The Penultimate Post

We looked out this morning to see a strange glowing orb in the sky that radiated both heat and light. While we were at first afraid of this strange object, we saw that the people of China were not terrified by this glowing orb of flames, and so we set aside our hotel umbrella and got on the bus! Gracie was happy to get out of the hotel room, now that her sniffles are a little better.


Today was our last day of touristy stuff. Tomorrow we pack up, get our visas, take the big group picture, take the group oath at the consulate, and get ready to head out for home, which means that this is the second-last blog in the series!

Today we drove around downtown Guangzhou (population 9 million- a medium-sized city by China standards), and saw the city's most famous Buddhist temple and its folk art/historical museum.


Here's a shot inside the Buddhist temple.


The temple was built around this incredible 9-story pagoda.


The center of the temple has three Buddhas. From left to right, they represent the past, the present and the future.


The babies (and some parents!) received a blessing from the Buddhist monk within the temple. Both Mary and Gracie received the blessing.


We liked being out in the sun!


Here's part of the inside of the folk art museum.


And here's a candid shot from our day which we've entitled 'Get that camera out my face yo!'