Adventures in Wuhan

Today was a very adventurous day in Wuhan. First, off we skyped Gam. While Jolie was sitting next to Karlie talking to Gam...We all said wave and say hey and she did. She is such a smart clever girl. She likes to write with her left hand. Our guide said that she seems to be left handed and that the chinese believe that left handed people are clever. Karlie  liked hearing that info...she too is a lefty.

Skyping Gam

These red lanterns were hanging here as we went in and waited for our guide to buy our tickets to the Yellow Crane Tower.

Our guide Christine explained how much the Chinese love red and love to decorate with red lanterns at special occasions. I told her I loved red too! It's my favorite!

 Shek at the entry to the Yellow Crane Tower

The Bridge at the entry. (the lion in the right hand side of the photo we found out is male because he is holding a ball...the female statue has a 'baby' with her in her statue). just  a little triva....lol

There are lots of steps at the Yellow Crane...LOTS! Once you get inside there's even more floors to go up. There is an elevator but it is only for the elderly and handicapped. You must be at least 70 to ride the elevator. Karl carried Jolie Wen Wen in the baby carrier the entire way...He took some tylen*l when he got back for some back pain. You can read more about the yellow crane tower here!

There were lots of steps!! So if you ever plan a trip to the Yellow Crane Tower, let your hubby pack the toddler. LOL

The Tower was very beautiful!

Where in the World is the Henry Co. Times? It's in Wuhan China, Jolie's hometown.

The tower is on Snake Hill...the Crane and turtle are symbols of longevity...

From the top of tower we could see the whole city. Christine pointed out this red tiled building; we recognized it from the photos. It is the Wuhan Orphanage. All orphans  who live in Wuhan are given the surname Wu. 

Also, according to what month that the child was born in they are given the same middle name. Jolie was born in June so her middle name is Fan. Her given name was Wen.

Jolie Wen Wen fell asleep during our sight seeing...I had hoped to have her photo made here with her orphanage in the background...she is an orphan no more! 

 Shek has been quite the photographer. We have many photos between the two of us...I just can't post them all.

 We have not bought any souvenirs until today. Since we were in Jolie's hometown we wanted to pick up a few things that represented where she was from. We bought her a beautiful silk outfit that Christine said would be the right side for her next winter. It was made here in her province. It has a bunny on the attached purse because this is the year of the rabbit. I asked what year 2009 was because she was born in 2009...Christine and the shopkeepers had a discussion on what it was they had to remember...and they said it was the ox.

 Karlie got a pair of dolls (the second row second set)..Christine said they looked Japanese. We thought they were precious and will look good in Karlie's room on her desk. We also purchased a crane statue like the one in front of the tower and Shek bought a nice fan with the statue, the tower and a poem about it. He is proud of his fan!

 This guy was singing in the tunnel on the way to the tower.

Just before we got to our van we saw a man with a long brush. Christine said he was practicing the old art of Chinese calligraphy in water. This was how it looked.

Jolie enjoyed some fried rice for lunch. I had soup. She likes to wipe her mouth with the napkins when she gets some food on her mouth. AND she likes to wipe the table when she spills. I hope she keeps this good traits! lol 

Our HOTEL...the Best Western Mayflower

After we got back to the hotel from our sightseeing trip. We decided to walk to a nearby restaurant and get a bite to eat for lunch. We told Karlie to take her flip video camera and just video the scenery as walked. I noticed a lady to our left that continued to laugh for awhile. We thought she might be laughing at us. We are different looking and all...lol then we noticed that she started to walk along with us...when we paused or took a turn she would...when we went over the walking bridge here she came. We all began to get a little worried. It was BIZARRE to say the least. We thought surely she will go on about her way. We finally made it to our lunch destination, and in she walked...Karl said, Do you think she' s going to pull up a chair and eat with us? I said, NO! We went in, and she starts telling Karl something...a lot of something...He said to her I don't know what you are saying. She pointed to the upstairs and off she went...We thought good riddance. Then the waitress seated us. AND then here she came again. She told the waitress something and then told us a bunch of something ....we looked at her...she seemed breathless and distraught...she waved to us bye...we said bye...she went outside...then I looked and there she was walking back and forth...then she would come to the window across from us and peer inside...I started claiming and praying that NO weapon formed against us would prosper....we kept a watch out...then she sat down outside...then she came back in and looked at a menu by the door...she shot us the evil eye...her happy look we originally saw at first on the sidewalk near our hotel had changed. She had a beef with us...and I don't know what it was....when we left the coast was clear...she was gone. We wanted to venture out for some supper, but we don't want to run into her again. LOL ....maybe we'll just eat here at the hotel.

Tomorrow afternoon we leave on the bullet train,once we have Jolie's passport! We will go to Guanzhou! Our guide says the people there are shorter, darker, and fatter than the people here in Wuhan! I am just excited about some warmer weather! ...I think our guide thinks we have too much luggage...so pray we don't have any problems with it. God has handled everything else and as the song says He's never failed me yet ....and He "ain't" gonna start failing me now.... He is good all the time.

Best wishes!