Just a Regular Week…

September 27, 2011

Nothing really special happening today… just tending to a few domestic chores.  This is the only day this week that I am home for any length of time.  I am definitely going to find an Aye (sounds like IE, a Chinese housekeeper) for at least a couple mornings a week to do this pesky housecleaning.  Now that all the fall activities are gearing up I just will not have time to keep house… not to mention that it is my absolute least favorite thing to do!!!

Yesterday I went to the kickoff meeting for Healing Home.  I have mentioned this program before.  Babies that are born with clef palettes and hair lips are typically abandoned.  The end up orphaned and through the amazing talents of doctors that contribute their time and expertise, these babies have corrective surgery.  They go to Healing Home to recover and rehabilitate.  I am going to be there one day a week to help teach these toddlers sign language and English, as well as Chinese.  Due to the clef they have problems with hearing and speech, so our group works with them two days a week.  They are amazing children.  No matter where you are from…children are children! And they never cease to amaze me.

After the meeting, one of the directors of the program, Joan, and I went for a Spa Pedicure afternoon.  She made the appointment for us last Friday… we would be getting our super deluxe treatment and then to the Blue Frog for ‘buy one get one free’ Monday night special.  So we get to the Spa and someone has erased the appointment and there is no one there to do our treatment!!! Oh no!!! The driver has dropped us off and gone!!!  We are bummed and befuddled!!  The woman at the reception desk remembers the call for the appointment.  The mistake is theirs… they want to make it right… they will give us a Spa Day for free… but what about today? 

The Dragon Fly is right next door… if we can get in there today... will this place pay for it??  Checking…. Checking….  Yes!!! Most excellent!!!  We go next door and yes they can take us…now… for the super deluxe treatment like we would have gotten at the Skin City 55 Spa.  Awesome!!  So we got a wonderful treatment for free!!!  Which clearly made it feel even more wonderful than it already was!!  What started to be the worst afternoon… ended up better than we could have expected.  The treatment we had was RMB365 for each of us… and now it was FREE!!! 

After we left there we walked down the mall to the Blue Frog where we indulged.  I had a chicken breast sandwich with sweet potato fries and a Coke Zero… Joan had a Montana Burger with fries and a spritzer of some kind… the whole meal was only total RMB145 which is only about $11 USD each.  For a western meal, that is exceptional.  It is usually about RMB100 – 145 each… or $16 – 20 USD each.  So we felt like we had done very well for our afternoon out!!

I am also doing two Bible Studies this fall… one in James and one in Revelation.   I am loving the studies and I love meeting such a wonderful group of ladies from all over the world… all coming together to study God’s word!!!  I am so truly blessed to be able to be with these ladies weekly.  I am making lifelong friend here.

Wednesday I will be going to Puxi with Jacqueline for lunch and exploring.  She is from Taiwan and her husband is from Sweden.  We are going for meatballs that are heralded as the ‘Best Meatballs in Shanghai’!!!  I will let you know in the next posting how they stacked up. 

Friday is the last of our Hep shots…Yea!!!  So we will go to JinQiao (Jin Chow) to Parkway Health… get one last stick…  and we will be done!!  It won’t take all day, but since I am already fixed up for the day… I think I should take advantage of it.  Not sure yet what I might do, but I will do something!

Sooooo… that is my week in Shanghai… what does your week look like?  

Live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience. Colossians 1:10-11.   The world should be able to see that we are workers in God’s vineyard.

A New House Guest

September 20, 2011

We have a new house guest that is in transition from South Africa to China.  This however is not her first time to Shanghai, but she is returning to a new job.  It is Emma Durr… remember the post about the trip with Hanne to have lunch that took forever to find… that was Beau’s Cousin, Emma!!  She completed her University studies here and went home to Johannesburg only to be hired by a company that is sending her back here.

It will be nice having someone else in the house although she is gone during the days.  Today is her first day here in the China office!

Her return trip was quite the adventure.  The flight was from Johannesburg to Hong Kong, but due to weather conditions, it was detoured to Macau.  They were held on the tarmac for 3 hours before the decision was made to ferry the passengers across the bays to Hong Kong.  The ferry ride took a couple of hours, then transferred to buses to the airport where they waited again.  Then when it was determined they could not find flights for them, they were bused to a hotel somewhere around 1:30am… only to be picked up at 5am to be taken back to the airport.  She got an 8am flight to Shanghai and arrived here at the apartment around noon.  What an ordeal!!!

