A tour of China with the Grahams - Part One

**I ran out of free space for photo storage on here just as I began our summer China trip.**

**I'm organizing  some work-arounds.  Should be back blogging again soon.**

Our summer was to involve a "big trip" around China with Grandma and Grandad, their friend Val, and also Uncle Michael.  As this trip took several weeks, it will take several posts to complete - here is the first of those posts!

On the 30th July we flew to Shanghai to meet them - they had arrived the previous day and spent it touring Shanghai. Of course, they were always going to find the beer festival near the Pearl Tower...

As we were about to spend a week at a resort, we were all collected by the resort bus so that we could travel together.  They were collected first from their hotel and then we were collected from the airport.  We found it funny that trees had drips.

We quickly made ourselves at home in the resort.  Luckily for them, we had a seperate apartment (thanks Grandma and Grandad) so they weren't subjected to the early risings.

We took them food shopping, we tried out every restaurant that was open - unfortunately it was often a case of "yes, it is on the menu, no, we don't have it," which was very frustrating.

It was hot, hot, hot - and humid.  Not an ideal time to be touring China, but there we were.

I think we checked out everything at the resort - including a pottery class.  What a pity the final object broke before we left to our next destination.

Although there was a playground around 300m from our apartment, it was too hot to play outside - even if we were getting there really really early.

The resort was around an hour out of Shanghai - but quite close to one of the "watertowns".  Seizing the opportunity to demonstrate our Chinese abilities, we took the local bus there and then toured around.
Stay tuned . . .

July 2010 - bits and pieces

So I don't have any story to hang these photos from - and by the way I officially hate the new Blogger photo options - so I'm just going to have a general "photos from July" post with a little of each story with the photos.

July is the start of really hot and humid weather in Xiamen - ok, so June isn't much better, but July is when it really starts to hit home.  This year we spent much more time at the beach. Here Alex and Sebastien are, yet again, attracting attention.  They do go in the water - though that's happening less and less as the (visible) water quality seems to be worsening.

Sebastien has been really enjoying his new train track - ane we've been enjoying watching him work out ways to extend it.  Note "Gordon's Hill" is the Wiggles guitar that the track goes over.  A shoebox was finally turned into a tunnel as the leggo ones just weren't wide enough to take the trains' use and abuse (and Mummy wasn't up to constant requests to help rebuild said tunnel).

 School finished, so we had plenty of time to - fill.  Mummy had some collages ready to go which took a few hours.  We also finally opened our paint pots.

When Daddy wasn't working, we went "exploring" - and found time to ride the Haiwan Park elephants!

Along with summer, comes torrential downpours.  This year they seem heavier than usual - and apparently are washing lots of debris from rivers into the ocean.  Lots of water lillies are being washed out too - but Xiamen local government has small boats out and about picking up rubbish out of the water.  Apparently this year they hit a record - and I did have a reference for this... but no matter.  Here is what I've been seeing from our balcony.

Sebastien continued to tangle with the furniture and the marble floors - adding another injury to his collection. Now that he has a full set of teeth, the common injury is tooth-in-lip - which brings with it an awful lot of blood.  Mummy is anxiously assessing local dentists just on the offchance that some emergency dental work eventually needs to be done.

There are days when I am glad we have a "toy room" where we try to limit the playing to.

But some days, you walk out of your bedroom to see "snow on the Island of Sodor, Mummy!" - yep, the beanbag up and died...

Mummy is still trying to bring home something different every other day - this day it was "snake fruit".  The outside skin is really easy to peel and feels just like reptile skin.  The 3-4 fruit segments each have a seed which you don't eat.  And the fruit tastes a little like an apple but with a blander flavour.

All too soon, it was approaching the end of July.  This could mean only one thing: The imminent arrival of our second group of visitors!

Sleepover - II

Gosh, we're going all the way back to 3rd July 2010!

That's when Emma had her very first sleepover ever!  Alex was so excited - we organised the spare mattress in the toyroom so that the girls could sleep without Sebastien - though he was less than impressed with this.

Of course, being the day before 4th July, we had the obligatory independence wreath as the craft activity

which were hung on the front door so that Emma's parents wouldn't miss them when they came to collect her the next day (note typically Chinese-style photo poses).

 It's amazing the fun you can have with a few chairs - first they are the bus to Xiamen...

...then they are shopping trolleys for when you shop with your  puppy dog.

There was plenty of opportunity for dressing up,

colouring in,

Making handprints to remember just how much fun we had.

  Everyone helped prepare dinner.

There was even time for some magic tricks before bedtime stories.

And, surprisingly, sleep wasn't all that long in coming.

The next day was Independence Day - and it was HOT - so we enjoyed making freedom stars and liberty bells (frozen watermelon on sticks).

Emma's parents came all too soon for Alex and Sebastien.  All in all, it was pretty successful.  Sebastien even managed to be included (most of the time).  The girls are already discussing when "the next one" will be - but we'll give Emma some time to digest her experience first!

Grandie and Poppie visit - II

So my last post said that I'd update once I had some photos from Poppie - and I've taken so long to get around to it that I can now do that post! 

Looking through someone else's eyes (i.e., their photos) really gives you an idea of how far you've acclimatised - so many things I thought were strange at the start of my stay in China, now barely register as odd.

