Down the alley, through the streets, up the elevator we go.

Today after breakfast we decided to venture off on our own, this time to the leather market to see if we can find some purses.  So we took a taxi to the leather market.  It is hundreds of small stores with inside a huge building.  Too bad I am not a name brand purse person as I think there were all the brands.  The quality varies with each store and there is room to bargain, especially when you purchase more than one.  There are knock-offs and then there were some that I could not tell the difference in quality.  We went into one shop because I wanted to a make-up bag, after purchasing it we were told to come back in one hour and when we did the Prada logo appeared on the bag!  Then we discovered that the government has tightened the control of counterfeit items so the good stuff is somewhere else.  Finally we were in a store and the woman casually asks me what brand I was looking for, and before we knew it, we were told to follow her "sister" down the aisles to the office downstairs.  This "sister" then took us to another" sister" who took us down the street and handed us over to another "sister" who took us up to a apartment looking building and up the elevator.  On the fifteenth floor we got off and entered an apartment that had been converted to a storage/storefront.  Sure enough there were many brand names available and we scored two purses for my mom.  Lauren was content in the ergo watching me shop, but protested if I tried to try a purse on!  So no purses for me on this trip. 

Time got away from us since we were shopping so we quickly rushed back to the hotel as I needed to feed Lauren lunch and then put her down on her nap.  Today is a paperwork day and I had to go downstairs at 3:00 pm to fill out the Visa paperwork for Lauren's US visa back to the states with our guide. When it is time to sleep, Lauren fights it all the way, she will start to wiggle and climb on me to avoid sleep.  Today as she finished her bottle and started laying down, she heard Dad starting to eat her lunch and when she saw it was rice (one of her favorite foods) she crawled down and insisted on having some.  So I shared my lunch with her and then tried putting her down again.  Finally she went down to sleep, which is a good thing because then I could leave her in the room with Dad to go down and do paperwork.  But once asleep she is a pretty good sleeper.  I have noticed at night that she is starting to move around more and part of it she is looking for me and rolls over until she can touch me.  I think she is still doesn't believe that I am still going to be there or is just making sure.  

I woke her up from her nap and we met a couple of the families to walk to a teashop with our guide.  Four more families joined our group last night.  They were in another province meeting their child and now have flown to Guangzhou to finish the visa and the US side of the paperwork. 

The tea shop was a tiny shop through an alley that was different than the bustling metropolitan city that Guangzhou is.  Dad of course loved it and lagged behind the group as he stopped at every fruit vendor on the way. At the tea shop they served you various kinds.  There are different types of teas and the prices varies from very cheap to hundreds of dollars a pound.  At first they served us tea that was of the middle price range.  Our guide translated to us that the tea girls were talking among themselves and said that we were probably not going to buy the high quality tea.  So the guide told them that Dad is chinese and knows his teas.  Of course then the higher grades came out and we could really tell the difference in the flavor and taste of what we were drinking.  Lauren was kept occupied by her cheerios while we were having tea.  After tea we went to dinner with one of the families to a Cantonese restaurant.  Lauren is becoming more adventurous with her eating.  She was upset when we were seated.  I think because she saw plates and bowls but no food in them.  As soon as the food came out she was quite content.  Tonight besides the noodles, rice, and tofu she tried some meat, soybeans, and green beans.  She is learning that she can bite the food down in small pieces so that it can be swallowed.  She continues to eat and when she is full she spits out the last bite.  That is my cue to give her something that she can hold in her hand and feed herself, like a steamed bun, so that I can eat.  This is because she is deathly afraid of the high chair.  We are wondering if she had a traumatic experience with it in the orphanage.  Tonight's bath was tear free!  YEA!  I am still going in with her but tonight she actually learned to use her hands to splash the water around.  Not sure if I should've taught her that as we don't have housekeeping at home to clean up after us. 

Lauren loves bananas.  She can eat a whole one at one sitting.