But she arrived here with a smile and was happy to have made it.  We got her settled in and a chance to relax for a while. We chatted most of the afternoon and got caught up on what has been going on.  She had left for South Africa before I left for the US so we were not at a loss for lots of stuff to talk about.

She brought us the most lovely gift from South Africa.  It is a Beisa Oryx crafted from wire and beads.  It is handmade and very detailed.  Even the bag, handcrafted from fabric, made by her Mother, was beautiful.  Now we have a piece of South African culture too.

Not sure how long she will be with us, but there is no need to hurry.  She will be apartment hunting on the weekends until she finds the right place for her to make a home here. 

Everything happens for a reason and in its own time so we will enjoy the time and wait to see how this unfolds.  Until then we will be a port in the storm for her until… as my Momma always put it… she gets her wheels under her!

Just another Saturday

September 18, 2011

Yesterday started out slow, but we finally got our gears moving by mid-afternoon.  We were once again on a quest.  The voltage converter we bought right after our household shipment arrived to power our coffee maker finally pooped out. Or maybe I should say burned out. 

We began to notice a bit of smoke when we brewed a cup of coffee.  Then the smoke got worse and the smell of burning wires… well that was enough for me to stop using it.  Unfortunately that meant no coffee too.  Actually at first we thought it was the coffee maker!  We would not be finding a Chinese replacement for the Keurig which meant no more coffee until after we go home and try to bring one back… January!  Long time to wait for a good cup of coffee!!! 

Naturally we did not make any notes about the name of the place that we had gone to before, so it was back on the internet searching.  We found a place that was in the general area we remembered and took a chance. 

We took the subway and figured we could cab it back with the boat anchor.  We walked and walked and walked… determination always keeps us going… and eventually we found it…yea!!!!  Once we found it, it was the same place we had gone before!  The name: Buy Now. 

These places are not really one store like here.  It seems that the building owners rent spots by the sq ft to various vendors.  The down stairs, in this particular store, was all computers and laptops, the second floor was all cell phones and cell phone accessories, and the third floor was a whole lot of misc stuff.  There were several more floors we could have explored but we never made it that far. 

When we hit the 3^rd floor, a young fellow immediately approached us wanting to know what we were looking for… and we were completely prepared this time.  Since we already had purchased this product before… we had taken a picture and had exactly what we were looking for written up in Chinese characters.  No problem… he had what we were looking for!!!  Follow me!!!

Sure enough… we followed him through the maze and there right at the counter… voltage converters.  He went through the stack of boxes and found the correct one.  We opened the box to make sure what we were getting and it was spot on.  It was a bigger box than the last one… you think size makes it better? 

Now time to negotiate the price!!!  Discount price RMB780.  This is almost RMB300 lower than what we paid last time!!! Clearly we are better and smarter than the first time!  So we paid and loaded the boat anchor and set off for home.

As we were riding the escalator down, Michael realized we should have gone exploring the area first because walking around with this thing would be impossible.  When we got outside, it was straight to the curb for a cab… darn we should have planned better!  Oh well… next time.

We dropped off the converter and headed straight back out for the subway.  We are going to the new mall called Kerry Parkside.  We had met friends there for dinner last weekend at a place called The Brew and wanted to come back for a closer look.

We passed an exhibit of Smart Cars.  I am not sure if they were selling them or promoting them or perhaps both… but I took a few pictures to share.

Michael was particularly interested in this baby blue and grey one…

They are cute little 2 seaters with a tiny back for a couple bags of groceries room. I would love to have one of these bad boys.  I could go toodling around Mabank when I get home. 

But enough… time to move on to the metro.  And since I had my camera out… I took a couple more shots…  The first one is the back side of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum… they just replaced the purlane with pansies in all the flower beds.

And this next shot is going across to the Metro entrances… the bridges are being replaced too.  This update had been started before I went to Texas in July and they are still working on it.

The kinda arched domes are the entrances to the Number 2 Metro Line.  Always a busy station because the fake market is below this whole area and more.  You can enter from the metro among other ways.  And perched everywhere is someone trying to lure you into their store in the market.  We always just tell them we are going to the metro... no shopping today! 

And everywhere you look there is someone selling kites.  Every variety you might imagine.  And now there are dozens that light up in the sky.  At night it is beautiful… little colored twinkles in the sky.

