The day which an adoptive family’s whole trip is planned around is Consulate Day. That is the day you swear an oath to the United States representatives in China to take care of, love, and never abandon your child. It’s also where you apply for their visa to enter the United States. Ours came and went very uneventfully, thank the Lord!
That evening we went on the famous Pearl River Cruise. There are ten bridges that span the river in Guangzhou, and some of the newer ones are very artistically designed. The cruise was great. We had heard not to eat the food, as many tourists have gotten food poisoning from it. In retrospect, we should have just gone for it. I think we sort of offended our guide by not eating, and the families that ate did not end up sick. Oh well. Ya live, ya learn. After dinner, when the sun was setting, we were allowed to go on the top of the boat to enjoy the sight of the city at night. Talk about gorgeous. The bridges, the lights on the buildings, the other cruise boats all lit up. Plus there was a glorious breeze blowing and the air didn’t smell funky.
Just before boarding the boat
Lily and I enjoying the cool breeze
Canton Tower, the 3rd highest tower in the world, is a sight to see at night.
Canton Tower, pictured above, was beautiful. The lights changed colors and sometimes writing (Chinese of course) scrolled around the walls. In case anyone cares, this tower was also featured on my souvenir mug. 
The on board entertainment was… well… amusing. She kind of dressed like a clown and juggled and made balloon animals. She also did tricks with a ball and spun it on all the kids’ fingers.
Lily spinning the ball on her finger
Captivated by the clown
Lily hiding with her balloon animal in between hitting people with it!
Overall it was a fun experience! Our guide let loose and had fun, making selfies with the kids, and we all got to just kind of relax. It was nice knowing we only had a couple more days to go!