this is the most beautiful italian restaurant i've ever seen. the owner's from rome, & has painted/dec. this place himself. upon checking out the menu, we thought it was affordable. wrong. we'd been looking at the menu #-the prices were in smaller print (hiding). we got 2 little pizzas w/ water, & it was $30. we were NOT happy. we couldn't leave b/c we met this sweet waitress who happened to have worked at a restaurant right where we live in shekou. she was so delighted to meet & talk w/ us that we had to stay & eat there. we exchanged info, and a couple days later, she & i went shopping together. she speaks some english, so it was good for both of us language-wise. we hope to keep contact. anyone looking for a super-sweet/cute wife?

here's a closer view of the guy sleeping!

yes, there's water spots, but isn't it pretty?

ian was playing w/ the camera to create this "sepia" effect. love it.

it's me & elliot!

doesn't look too bad, right? well after 24 hrs of showering w/ sand coming off our bodies by the gallons, and hair, etc, and luke's imfamous excretion eccentricities, i yearned for an american bathroom! (too much information?)

we were pleased with the bedroom. plenty of space, and we easily made 2 dbl. beds. they renovated recently, purchasing soft IKEA mattresses. ahhh...(after super-hard beds at the previous place)

the view from our room...i could see (w/ my naked eyes) a guy sleeping in his bed right from my room. of course only for a split second:)

this is one of the huge perks here: a 4-computer "lab". the boys would've been happy being here all day. it was really useful. so many people have their own laptops (wireless provided) that there really wasn't a wait to use these.

where we ate all our breakfasts (for about $10 for all of us to have eggs, toast, fruit, coffee, milk)

view from our balcony.

our courtyard

they sell fireworks right on the beach. big ones. we spent too much, having too much fun. it's pretty dangerous, as the 3 boys lit one backwards, exploding right towards us. luke got a little warm tummy (& my leg)

this is called a fire-balloon, or flying-lantern. light, and let go.
we got one before we knew there were better offerings!

also the awesome restaurant: "Cannes flavor"
(and my cool new pink shirt)

silly, but i loved the Korean Pomelo tea so much, i asked to take home the remains. So yummy!

this restaurant was SO awesome. a phillipino guy sang christmas songs here, the food was AMAZING (western food from all over), prices were also amazing. gorgeous meal for about $25 (all 4 of us)

our bedroom. that chair was a life-saver for the boys-it's a great OT therapy!

i've explained it to some: here in southern china, there's a bathroom w/ no division b/n the shower & the toilet/sink. it simply drains somewhere, so when you walk in to the bathroom (for example to pee), you could be stepping on 2 inches of water. slippers are a must!