Esther Makes 6: So long Nanning, Hello Guangzhou!

Alpaca Rob, blogging to you from the famous White Swan Hotel, also referred to as the 5 star baby hotel. It is truely a magnificent hotel. We have a wait staff of two on our floor as you get off the elevator. They wait there telling people which way to go. We are on the 14th floor with a beautiful view of the Pearl river. This was an unexpected blessing, as we didn't pay for a river view, but it sure is gorgeous at night. But enough about that, the real story today was Esther's first plane ride and our departing from Nanning. We were sad to say bye to David (our 26 year old guide), he had done so much for us in getting all of Esther's Provincial paperwork completed and all the other stuff that goes along with that. He was a good egg and put up with all my kidding with him. I kept calling him our party animal, but many times we got to see his soft heart for these little orphan babies.

Now, leaving Nanning turned out to be more of an ordeal than it first appeared. We left the Majestic Hotel at around 10:30. It was around a 45 minute drive to the airport and David took care of all of our arrangements. Once in the gate area, we found out that the plane was running late which caused us to deal with a couple of uneasy little girls. Esther was great. She even fell asleep in my arms after her bottle. It was fun to watch all of the Chinese ladies make a fuss over Esther. They pinched her cheeks, touched her face and hands and tried to make her smile and laugh. It was so sweet as we continue to find out that our little Esther is quite the flirt and flashes an enticing grin to those who interact with her. Obviously, she has had lots of practice at this and knows how to get attention. She is a cunning one.

Once on the plane, Esther was great, she wasn't bothered by the up and down on her ears while eating Kix cereal, but oh was she busy. It was a flash back to our busy kids on the plane wanting to tug on everything. Once we got into the Guangzhou airport and were making our way to the baggage claim, we had to make an emergency diaper change stop. Melissa checked the women's toilets and much to her chagrin there was not place to change her and the floors were wet. So, we moved over to a more discreet spot and changed her there. We then continued on to baggage claim, got our stuff and found Rebecca, our guide, here in Guangzhou. So, we have now checked in, eaten at the Cow and Bridge Thai resturant, unpacked, have Esther down for what we hope is the night and are getting ready for tomorrow. On tap, Esther's physical tomorrow morning. We meet Rebecca in the lobby at 9:30 am. Busy and tiring day but we can see the end of the tunnel.....