Dinner

Food (good food), Baby S's reason for living.

Grandpa A, P made sure to take good pics of the food for you. We are sad that you could not make it because you and your foodie granddaughter would have had a gastronomical blast. Baby S really enjoyed this noodle dish, much to the dismay of the other parents. They were gasping when they saw us feeding her. The dish is not as spicy as they expected and although we can be dense, we tried everything (yes, both of us) before allowing her precious palate to to savor the food. Baby S also enjoyed the beef soup, fish, chicken, pork, spicy prawns and pumpkin fritters (similar to crepes). So far, she has not thumbed her nose at any food item we have presented to her, and there have been many. Alas, eventually she will discover that crap in a box called mac & cheese and it will be all over.

For those of you waiting to travel, it is a good idea to familiarize yourselves with the food in your child's province. Working on chopstick proficiency will also save you a lot of pain, as in going hungry because you cannot get food in your, or worse, your child's mouth. The purpose of the outings in your child's province is to give you an authentic glimpse of the local culture. That authenticity translates into an absence of Western utensils. It really is kind of sad (OK, embarrassing) for an adult to pass on a meal (and pout) because of a lack of silverware. Also, your guide will be ordering for you, because the menus are in Chinese and the staff do not speak English. This is China, not Epcot Center. Also, please try to refrain from making annoying comments about what your over active (paranoid) imagination thinks is being presented as poultry or beef. And yes, the fish is served intact, there are no headless, eyeless fish. This is our Public Service Announcement for the day, we now return to our smart a$$ selves.

Yunnan is known for its mushrooms. Baby S was very annoyed that she could
not partake in the mushroom eating because her usually laid back parents felt that

the dish was too spicy for her. Every time her baba fed her mama (here is our system, baby is fed by K while in the carrier, P & K share) she would open her pretty

little mouth, hoping that the chopstick express would land there. Those mushrooms on a pizza should taste awfully good.

Tasty chicken dish.

Bee wine, a rather potent potable. It should be dubbed bee moonshine instead.
A few of our group mates were glad they saw this after tasting the wine.

Main reason why we keep her in the carrier while riding the bus.
She bamboozled our guide, Martin, into aiding her to break the rules
by allowing her to wonder in a moving bus. What can we say, the kid
lives dangerously. She is in for a rude awakening when she
arrives in the land of car seats and seat belts. The 3 hour drive from
SFO home is going to be challenging. P has already stated that he will
drive so baby and mother can "bond" by sitting next to each other.
Wow, what an altruistic man I married. :) BTW, she
was not in her carrier because it was less than 10 minutes to the

hotel.

Playing with Stella, our guide's daughter.

HEY! The stacking cups are for the baby. At least
the mom person shared with me.

Bath, bottle, cuddle, sleep. It does not
get any better than this.