Once on the subway we had to change over to the Number 7 line which would take us to Huamu Lu and the Kerry Parkside.  There is a huge 5 Star Hotel there also.  In the back of the hotel and mall is the huge complex called the Shanghai Expo Center. 

I know about this Expo Center because Friday I had gone to the new Dragon Fly Spa for a foot massage.  I had wanted to try it out because it is easy for me to get there by subway rather than having to cab it to Jinqiao to the other location.  But I messed up which exit I was supposed to take out of the subway and ended up across from the expo center.  By the time I figured out where I was compared to where I needed to be… I was sweating terribly which is not what I wanted going to the spa.  But I found my way and the massage was heavenly.  But leaving I actually found the correct way to go to the station and it was through the mall from the basement level… I did not even have to go outside!!! 

Side bar… I needed to recharge my transportation card and the service desk was right at the entrance so I wanted to do it here because it was so convenient.  As I approached, a woman was desperately trying to communicate (in English) with the person working there.  I had flashbacks!!!  I felt for her as it was me about 7 months ago.  So I did what any good Christian would… I told her I could help her.  The look of total and complete relief was all over her face.  I told her to hang on while I recharged my card and I would be glad to assist her. 

She was looking for a market… not a fancy mall, but a fake market for cheap stuff to take home from her trip.  She, Kiran, and her husband, Tinu, were at the Expo looking for furniture for their string of hotels, Mada Hotels, in East Africa.  They were based in Kenya.  I told her they were in luck as I was headed home and there was a huge market right at my station.  They were staying in Puxi and right off East Nanjing Lu… off Line 2.  So this all was working out for them… They would stop off at the market and make their purchases, then hop back on the line 2 for their hotel.

I showed them around a few shops in the market and once they felt comfortable, I headed on for home.  They thanked me for my help and we exchanged cards.  Said if I ever got to Kenya to please come and stay with them.  I would love to take them up on that offer… Africa would be incredible!

But back to my original story…  Michael and I started at the bottom of this mall and explored what was there.  Only 3 stories of the mall were open and there were lots of store fronts posting ‘Coming Soon’ for some new stores.  One thing was for sure… lots of places to choose from to eat… from as casual as Johnny Moo’s to super fancy with white table cloths and candle lite places. 

We decided upon a place called Food Fusion, Malaysian cuisine.  After looking over the menu, we wanted to try it.  Our timing was perfect because within about 15 minutes it was packed and there were lines outside.  We ordered a variety of dishes because we could not decide.  There was only one dish we were not too crazy about… it was Sambal Mixed Vegetables.  The sauce smelled like stinky feet.  Did not like this one at all, but everything else was delicious.  We would definitely be back.

I looked up Sambal Sauce.  Here is what I found. 

Sambal Belacan or sambal belachan must be the only true Malay food trademark. You are not considered as a Malay if you do not like or perish the thought, never ate sambal belacan. What is sambal? What is belacan?

Sambal refers to any kind of ready-to-eat fresh chili paste mixed with a variety of spices like onion, garlic and ginger. The paste must have some mixture of spicy hot, sour, salty and sometimes a little sweet taste.

sambal belacan

Belacan is dried shrimp paste cake. Penang incidentally makes the best belachan in the world (I am not kidding or being biased, okay?). There is a version called belachan madu, available at Taman Tun Sardon. The taste of sambal made with this belacan madu it SO GOOD! Sambal belacan usually is made of fresh red chilies or bird's eye chilies, a little shallot or onion, sometimes ginger, a squeeze of lime, belacan and a little sugar.

I guess I would not pass for a true Malay anyway… but this was not for me and even Michael… ‘the eat anything that doesn’t run away guy’ did not like it much either.  But everything else we had was wonderful… and the curry puffs were sooooo good.

The strange thing that we have noticed here in Asia… food is not served all at once!  It is doodled out over the course of the meal.  Like last night, we were served the curry puffs, penang spring rolls, and the rendang beef first.  So that was the 2 appetizers and one entrée.  Finally the drinks came.  We had almost finished that when the second entrée, a pork chop with a homemade sweet and sour sauce with sesame seeds came. That was soooo good.  We were completely finished and waiting when the mixed vegetable dish came.  Then we waited… and waited… and waited for the stir fried broccoli with garlic.  We were about to the point we wanted to leave… and it finally was served.  Hard to get used to this method of serving food, but I guess it works for them. 

But we enjoyed it immensely and knew we would be back… even if they do serve the food in weird order and doodle it out.  All that food was RMB206… or about $33 USD.  Not a bad price for a nice meal.

