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As I write this I am sitting in the lounge on the 24th Floor looking down over the lit up city skyline of Shanghai. The view is great as I sit here being waited on with my tea. It is certainly a different way of life at the moment.
Anyway let me start at the beginning with our trip. Our journey here was supposed to take about 2 hrs by car. Our driver Chen picked us up at 4 pm and off we went. We have seen traffic in our time. Every man and his dog were trying to get out of Hangzhou. We then discovered as we got a little closer to Shanghai that all the people leaving Hangzhou were probably on our road and trying to get into Shanghai. I was waiting for him to turn around and shoot us but as it turns out he was a big help and we eventually got to our hotel after a 3 hrs drive.
Dinner had to be a quickie somewhere as it was so late. Pizza Hut was just down the street so we thought it would be perfect. It wasn’t but it was comical! Restaurants over here are bizarre in that they bring out each individual dish as they cook it so nothing comes out together. We’re used to it now but this was ridiculous. The girls had finished and our pizza (sharing) had not come out. I mean how long does it take to make a pizza? Well in this case it took over an hour and by that time we told them we didn’t want it. We were tired and we just wanted the bill so we paid and hey presto out came the pizza in a takeout box and free of charge. Walking back into the Intercontinental with our take out bag and box was just a little embarrassing!
A walk up to the Pearl Tower which is an incredibly tall tower with spheres up it was our first stop for the day. We had planned on going inside it and up to the highest observation deck to look out over an area of Shanghai called the Bund. Unfortunately like most days here is was very foggy, so it didn't seem worth going up it just to be disappointed because you couldn't see the view. We would be back on another occasion and a clearer day (hopefully). After doing battle with a million and one tourists who once again took an interest in Megan and Sophie we took a seat outside Starbucks, had a drink and a snack and watched the boats go by on the river.
We finally reached the place we had been looking for - Yu Yuan Gardens. I loved this place. It was like old world china hidden in the middle of new Shanghai. It was very tranquil and quiet which is a huge change to the hustle and bustle of the market you have to walk through to get to it. I must have taken hundreds of photos in the place. My dad would have loved to have seen it and because I know he isn't going to get the chance while we are in China I thought the least I could do was try to bring him here through my photos. They aren't anywhere near as good as he would take but you can get the idea of the place from them.
Sunday we went to Century Park which is the biggest park in Shanghai. It was freezing as we set off. It felt like we were back in Massachusetts with the wind cutting through us like a knife. We wouldn't let it deter us!!! The park is huge and you have to pay to get in. We were surprised at how busy it was but apparently everyone had gone to see the new spring blossoms that covered the trees in a certain area of the park. The Chinese are very superstitious and if something brings you could luck you have to grab it. Apparently the blossoms do just that so everyone had to have a photo.
Our drive home didn't take quite as long as the journey to Shanghai. It did take us an hour to find a supermarket that I wanted to visit. This store sells Western Food and had been recommended to me. Instead we went round and round in circles using the Chinese GPS system i.e slow down and ask as many car drivers that you can as you continue to drive. Eventually we ended up on the road that Kevin has told him in the beginning. It was worth it to see food from home.
All in all our trip was great and a lot of fun. We will definitely be back to Shanghai several times before we leave China and hopefully in warmer temperatures.
For more information, please log on Shanghai Guide
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