A few observations....

the housing in China is a bit different than the housing at home...at home, builders are competing to build the best subdivision with the largest pool, etc....here, it is all about apartment high rises....some are older than old while others are just being built with more stories than one can count - it would seem they touch the sky!  And bars on the windows at home would indicate one lives in a not-too-safe part of town.  Bars on windows in China, it would seem, are an added bonus to apartments as they provide a place for owners/renters to hang their laundry.

 I love the signs here....MK made an interesting observation one day when she asked, "Why are they all written in English and Chinese?"  This particular sign was located at our hotel but there are signs all over the city - street signs, hotel signs, restaurant signs - all in both languages.  

 The transportation in China is always a sight to see.  This guy is carrying a light load while others can be seen steering a bicycle with boxes stacked and stacked all tied on with bungie cords....or three people on a moped....the driving is amazing - little trucks who play chicken with the buses three times their size...the drivers just have one mission and that is to get where they are going, whatever it takes, as fast as they can while they could care less about those who may have the same mission in mind, there is no sharing of the road, no rules.  The incredible thing?  We have yet to see an accident!

 Pretty sure this is the only vending machine we saw during our stay....wine.  And it was located in the medical office building....wondering exactly what the reasoning is behind this one?!  On a drink note, we noticed this trip that most drinks are served hot....maybe this is how it has been in our previous trips but we haven't noticed because we traveled in the winter???  Whatever the case, a warm drink (sprite, coke, water) served on a HOT day is a no-go for this southern girl.  Bleck.  

 This is the one trip that we have not encountered a WalMart with fresh chicken feet and/or alligator heads available for purchase.  But, this morning during our drive, we came across this truck filled with crates of fresh meat.  This is why cheese pizza has been my staple while in China:)

 And while we are on the subject of food, I am pretty sure I have gone against all Chinese etiquette when dining out during this trip.  In previous trips, my lack of chop stick knowledge has not been an issue.  And, frankly, Guangzhou is the last place I expected to be served with only chop sticks as a utensil.  However, this was the case on several occasions.  Picture trying to cut up chicken with one chopstick and a spoon and then feeding it to your baby with the oversized spoon....and there are no napkins to help in this process....just note that my hands have been used for eating and feeding both me and the baby....our girls haven't touched a thing unless it has come from the breakfast buffet, Pizza Hut or McDonalds so their chopstick issues were avoided.  And Ryan is the chopstick king so he has been a well-fed man!