3/11/11 - Day 2: Zoo and Acrobat Show

We appear to be past the jet lag (well most of us, except Grandpa keeps getting woken up at 1 a.m. by Grandma who insists on crashing early). Grandpa deals with this by stocking beer for his late nite dinner.

We have met a couple of families at the hotel who are adopting from Beijing. It appears Gotcha Day in Beijing is on Thursday, unlike the standard Monday we are used to. However, most of these folks have the same CA (consulate appointment) day as us, so the paperwork in Beijing must take longer? The new kids we have met seem to be doing well, and are happily chowing down at the breakfast buffet.

Today we went to the zoo and brought the stroller. Bennett and April took turns riding in the chariot. Trena was on to something when she suggested the double stroller. Carter may have to push his big sister around in his intended stroller.

The zoo was not as impressive as our visit in 2009. Several of the exhibits were empty, there was a lot of construction, and there were a lot less pandas out this time. It was still a nice day - great weather and Bennett did not run screaming from the panda house about how the giant munching sloths were about to attack and eat him through the 4" plate glass window.

For those of you following the Food Channel (including our cat we're sure), we had lunch at the zoo. There was a small restaurant that our guide helped us navigate. We were expecting mediocre food at tourist prices but were pleasantly surprised by great food at reasonable prices. We had tofu in brown sauce, chicken with cashew nuts, snow peas & mushrooms, and fried rice. The beer and sodas were also very cheap instead of the usual fleecing of the captive audience. We are realizing how much the kids love tofu, so we will have to dust off our Moosewood cookbooks.

After the zoo, we headed to the Peking Acrobat show. We barely made it through Beijing traffic but were in time for the show. The acrobats were amazing and Bennett was on the edge of his seat the whole show. The lights, switching from light to dark & back, and the distance to the stage all made April pretty unhappy. Baba (daddy) took April to the lobby and souvenir shop for most of the show and was then relieved by Mama. April fell asleep on Baba's shoulder in the lobby and charmed the souvenir shop clerks, who were asking a lot of questions about adoption and were very supportive and nice.

April returned to slumber in the van only to complain loudly to the management when asked to change into her PJs and visit the potty before getting in bed.

Bennett enjoyed a fine repast of drinkable yogurt and almond muffin before joining April in slumber (luckily without the theatrics).

Tomorrow we visit Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City.