Golden week

Mr. Lu (our driver) showing Sophie and Noah the wonders of a "wet" market. A market where the meat is super fresh (aka alive!)

So after a long period of being unable to access this site to post our photos and info I can get on again! We are all fine. We enjoyed our first Chinese holiday week and have new appreciation for the word crowded. We stayed in Shanghai as Jon had to work several days and were tourist here. Wow! Shanghai was hosting the Special Olympic World Summer Games then as well so the amount of people in Shanghai was truly amazing. We visited He Ping park. A typical Chinese park with gardens, walking paths, men airing their pet birds in their cages, a man made lake/lagoon and several amusement park type rides. I took one look at the rides and quickly decided that the children could only ride the ones that kept contact with the ground! They enjoyed them while I sweated, calculating how long it would take to get back to the entrance of the park, call our driver to retrieve us and find the nearest emergency room (that provided Western style care). I was happy when we moved on! While we waited at the entrance to be picked up by Mr. Lu (our wonderful driver) a crowd quickly formed around us. We were the only western family I had seen in the park and clearly we were the tourist attraction of the day. They were fascinated by Sophie's blue eyes and blond hair. They pointed, laughed to each other and stroked her hair. They kept pointing at her eyes and then to Jon's which are not blue. When I took off my sunglasses and showed them my blue eyes they smiled as if it all made sense. An experience I won't forget soon.

Sophie on the bumper cars


Kids and mom on boat being driven by Thomas. Dad sat next to him and helped with the steering. They were row boats with some sort of battery power on them. They had two speeds: slow and slower. We floated around the man made lagoons trying hard not to splash any of the scummy water into the boat. I sure look relaxed, don't you think!


We also went to the Jin Mao tower (where Jon works) and had ice cream at the Grand Cafe on the 54th floor. We had a fabulous view of the Bund, Pearl tower and all the boats going up and down the river. What a busy waterway.


Here is a picture Thomas took looking up the side of the Jin Mao tower after we had come back down! Neat perspective.

Noah has decided that since we live in China he will only eat with chopsticks. This is fun but makes for a long meal when we have corn or peas. He will eat rice with a spoon as someone told him that is what the Chinese do. He has even mastered eating pancakes with chopsticks! See below for proof!



I went on an incredible walking tour led by a Chinese freelance photographer Gang Fang Weng. He took us through the older parts of Shanghai, many of which are slated for destruction. It seems that there is no equivilant of Preservation Societies here. Big developers can come in and buy up pretty much any piece of property as long as they have enough money. Really sad. This photographer grew up in the area and was able to take us through several homes. Amazing to see how the locals live. 6-8 families sharing a single kitchen, each with their own hot plate and water spout. 4-6 people in a room. It was very humbling to see. I will include a few of the many photos I took. I am not sure if they are as interesting if you didn't hear the talk that went along with the sights!



playing Majong


I wonder how long laundry hung like that would last in NYC?

We continue to love our time in Shanghai and are having fun exploring the ins and outs of this exciting, vibrant city.