Welcome to Xuzhou

Today we traveled to Xuzhou. It is pretty amazing here so far.

But, first, let me back up.

This morning was much more normal. We were up at 6:30 and down to breakfast. With some encouragement, Ty happily prepared himself a plate of traditional Chinese foods. He still ate more than I have ever seen a 6 year old eat. But he only took what he could eat himself this time. We are working on Ty letting Mom and Dad be the mom and dad. Right now Ty wants to take care of himself and everyone else around him, mom and dad included.

After breakfast and some packing our guide took us to the local market. It was exactly what I expected with one exception. It was a tiny crowded alley way. It was packed full of people, bicycles and mopeds. There were live animals everywhere just awaiting their doom. And there was an abundance of animals we would not expect to see at a market.

The thing that surprised me though was all of the produce looked amazing. The fruits were beautiful, there was a far greater abundance of vegetables than we see at home. And they all looked so clean and big and ripe. Our produce looks like the discarded excess by comparison.

After the market we finished packing and took Ty to purchase him a water squirt toy. The mall sells them. All of the Chinese children in the mall are aloud to play in the water with them. And his friends both had them. He had been asking so it was time to say yes.

That's my sweet boy sharing with his "Jie Jie"(sister)

Then it was time to head to the train station. What a cool mode of transportation. The station was like an airport. The trains were smooth as silk. and we moved through the countryside like lightning. It was beautiful.

Once we settled into the hotel we decided to go swimming before dinner.

The pools in our hotels have all been only 3-4 feet deep. It is perfect for our non-swimmers. I think Ty will be swimming by the time we leave for home. He is determined to figure it out.

Dinner was fun tonight:

Yes, that says dog meat. No, we didn't order any.

Yes those are squid tentacles. Most of us just ate the mushroom stalks and celery. Even the boys made "yucky" faces when we offered it to them.

Those two pictures are not a fair representation of our meal. Everything but the squid was fabulous. And the boys ate more than the adults. I think it is safe to assume our grocery bill at home is going to see about a $150 per month increase with this boy in the house...

After dinner we all took the kids on a walk. The bugs were overwhelming, but the bats were very fun to watch and the views were worth it.

More on Xuzhou in my next post...