Ahhh.... civilization! That is exactly how I felt last weekend for our trip to Shanghai.
Although we did not visit the
World's Expo, I have to agree with the slogan "Better City, Better Life." First of all, we really lucked out with the weather. It was clear and warm - maybe a tad too warm, but not too bad. Then, the city itself - I think the government must have issued a proclamation to keep the place clean because it was very clean there - very little litter or pollution. I actually saw someone PICK UP a tissue that she dropped - something UNHEARD of in China at large. This was a miracle. Then there is the gorgeous city skyline with its amazing buildings and bright colors, parks in the city that were clean and not overrun with people, fun outdoor markets, international cuisine (we ate German food one night, southeastern Chinese the next), and the free and impressive
Shanghai Museum with its collection of bronzes dating from 8000 BC. Finally, the fact that there were TONS of foreigners from everywhere meant that we were not the object of zillions of photographs and scrutiny wherever we went. It was a major luxury, to say the least.
We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel downtown in Yuyuan - Yu Garden - which is near the famous outdoor pavilion to buy things like pearls and these dumplings that Alex stood in line for 50 minutes to get (probably would have been worth a 30 minute wait, but 50 was pushing it...!). And there was a yummy Dairy Queen there, so we treated ourselves to some blizzards one hot afternoon. :-) We also went to a great museum of old houses in Shanghai, and found a terrific park where Lucia played with the kids on the grass until the officials kicked them all off... oops! We did a boat cruise of the nightlife one night, and stumbled upon the Shanghai Museum the morning of the day we left. We rode the
Maglev train, one of the world's fastest - topping out at 431 km/hour (though I think it goes to 450 km/hour) from the Pudong Airport towards the city, then took a taxi into town. I was freaked out about the latter, but it turned out to be not a big deal. We also rode the subway while we were there, so between planes, trains, automobiles, boats, and subways we pretty much covered the gambit on transportation (I guess we could have added buses, motorbikes, and rickshaws, but we didn't get that far). Lucia loved all these things - she gets SO excited about the various planes, trains, boats, etc. Her face lights up and she exclaims "ahhh!!!" and opens her mouth wide whenever we tell her that we are taking a new mode of transportation. It is super cute.
Both girls were big-time TROOPERS! We drug them around the city, only one nap a day for Magdalena (though she would sometimes crash in the bjorn or stroller), and kept them out late (Magdalena fell asleep while nursing at the restaurant Saturday night). But they loved the hotel room - Lucia pushed the elevator buttons and would rush to the room to "show" us where it was (her sense of direction already far exceeds my own!). And between the bjorn, the stroller, and two parents' sets of arms, they made it all around the city.
We had a blast - would love to visit Shanghai again, but unless we get extended, probably won't have time. We are now on a mission to visit as many places as possible before our time is up, so stay tuned for some more daring adventures of your very own JONES TEAM!
Here we are posing in front of the Expo mascot, Haobin, at the airport. He is all over the city, though, so we really could have done this anywhere. We bought a stuffed Haobin for our driver's expected baby as well as our ayi's 2.5 year old daughter as gifts:
On the Maglev train - just a blur out the window!
Cute photo of the girls in the German board cut-out at the restaurant we ate at Friday night (though the pic was taken the next day):
Girls in Undies Overlooking Shanghai - classic!
A "rare" moment where Lucia really did not want to walk - at the outdoor food market:
Family Self Portrait:
Lucia and Alex on the boat:
Girls on the boat:
Family on the boat:
Check out the Oriental Pearl in the background - probably the most well known building in Shanghai:
Amazingly, you can take photos in the Shanghai Museum - here are some bells from 5000 BC:
Check out the food bowl behind me (in bronze) - same era:
The bronze beast in the pic has three basins for wine - also about 5000 BC, but there were wine goblets dating to 8000 BC with exquisite carved imagery - just going to show that the Chinese at that time not only drank wine, but also had the time and luxury to create beautiful vessels to drink it from. Something has changed since then, as now the wine is horrible, and it is challenging to get decent dishware :-)! Oh, and Magdalena refused to stay cooped up in the stroller or bjorn, so she basically crawled all around these exhibits... ah well!
Needless to say, a good time was had by all. :-)
Yea! Glad that you found a trip that you all really enjoyed. I'm impressed how much Lucia likes to walk... I guess like her mama :) The picture of the girls in the cutout sure is cute... and the one of them at the window is classic too! Fun!
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