Today was another hectic travel day, and when I say hectic I mean it! This was our first travel adventure with the babies in tow and it was crazy. So crazy, that I don't think anyone in our group got any pictures until this evening. This morning we packed everything up and after a quick stop to pick up the babies' passports we headed to the train station to take the fast train from Nanjing to Xuzhou. Justin's finding spot was under a building in Xuzhou and his home orphanage, the one that held custody of him, is there which we will be visiting tomorrow.
The reason it was so hectic is because bullet trains and stations are not designed for travelers with lots of luggage. Each family had two large suitcases and at least one carry-on suit case plus a backpack and a baby, and the train station had stairs, escalators, a security check similar to airports, and lots of people. As if that isn't enough craziness the trains only stop at each station for 3 minutes which means you have 3 minutes to get yourselves and all of your luggage on and off the train, and since the trains are not designed for lots of luggage our luggage ended up in two different train cars which meant when it was time to get off Jason and I had to split up!
The reason it was so hectic is because bullet trains and stations are not designed for travelers with lots of luggage. Each family had two large suitcases and at least one carry-on suit case plus a backpack and a baby, and the train station had stairs, escalators, a security check similar to airports, and lots of people. As if that isn't enough craziness the trains only stop at each station for 3 minutes which means you have 3 minutes to get yourselves and all of your luggage on and off the train, and since the trains are not designed for lots of luggage our luggage ended up in two different train cars which meant when it was time to get off Jason and I had to split up!
As we approached the Xuzhou station everyone got up to stand in the aisles (like on a plane) to get their luggage and get off. I had Justin in the front carrier and was handling our small rolling carry-on while Jason went to the other train car in front of us to get our two big suitcases. Today's bullet train experience was the most stressful part or our trip so far and by the time we all got off and were standing on the station platform I was getting a headache. Once everyone and the luggage was accounted for we had to navigate the Xuzhou station to get outside to our van and driver.
Every city we staying was big compared to back home and we arrived at our hotel, actually a resort (in Beijing and Nanjing we stayed at Holiday Inns which were way nicer than the Holiday Inns in the states), after about a 20 minute drive. The Gloria Resort was just beautiful and with its location on Yunlong Lake and mountain backdrop it had the most gorgeous grounds and picturesque views!
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| Getting ready to go out exploring - this is one of my favorite pics |
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| Photo credit: Tiltawhirl Photography |
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| Photo credit: Tiltawhirl Photography |
After dinner Zhou wanted us to walk outside again so we could see the grounds and bridge lit up.
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