Grandie and Poppie visited us in Xiamen in June 2010 - yes, last year!  We really enjoyed seeing them and were pleased to hear that they found their Wendy Wu tour to be excellent (they toured China first with a group then broke off at the end to visit us) - so much so that they are thinking of touring with Wendy Wu in 2011 to a different Asian country. 

This is typically how your tour guide will have you identify them - with a flag (or some object) flying from a car antenna -- well it looks like a car antenna. (It must be important information - Mum's in "The Thinker" pose.)

They took in the Beijing hutongs in something smaller than the tour bus.

They arrived in Xiamen at night (Mummy met them their first night at the airport to get them to their hotel) so it wasn't until the following afternoon that Alex knew they were actually here - they met her off the schoolbus.

Storytime during that week was more exciting than usual.

They enjoyed being dragged around campus by Sebastien Brett.

While Alex spent the day at school, we toured the Botanic Gardens together - getting a close-up look at some old tanks and planes.

Later in the week we took Alex out of school for the day and took a tour of the Hakka houses - missile-silo-shaped dwellings of the Hakka minority people.  Yes, these dwellings were apparently mistaken for missile silos by the US satelites overhead back in the 1960s.

 We managed to show Grandie what a Chinese Mahjong game looks like - she plays it in Australia.

We took them to see Gulangyu (we can see it from our balcony but decided to brave the crowds anyway) and Alex and Sebastien were very excited because they were finally able to take a ride on the electric touriset car around the island.  We saw some very bad wax impressions including Princess Diana, Mao, and Hitler - interestingly the business had changed its name to Celebrity World from Madame Tussaud's since we were last on the island...

One outcome of their visit is that Alex is absolutely, 100% sure that she now wants to live in a hotel.  And not just on any old floor, on the top floor.  After all, hotels are fun! 

However before we knew it, the week was up.  We sadly said goodbye to Grandie and Poppie - until our next visit to Australia.

Are you sure?

Wow, it's been so long since I've been here -- too long really.  Looking back at where I got up to with my posts I see it's been half a year.  Well, another concerted effort is about to begin.  I have my photos in order, I've reworked my day-to-day schedule and am back on track, I think.

I think I need to update the settings though, change the colour scheme, whatever it takes to get reinvigorated.

Back soon!

Happy Birthday Poppie!

Happy 64th Birthday Poppie - Love from China

Another School Year starts

Yes, it has been two months since I wrote that joyous post proclaiming to have caught up on my blog posts *sigh*.  Of course, there's been a whole lot of living done since then, complete with photos.  So now that the school year has started here in Xiamen, I will spend some time catching up, once again.  I am crossing my fingers that I can get Sebastien into a preschool soon (his enrolment at Alex's school was denied - story to follow later) but we're going the Chinese route and bringing out the "guanxi" (connections) to see if we can still make it happen.

Anyway, look forward to a few more posts soon.

Three Cheers for Catching up on Blog Posts!

Hip - hip - hooray!
Hip - hip - hooray!

Finally I am up to date - well, except for Alex and Sebastien's latest birthday and half-birthday stats posts...oh, and I also have two other drafts ready to go except for the photos.

So we'll call it even.

Sleepover!

Alex and Emma have been keen for a sleepover for a while - but Alex is a year older and Emma has never been on a sleepover. So Alex went first - to show Emma just how much fun it can be!

Mummy and Sebastien dropped her off in the afternoon - Sebastien was very disappointed to be leaving and didn't quite understand why Alex got to stay. He loves playing with Emma just as much as Alex.

We were sent photographic evidence of the shenanigans (the exclamations are to approximate Alex's enthusiastic re-telling).

Dinner was followed by chocolate yogurt. Then a couple of Dora shows with popcorn!!!
Then bed in the study!!!!  Do you think they were a little excited? 
Apparently they still managed to fall asleep around 9.30pm and wake Emma's daddy up nice and early (but still after they had had their breakfast of cornflakes).

They even did some dragon craft tracing their hands for parts! Alex was very happy to bring home her glasses.We're now waiting a week or so before Emma gets invited over for a sleepover at Alex's house...stay tuned!

World Cup

Oh how fast has time flown! It seems like only yesterday that Brett and I were discussing the possibility of leaving Alex with "someone" to babysit while we went to see the World Cup in South Africa...

...and here's the reality:Kids are in bed asleep (games were 7.30pm, 10.30pm and 2.30am our time) and here we are on the couch trying to find an English stream to have commentary for the game.

Oh well. We're now looking ahead to Brazil in 2014...might mix in visiting our many Brazilian friends while we are there.

Now you be the princess and I'll be the...

...princess.

Alex had two "beautiful gowns" bought on a recent shopping spree with Grandie - and who would deny Sebastien a turn at "spinning 'round" in a dress that floats? Alex had new princess rain boots that she could wear in the house as she hadn't yet worn them outside - Sebastien was itching to get his Thomas the Tank engine boots...

Grandie and Poppie visit!

Hooray! At last Grandie and Poppie arrive in Xiamen.This will be the first of a couple of posts - but Mummy is waiting for Poppie to send her some photos so she can complete them.
But the least you should know is we loved having them visit!