Guilin to Guangzhou

Our last night in Guilin, we went out and walked around the lake. The Sun and Moon pagodas were beautiful.

Every evening the side of our hotel turns into a huge waterfall that is in the Guinness Book of World Records. I only took a video, so no picture.

A hotel employee dressed in the costume of a minority group. 

We toured the Reed Flute Cave. In 1944 during WW II, a few thousand people hid from the Japanese in this huge cave of stalagmites and stalactites.

A Christmas tree rock formation.

Ever since I read the book The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See, I've been fascinated with tea. So when our guide asked if we wanted to visit a tea plantation, I jumped at the chance.

Tea bushes with the mountains of Guilin in the background.

A demonstration of how the hand-picked organic tea leaves are processed for green tea. So interesting!

Then we went to taste yellow tea, "ladies tea," and their compressed tea.

It was a lovely tea ceremony. The kids loved the tea and they don't like tea. I think it was because these were such expensive teas that we tasted. A medium sized cake of the compressed tea -- $200 USD! Well, the taste I had was really good!

We arrived in Guangzhou with heavy hearts this evening. We found out a couple of days ago that Liam would not be able to meet his foster parents as planned. It is a complicated and frustrating story about a system with a skewered view that places their reputation before the needs of the children. Liam is disappointed. I am angry. I am praying his visit to the SWI goes well although we were never introduced to a nanny there so we will see.

Meanwhile, our evening here in Guangzhou has felt more like New York City. There is an import/export fair here at the hotel with attendees from everywhere, so this is the most diversity I've seen in China. And just to give it that extra USA feel -- we had dinner at Pizza Hut. It felt very plain.