We made it! We arrived in Beijing yesterday, around 5 pm, with no problems. Kira was excited, happy, and only slept for her usual nap, and then an hour at the very end. It’s hot, but nice here, 27 degrees, but with a bit of breeze. Sunny today, we can actually see a bit of blue sky!
Last night, we did well to check into the hotel, grab dinner downstairs, and went straight to bed, by 9 pm. Then, we were all awake by 03:00 am local time. Basically, Sept 3 and 4 were a right-off for us. This morning, after breakfast, our guide took us to the Temple of Heaven for a couple hours. We had not been there last time, so it was great to get that in this week. Kira did really great; she is a trooper. She has been so excited, she even had a dream about Aurora last night, but I didn’t get any details other than that. I had to make up some ‘ground rules’ while in China: no ‘hide and seek’ outside of the hotel room; stick close to one of us when in busy airports! She’s just so eager and happy to meet this little sister.
Tomorrow is a free day for us; might do a bit of shopping or swimming. Unfortunately, the pool at our hotel is closed, but there is another pool nearby we might check out.
Sunday, at 05:30 we meet our guide to catch a flight to Gansu province. Later that day, we’ll meet Aurora, but no idea what time. In the adoption world, this big day is called “gotcha day” or what we use, “forever family day”. We’ll have a different guide there. Then we spend the rest of that week finalizing the adoption (Monday), and applying for her Chinese passport, and a bit of sight-seeing in between. Then we fly back to Beijing on Friday, Sept 12, for another week to complete the immigration paperwork process. And of course, more sights and shopping, for some if not all of us….depends on how the kids are doing…
So that’s a bit of our agenda while we’re here. Now, some photos. First, sending the cats off to Grandma and Grandpa's; finally we arrive (sleep deprived) at the new Beijing airport; Canadian spirit; and at the Temple of Heaven: my sister Susan, Norma, Tom and Kira.
Cheers,
Norma
4 comments:
So glad you made it ok. WOW, seeing the photos and reading your post brought all the memories of our last trip right back again! I'll have to show Maggie when she gets home - she'll be so excited to see Kira and read all about your adventures. Temple of Heaven was one place Maggie & I went together when everyone else was shopping at the Pearl market one day. We loved it. Especially the musicians and people practising tai chi on the grounds. Such a beautiful spot. Looking forward to following along.
Hector
Glad you made it safe and sound. I will be glued to the blog come Sunday. The Temple of Heaven looks beautiful, we will have to go there on our homeland tour.
Hi Tom, Norm and Kira
We are sooo excited for you.
We will also be glued to your blog.
Kira is getting so big!
We wish we were there with you.
Safe travels.
Love Shelley, Barry and Faith
So glad you've arrived...enjoy the sites & sounds. Kira will be such a wonderful big sister. Will be thinking of everyone as you go to Gansu Province...and your ...forever family day...how appropriate! Have wonderful moments & memories to cherish...great to see Susan too!
Blessings,
MEAK'M
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