Would you eat it on a boat?

Don't ask me why, but on this trip to China we haven't eaten pizza once. Trust me, it's not because we've been dining at the excellent eel place down the street. We've even eaten at McDonald's and Starbucks (though Starbucks made me sick). We just haven't ordered pizza.

Until tonight.

Our agency arranged an optional cruise of the Pearl River and they told us they would order pizza for us. Before we left for the cruise, I called in an order of some chicken and mushroom congee for our boy, who decided a few days ago that he does, after all, like congee. He didn't eat much of it tonight, though, and I wondered why. I think he must have overheard John calling in the pizza order.

When we got to the boat and Joyce, our guide, handed us a pizza box, Michael looked interested. When John opened it to look at the pizza, Michael started pointing. He had obviously saved his appetite.

As it turns out, we have a pizza lover on our hands.

This is good news for me since I can make pizza, but I am not as much of an expert on congee.

With some of the pizza still in the box, we boarded our wooden dragon boat.

 

It was beautifully decorated.

And the evening was perfect--a little humid, but clear (well, clear for China).

I don't remember why we didn't go on the cruise when we were in Guangzhou with Louis.


It was probably either concern over money (which would be a little crazy since the fare was not high) or Louis's bedtime (which wouldn't be crazy at all).


This time around, we are a little more relaxed about bedtime, especially since Michael is not the professional sleeper his brother was. And money? Well, we worry about it, but we have been fairly frugal this time around. After all, we haven't spent much on pizza and congee is cheap. I'm actually not sure why we didn't go last time.

This evening we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

The lights along the river were beautiful.



We saw the Guangzhou Tower, which we had seen during the day, but never all lit up at night.

 It's the tallest building in China, and it changed colors as we passed.

There's apparently a restaurant on the top floor, but I will never eat there--and not because of the cost or our sons' bedtimes. But I'm sure there's a spectacular view.

The view was just fine from the deck of our ship.

And although Michael may not look enthusiastic, he did point to ships and buildings and ask to get down and walk around--something he hasn't done much of since we met him.

We didn't let our little guy walk around on his own. It wasn't the most child-safe experience we've tried with him. But we did let him get down and play a little as long as he was with us.




As we count down the hours to our trip home, the boat ride was a sweet way to wrap up our time in China.

Holding Michael in my arms and looking out over the peaceful river, I promised to bring him back to visit Guangzhou. This is the capital city of his province and it will always have a special place in our hearts.

Maybe Michael and Louis will never want to make a return trip--and maybe we'll never be able to afford it--but somehow I feel certain this is not our last trip to China.

It's not so much the place that seems to have a hold on us, but the people and the culture--and especially the children--that we feel connected to in a special way.

We've made other connections on this trip, too. We are so fortunate to have made some new friends, people whose families were grown as ours was on this trip. Over the next two days we will say goodbye to them, and it is a little sad to think that we won't see them again for a while. But we're also very grateful to have shared this experience with them.

Michael hasn't shown a lot of interest in the other children we have met along the way, but tonight little Alexis--Sue and Scott's daughter--reached over to hold his hand on the ship. It was very touching. One day we'll tell him how we all crammed into cabs together to explore Guangzhou and how the children gradually got more and more comfortable with each other.

Tonight, though, we all just relaxed and enjoyed Guangzhou and each other. In some ways our time here has gone so slowly, but in other ways it has flown. We are missing Louis so, so much, even as we are cherishing this time with our new son.

And how was the pizza? Not bad, actually. But with one day to go, we're probably finished with pizza in China. And we could give you a list of the foods we can't wait to eat when we get home. Oddly, eel doesn't seem to be on the list.