Tuesday, April 24, 2018

{Journey to Ailee James: Yuntai Garden}

The Chinese like some gardens, y'all!  We may be in the middle of an enormous city in the most populated country in the world {well, almost} but you'll still find pockets of parks and gardens all around.  We have two within walking distance and this afternoon our guide took us to another one that is known for their botanical gardens.  This year is the Year of the Dog so you find dog statues and figurines everywhere...and still a few decorations from Chinese New Year as well.  The zodiac is very important here and one of the first things they will ask you is what your sign is.  I've educated myself on the kids but I have no clue what I am.  It's a delicate balance of wanting to grasp as much of your child's heritage as you can yet also knowing deeply that it's founded on something that has no Eternal value.

As far as our outing to the garden went, Wyatt was pretty much the best sport ever although he was super unimpressed & pretty bored out of his mind.  I handed him the camera and his little artistic side came to life a bit as he took photos of the flowers in the rose garden and kept himself occupied! ;)  It was really neat to see orchids growing in hanging baskets though!  AJ also put herself to sleep pretty quickly as flowers and colorful gardens just sorta creep her out right now.  We still tried to walk around a bit and take it all in...hot pink shoe statue in the garden and all.  :)

Tonight we are going to try a local noodle shop that other families have really enjoyed!  Tomorrow is our last full day here {we leave Thursday morning at 7am for the airport...your Wednesday night at home} so we are trying to soak in as much as we can before we head back!




























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