Day 4: Guangzhou's Finest French Restaurant - Table for Three

Passport at the Police Station
The big adoption event of the day was to visit the police station to apply for Keira's Chinese passport. But, first we stopped by the registration office to pick up some paperwork. Kelsey, Keira and I waited in the van with the driver and Robin, Zoe and Poppy while Amy went inside. (Robin is a "single" mom from Sepastapol who adopted Zoe 11 years ago and came back to get 3 yr old Poppy this time. We are the only two families in our group with Amy.)

Also arriving at the registration office was two full bus loads of parents and guides on the same mission. For some reason, their guides had all of the parents go inside the office rather than wait in the bus. After a long delay Amy came out to tell us that there was an important meeting going on inside and everyone had to wait. And, also, the person we need to see at the police station was also in the meeting, so there is no point in going to the station.

Finally, Amy came running back outside, jumped in the van and told the driver to "Go." The meeting had ended and she wanted to be first at the police station! We were off into the Guangzhou traffic.

We were indeed first at the station and got our number in queue. About 10 minutes later the other 50 parents flooded into the waiting room. We are so thankful to have Amy as our guide; she rocks. We and Robin went first and were out of the police station in about 20 minutes. Had we not beat the buses we may have been there two hours!

Fine French Dining
We have always said that when we have children we intend to continue to do the things in life to which we have become accustomed. Those that know us well know that dining at fine restaurants is not uncommon for us. We unintentionally introduced Keira to the lifestyle two days after getting her.

Robin had told us of this great restaurant in the hotel where she, Zoe and Poppy had eaten Tuesday night. She had the cod "to die for." Her directions how to get to the restaurant were very specific and having walked around the hotel with Keira the night before I knew exactly where she was describing. So, Kelsey and I decided to go tonight. I was in my jeans and a pullover; Kelsey in a fancy jogging suit ensemble. And, we had the baby.

Outside the entrance we looked at the menu. The prices were a little higher than we expected, but Robin did say they spent about $50 for the three of them. Also, there was a cod dish on the menu, although it wasn't described exactly as Robin had. Probably just a different perspective on the dish. We entered.

It was dimly lit and had only a couple of tables filled with diners. Of course, in the whole restaurant, we were seated next to a young couple obviously on a romantic date.

I asked for a high chair and they readily agreed. When it seemed delayed in coming we were told they had to go out to the breakfast cafe at the other end of the hotel to get one.

The setting was white table cloth, taper candle and sterling salt & pepper. Individual pats of butter in the shape of rose petals graced each place setting. We began to figure out that this was decidedly NOT where the Stewarts had eaten. But, we were excited and determined to press on.

The good news is that Keira was very well behaved. She "talked" a bunch, but no loud outbursts. However, between the soup and the entrees that certain aroma wafted my way from her direction. I grabbed the diaper bag and headed outside (no place to make a change in the bathroom). Around the corner near the outdoor pool I found an abandoned buffet and drink station. I went behind the counter and sat us both on the ground. I won't go into details, but this was my first #2 diaper and it was messy.

After cleaning everything up and finding a bathroom for me to wash up, we went back to join mommy. The rest of the meal was relatively uneventful, but we could tell Keira was getting a little restless after about an hour there. Now, we understand other parents who talk about how everything is fine, and then suddenly, "We need to go."

This was the point in the meal that the wait staff (all four who had served at our table) went into slow motion. We asked for the bill, they brought us complementary dessert. I reached for the unfinished bottle of wine and they whisked it away, bringing it back five minutes later in a special Silk Road Grill bag. Ten more minutes passed before the final bill came. We paid the check (an amount in alignment with fine French cuisine) and headed back to the room.

In the room, Kelsey pulled out the hotel services guide to read about the restaurant. "The Silk Road Grill is Guangzhou's finest French restaurant." Of course it is; nothing but the best for Princess Keira.