Wednesday - Shamian Island

If you remember earlier in the week we passed up the opportunity to go to Shamian Island on the sunny day to instead go to Safari Park. It was a really good choice because safari park was a beautiful day but today when it was time to go to Shamian Island it was going to rain all day. The island is a small little stretch of land between the rivers with little shops and a park. We took a cab on our own over to the park. We were dropped off at the White Swan Hotel. It is a newly renovated hotel that is spectacular. It used to be the hotel that a lot of the adopting families stayed at.

After walking through the hotel we went out into the rain and to a couple of shops. We found some really cool things and some silks for Magnus and the girls to wear.

 There are a lot of bronze statues around the park. There is one that is a classic for all the adoptive families to take a picture by. It is a line of children with their arms on each other shoulders but with one missing. Here are a few of the pics. 

After walking around the park for a while and grabbing some Subway to eat it, we went back to the White Swan Hotel and caught a cab back to our hotel. We hung out in the room for a little while and then went over to the play area to spend a little bit more time and burn some energy. 

Then it was time to head to dinner. On our way we saw our guide Sarah.  It is kind of amazing actually how she just shows up everywhere. I told Dana that she's kind of like a genie. Anytime we are looking for something or need something I turn around and there Sarah saying "Mike?"  It has happened about five or six times in the past week. We really like her and she is very helpful. She had picked up our paperwork from the consulate. We got Magnus's visa and passport back and now we are officially ready to head home.

Everyone had been talking about a place called Oggies. It is a pizza place that was supposed to be really good. We went and enjoyed some pizza and sat next to a family that was from Kentucky that was there for their 2nd adoption. 

After dinner it was back home for lights out. This is not how they started sleeping!

Patiently Waiting to Come Home Duff Family of Six!