Chinese New Year, Thursday Feb 7, 2008

There was not as much scheduled today due to Chinese New Year. We didn't have anything planned for the morning so M and I just hung out at the Hotel and the area surrounding the Hotel. Our hotel was located in a great spot, right next to the New World Shopping Mall. That meant that there were lots of restaurants and shops within walking distance. Due to M not eating Chinese Food that well, this made it possible for me to find a comfort food for her so that I could get some food inside her body. That comfort food was McDonalds, so this morning we headed to McDonalds for some breakfast. M thoroughly enjoyed her pancakes and hash browns. There was also a Starbucks near the hotel so I was able to have some comforts of home for myself. Just as we were walking back to the hotel, the hotel had a little lion dance performance. They set off fireworks outside the hotel and then the lion dancers danced outside and then went inside and danced all around the hotel. M really enjoyed watching the dancers and was following them all around the hotel.

We met our guide and driver at 1:00pm for a trip to a local fair. I've never seen so many people in a small area at one time. I was so worried the whole time about loosing M in the crowd so I had to keep a tight grip on her hand. It was very interesting but it was just too much for me with all the people. They had some areas where some Chinese Opera performers were performing but there were too large of crowds that M and I could barely see anything over all the heads. Poor M really couldn't see anything of the fair either. I think all she saw walking around were all the people's behinds because of how small she is and because of the huge crowds. M did get to enjoy one vendor item, cotton candy. She said it tasted just like cotton candy from home. We only stayed at the fair for about an hour or so which meant that we had an early dinner. Our dinner tonight was at a Peking Duck Restaurant. You would have been proud of M because she actually tried the duck. During this trip, I've been trying to get her to try different foods and she always refused. When I wasn't looking, M picked up a piece of the duck and tasted it. She actually said "Yummy". She ended up eating a couple of pieces that evening (if you haven't figured it out, M is a very picky eater). There was a also a kind of soup that we were served that she loved and she not only ate her bowl but mine also.