We're In Guangzhou

We're in the home stretch; we're in Guangzhou. Friday was a marathon day. Poor kids. In the morning, we went down for breakfast and made plans to go walk the ancient wall around Xi'an. Aiden, who believes we are attached, had to be hauled around in the baby "front"pack. It was pretty warm, and he sweats like no other. When we got done walking the ancient city wall, we tried to get the little man to nap to no avail. We had lunch at Dico's; again, it's China's answer to KFC (although KFC itself is ubiquitous here). It was then back to our hotel to do last minute packing and rearranging. David, our guide, came over to confirm some paperwork and tell us our passport for Aiden had arrived. We left our hotel at 3:30 and didn't get to the airport until 5:15. The flight started boarding at 5:30!! We're relatively certain they held the plane for us. Aiden traveled like a champ until the end of the flight. He was getting tired, but he was still a really good boy. After the 2 1/2 hour flight, we had to take a bus from the tarmac to the terminal. THEN we had to wait for about an hour to get our luggage. Have I mentioned Aiden will let nobody hold him except me? As you can imagine, he did not want to walk at this point either. Everybody was starting to get a little frustrated and tired, and we still had an hour to our hotel, The White Swan. But that wasn't the end. They made us sit in the lobby and confirm some paperwork. Grrr. All the while, since we'd boarded the bus, Aiden had been sawing logs but was restless and sweaty. When we finally got to our rooms (nice enough, but in a faded, worn kind of way and maybe moldy smelling?), we had to wait for the bellboy to bring up our luggage. We were not well-pleased. I should have recognized this for the foreshadowing it was. Saturday was pretty awful. We had to go get Aiden's medical check up and his vaccinations. It was a nightmare. He doesn't like me to put him down in the best of situations, and this most definitely was not the best situation. After his check-up, during which he sobbed, we had to get EIGHT shots. :( The poor kid was treated like a pin cushion, and it is such an assembly line, they just jab 'em in and move the kids along. I'm not sure who cried harder, Aiden or me. He's a trooper, though. We went and got lunch, and then Troy had to do some visa paperwork. Aiden and I chilled in the hotel room. The little man finally took a nap, and then just the three of us went to supper at Lucy's (American / Italian cuisine, so they claim). There were a lot of adoptive parents there; it's nice to talk with them, commiserate. Uncharacteristically, Aiden woke up a couple times, crying out in his sleep. Those darn shots! Today, though, he's been his normal silly self. We went to the pearl and jade wholesale markets today (Aiden, true to his M.O. slept in the Ergo and sweated all over me). I did some damage! Too fun. I love to bargain. Now it's back here in the hotel (Aiden loves playing by himself; we're sure it's a nice change of pace from having to share attention and toys with a bunch of other kids) while we wait for an afternoon tea with the other families. Tomorrow is the TB test check, but other than that, we're free. Peggy, from our Xi'an group, and I are going to see what kind of bargains we can strike in the nearby shops. Hey, I saw a "Rolex" going for 120 Yuan (less than$20). I'm pretty sure I "need" it! ;) More later!
Pics above: The lobby of our hotel, The White Swan; Aiden at his medical appointment - sad day; the fam on the ancient wall around Xi'an