to the store.  Sofi bought a few more small books, Noah found a pair of Dwayne Wade sneakers, and we purchased some stylish bathing caps!  They are required at the pool in the hotel, and the kids wanted to go swimming when we got back.  A couple of ice cream novelties, a hot walk back, and we were off to the pool.

Our intention was to have Zoe sit with us and watch the kids swim.  Apparently she loves water way too much!  There was a smaller, shallow pool next to the big one, and the kids took turns taking her in. For dinner, we ate at the same Chinese restaurant that we have for the past couple of nights.  We have narrowed the menu down to a few dishes that we all really like, and have avoided the sautéed sparrow gizzard, and korean style beef with intestine.