A bad day...but we survived!

On Sunday, we decided to eat breakfast at McDonald's, around the corner from our hotel. We promised ourselves that we wouldn't do such a thing while we were here, but the breakfast buffett at the hotel was getting to be rather expensive.
We then went back to the hotel to finish packing up, as we were soon to meet Helen to head to the Beijing train station. We had plans to take the train from Beijing to Tianjin (about an hour train ride). Now, this experience was extremely chaotic and nerve-racking! We had 4 big bags of luggage, along with our carry-on items, like backpacks and purses, as well as a double-stroller. We came to find out that this was not normal luggage for train-travel. The trains here were not like trains at home, where cargo is stored underneath the passengers. So, not only because we are Caucasian, but because we had so much more luggage than everyone else, we felt very out of place. It didn't help that Cackie also decided to throw her 3-year-old daily temper tantrum as we were trying to make our way through the station. This drew even more attention to us. With all of this, it was very difficult to fight the crowd to get to where we needed to be! There really was no rhyme or reason, with no lines...just people pushing to get to where they needed to be. We almost didn't make it...we did just before the doors closed!
So, we finally made it to our seats, with our luggage scattered throughout the train car we were on. Cackie sat next to me, had her blanket and some Cheerios to calm down and we watched the scenery of more rural China go by. One hour later, we were in Tianjin, the home of my new nephew, Owen!
Once we arrived, it was another fiasco! Helen got two men to help carry luggage, but it was still difficult because we had to climb up & down 2 flights of stairs (no elevators)!! And, everybody had to be moving in the same direction. Deanna had it right when she said that she now knows what cattle must feel like! Not only did we have to make our way thru the crowd, we also had to keep up with Cackie and our luggage. We passed several taxi drivers trying to offer us rides and people trying to sell cheap souvenirs. We finally made it to our van and driver there! When we got settled, I told Deanna that I felt like I was in Mexico! Deanna explained to Helen that we were sorry for the amount of luggage, but we were packed for air travel, not train travel. We packed as light as possible, but a lot of luggage should be expected for a family of 4, for 3 weeks away from their native country! Thankfully, we will be taking a plane to Guangzhou. No more trains! Sorry, I did not get any pictures of all of this, as it was way too chaotic!

After that was behind us, we went to our new hotel, Holiday Inn Tianjin. As we checked in, we got some pictures of a BIG chair in the lobby...it was quite comfortable!

A view of Tianjin from our window...a bit hazy from all of the pollution, but a pretty skyline.


We then took our things up to the room, and Helen took us to a late lunch at a restaurant down the street. Again, more dishes...the lamb was awesome! With the seasonings, Deanna & I said it almost tasted like taco meat! They also served steamed bread at this restaurant...very interesting, but very good!
We then went back to the hotel...Cackie & I took a nap. It was the first real nap Cackie has had since out very first day here! I really think she needed it. We then got up and got our laundry together! Time to find a laundromat and get some clean clothes! These laundromats are not like those at home...they are actually more like a dry-cleaners & they do it for you to pick up later. Deanna only had 1 clean outfit left (I had 2). We found out that they would not clean underwear or socks. Deanna was not aware of this, because this was not a problem on their last visit. We also found out that we would have to wait to pick up the clean laundry 2 days later. Deanna was not happy to hear this, since she didn't have any more clean clothes! We decided at this point that they couldn't base everything off of their last visit.

It was after 7:00 p.m. and we decided that we were not that hungry because of the late lunch, so we just went to a small grocery store for some water, Diet Cokes (or Coca-Cola Light, as they call it here), and some snacks.

When we got back to our rooms, we had to wash our underwear and socks in the bathtub...another first for me! We also changed into our PJ's and washed the clothes we were wearing, just in case. Good thing we had a clothesline in the bathrooms, and good thing we thought to buy sample detergent to bring along.
Cackie even decided to help out by stomping on the laundry!







We then chilled out and watched some TV. Cackie & I went to bed about 9:30...The next day was a big one...It's Gotcha Day for Owen! More to post on that later! Stay tuned...