Last Full Day in Nanchang

I can't believe today is our last full day in Nanchang. Time has really flown by. I don't have as much to say today (keep those sighs of relief to yourselves!), so it'll be mostly pictures. B, the pink panther pictures are for you!

Today is a big shopping day. We're going first to the porcelain street, where I'm told they take credit cards. If only we weren't limited by that two suitcases thing, I'd buy a bunch of stuff, because it's beautiful. Next stop is a book store where we can buy children's books with the words in both English and Chinese. Then they're going to drop us off at a flea market where we can shop until we're about to drop, and walk 40 minutes back to the hotel. At the pace this group moves, I bet M & I can make it in 20 minutes on our own.

Yesterday was a sightseeing day. We went to the Teng Wang Pavilion, which was just beautiful. We ate lunch in the most smoke-filled restaurant I've ever seen. It was worse than a bar at closing time. The food was good though. After lunch, Miss Z took a nap while M & I had massages. It was, shall we say, vigorous? Seriously, there were a few times when both of us thought we were going to cry. It was like she was going to get those knots out if it took a hammer & chisel to do it. As bad as that sounds, it was overall a good massage. I feel great today.

We took a quick walk around the neighborhood last night, and just as we were getting back to the hotel, the fireworks started. They went on for two hours at least. Looking out our hotel room window, we could see dozens of fireworks displays going on at the same time, all over the city. It made the 4th of July look LAME. Yesterday was the last day of the Chinese New Year, and fireworks were part of the celebration. It was pretty cool to see.

Little Z thought 5am was a good time to wake up today. We thought otherwise. I took her out of her crib and put her in bed between us. We both turned our backs and pretended to sleep while she jabbered away and played with her feet. I distinctly heard her whisper "Mama, baba" (Mommy, Daddy) three separate times. Awwww. I couldn't keep my back turned to that. That was rewarded with a kiss. Fortunately, she went back to sleep and didn't get up until after 7. I wish I could say the same for me. I've been up since 5. Oh well. I see an afternoon nap in my future.