On the 21st, we had our first vacationing visitors arrive from the US. From Cincinnati, Erik came for his first visit to Asia with buddy Will. From our California friends, Ahmad arrived on the first day of his sabbatical, while Matt & Kjerstin arrived after a few days in Hong Kong. Three groups of friends all at once!
The first evening was a matter of keeping arrival times straight and getting folks settled. The real activity started Wednesday. Erik & Will woke up early due to jetlag and found their way around our neighborhood (we did a short orientation walk the night before). Lila then joined Erik & Will for a visit to the Museum of Urban Planning. For a city of 20M people, it was impressive to see the city planning efforts – both historical and plans for hosting the 2010 World Expo Afterwards we visited the incredible Shanghai Museum. The exhibits were fascinating and a wonderful China history lesson in bronze, currency, pottery, calligraphy, ethnic minorities, etc. All these months in Shanghai and we had never been to the museums.
In parallel, Karl took Ahmad, Kjerstin & Matt to the back street behind our apartment for a Chinese street breakfast (dumplings, fried bread, and Chinese breakfast crepes). They then went off to the fabric market to have some clothes made. They were quite proud of all "the money they saved" by having things tailor made.
We all met up for a lunch of famous dumplings at Yu gardens, which has been rebuilt in the old architecture. We had heard a ton about the restaurant, but had never been - so it was great exploration for us too. We all got a kick out of drinking soup out of a big steamed bun with a straw! We had originally planned for a water village in one of the nearby towns, but we ran out of time & energy. So we wandered around the Yu garden neighborhood, full of trinket shops and hundreds of thousands of people. From there we went to the next stop: Taikang street. The 1930s buildings now house a maze of small cafes, boutiques, and art shops.
It was 4:15 by the time most of us made it home for a break. Matt & Kjerstin opted to have a few suits made by the fancy tailor shop Karl loves on the way home. Erik & Will ended up walking around the French Concession some more. By 5:30, everyone was sleeping or resting with a glass of wine in their hand!
Dinner reservations were for 8pm at South Beauty, spicy Sichuan cuisine. Our table, on the outdoor deck, had views of the river and Bund all lit up, the Pearl tower, and the new financial tower (highest building in China). It was really incredible. While everyone would have loved more energy, we opted to go home. Erik & Will went out and explored some more, while the rest of us stayed back and packed for the Silk Road tour.
It was fun to play tourist, and we are thankful to have patient friends as we sort through how to host people here in Shanghai.
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