Some of my female relatives, including my mom, holding up Courtney for a photo-op during our banquet.

This post is going to be relatively short as I’m exhausted from today’s festivities in Guangzhou. In the morning, we went out in search of a Starbucks supposedly near our hotel, according to Google Maps. After wandering around for an hour or so, we realized that Google Maps had put our hotel at the wrong location, and that the Starbucks was actually much farther away. Denied in our quest, we turned back and got Courtney a coffee at a place called Seattle Espresso next to the hotel, which actually was pretty good.

After a sumptuous lunch with several of my aunts and uncles in a restaurant situated within a beautiful park, one of my uncles took us on a walking tour of the old “West Gate” district of Guangzhou, a place that used to be the heart of trade and business with the rest of the world. The heavy interaction with foreigners resulted in a unique mix of Chinese and Western styles in food and architecture. We visited a restored house from the golden age of this area, which featured a cute courtyard with a stream that used to run all the way out to the Pearl River. Back in the day, the residents in the West Gate district would sail along such streams all the way from the river to their mansions.

After that visit, one of my aunts and one of my cousins decided to take us in search of the Starbucks that eluded us this morning. After spending 20 minutes trying to hail a cab, without success, they decided we would take the bus instead. After a 15-minute ride, we were in the vicinity, and a 15-minute walk led us to the Starbucks. It is located on Shamian Island, where the foreign concessions used to be. As a result, the island has many charming Western style buildings, including the Starbucks. It sits on the site of an old church that had burned down and was rebuilt in the old style. The coffee tastes the same as in the U.S., but they were also selling China-themed coffee mugs, which we just had to buy as a souvenir.

The real festivities began in the evening. In part as a long-awaited reunion with family and friends, and in part as a delayed celebration of our marriage, my parents put on a banquet in the hotel restaurant, with all family and some old friends invited. There were probably at least 70 people in attendance, and it was loud, boisterous, and a lot of fun. Think Klingon party meets My Big Fat Chinese Wedding, and add in a ton of delicious food and picture-taking, and you have a decent idea of what the night was like, and why I’m too tired to write any more for now.