Can we say busy?

Life is certainly busier now that it has been in recent times. I had these idyllic dreams of posting every day and letting everyone back home follow along in our journey. Obviously that has not happened. It is not that I do not think of you all the time, but getting a moment in front of the computer is a whole 'nother thing. It seems that we are up early, off to go to an appointment, sightseeing, or paperwork, late home and exhausted at the end of the day.

On Thursday, we took a trip to the new Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing. It has only been open for a few months. There were many interesting exhibits on Chinese life, currency, wars, and the building of the Three Gorges Dam. We did not get to see it all in our short trip, but it was really nice. After the museum, we went out to dinner for Chongqing "hot pot". This is usually a very spicy dish, but they took it easy on us. It was quite good, but it did take us a little while to master the cooking.

Us in front of the 3 Gorges Museum

Famous hot pot dinner. The pots in the middle of the table are boiling. The outer pot is mild, and the inner pot is VERY spicy. You dip raw food in the boiling soup, then take it out and eat it once it is cooked.

Hanna sleeping through the hot pot.

Friday, we did paperwork...lots of it. Then Friday afternoon, we went to the Liberation Square in Chongqing. We at at McDonald's and it was the absolute highlight of the day. It is not that we do not like Chinese food, but that we are just missing home. We did a little bit of shopping, then had to catch a taxi home. That was interesting. We are not seasoned taxi riders, and flagging a taxi is not as easy as it seems. We were able to get them to stop, but when we showed them our hotel card, they would wave us away. Thank God for the bellboy at a hotel on the square. He came to our defense and got us a taxi. Seems that our trip was not short enough, nor long enough to be profitable to the taxis, so they were refusing to take us. Of course, they are not allowed to do this, but we were gullible tourists. We didn't know that you should get into the taxi and THEN tell them where you want to go. Lesson learned!!

Liberation Square is quite busy and full of shopping centers, most of which were quite expensive. We managed to find a bargain or two.

Hannah's first taste of McDonald's. Yum!!!

Saturday was spent at the airport and flying to Chongqing. Hannah screamed through taxiing the aircraft, but then slept through takeoff, flight and landing. I had forgotten what it is like to take a baby on a plane. Looks like we will get some more practice later this week, when we go home. We are staying on Shamian Island off the southern coast of China and our hotel looks over a harbor that is better lit than Vegas!!

Today is Easter. We really wanted to go to church today, and there is a Christian church on the island, but we did not find out about it until later in the morning. It was cool and cloudy, and we spent the majority of the day walking around the shops. Everyone here is happy to help us spend our hard-earned dollars. The shop owners are well versed in what to say to get you to stop in and shop at their stores. Everyone wants to give you a "discount - only for you". Yeah, we know...but it doesn't keep us from buying it anyway. You can go broke saving money here, so we have tried to be careful. :)

Hannah after her morning bath...isn't she a doll??

Hannah's favorite activity...eating!! She loves to eat everything, and all the time!!