Michael and his sweet tooth needed a little dessert.  We wandered around a bit… we had several options for something sweet.  There was a Mr. Donut, a Baker and Spice, Cold Stone Creamery, the Coffee Bean, and a couple other places.  The Coffee Bean won out solely because he could have cheese cake and coffee in the same place…  and the cheese cake looked like it what we expect it to be… creamy... and it was.

Once we finished dessert, I was happy to have the walk back to the subway and then the walk home… I needed to walk off that over full feeling!  

Another Saturday down in Shanghai… nighty night!



Fom the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower

September 16, 2011

Michael gave me some picture he took while I was gone… so I thought I would share.  They are amazing views of Shanghai.  Enjoy

This is the Jin Mao Tower and the building some call the bottle opener, but it is really the Financial Center

Views of the Huangpu River

This is the overhead pedestrian walkway that connects the Super Brand Mall, the IFC Mall, the aquarium, the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Bund.

Amazing view of a small section of Shanghai

OK… so I threw in a couple of the guys!  But check out the view from behind them…

It moved into the evening and the next shot is the night sights along the HuangPu River.

And the Super Brands Mall… inside on the 3^rd floor is the amazing dumpling restaurant.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of Shanghai from the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower.  Have a blessed day and hug someone today.

Everyday Things

September 15, 2011

The days are so hot and muggy… I sweat just thinking about going outside, but here in Shanghai… that is inevitable if you want to do anything.  Whether I use a taxi … I walk to the front gates… or the subway, which is about a brisk 10 minute walk… or walk the whole way.  Stepping into the garage and getting into an auto to head out anywhere doesn’t happen for me here. 

Take yesterday for instance… I was going to the Shanghai Community Center for a meeting with the Ladies Outreach Group from Church… it is called ‘The Vines’.  It is a little more than half way between home and the JinQiao Carrefour.  So I thought I would cab it to the SCC, and then I would walk to the Carrefour for groceries.  The meeting was excellent and I enjoyed the fellowship immensely.  I ran into two of the ladies from summer bible study too, Janet and Natasha.  

When it was over, Janet needed to go to the store as well, so off we went.  When we got to the street, another lady, Amy, from the meeting was going our way too, so off all three of us went.  We stopped by Janet’s for a shopping bag and by the time we got there which was only about 3 Shanghai blocks, I was dripping wet.  My hair was up off my neck, but the little strays were in ringlets.  And the sad part is we were less than half way to the grocery!!! 

Thankfully, the walk from Janet’s was pretty shady with mature trees, but it is still muggy.  The one thing I have noticed here… the stores in and around the grocery are really just slightly cool... better than outside, but not enough to dry out.  

Since I had had no lunch, I was starving, but still a bit fearful of eating much with the tummy problems.  I thought maybe a bread something might be good… QBake would have something nice… not too sweet, but tasty.  And I was not to be disappointed.  I selected a roll with raisins and sliced almonds.  It was soooo fresh and tender… just what I needed!  It did not last long, but would tide me over.

Time to hit the madness of Carrefour… and it did not disappoint either.  I still marvel at the number of people that wander around in the middle of the day in their pajamas!!!  And it is perfectly ok!  Today this woman had gone beyond; she had bedazzled her PJ’s with sparkles!  But sadly… the little action figures with the sparkly rhinestones just were not working for her!

I tried my best to rush through the store… but they just won’t let you!! When I finally got to the produce section, it only gets worse.  There are only 2 women with scales to weigh and price your produce and it is not necessarily first come first serve.  It is who can push hardest and reach farthest to plop down your stuff on the scales! Being polite and waiting your turn is not how it works here.  And if you get to the main checkout without the sticker on a bag… they won’t check it!  First lesson learned the hard way!!

OK… I am checked out and groceries careful stowed in my 2 wheel shopping bag, and 3 regular shopping bags and a 12 pack of bottled water!  Time to roll down to the taxi line…  I get down to the line… most of the time the driver will get out and help you get your stuff in the trunk, particularly when I am by myself as I was today.  But nooooo, this guy sat in the car in the A/C and popped the trunk!  He watched, somewhat aggravated that it was taking me so long to shelp the stuff from the grocery cart to the trunk, one bag at a time. 

Then on the way home… my life flashed before my eyes as both my driver and the car coming toward us wanting to make a left turn…simultaneously decided to run the yellow light.  With my heart in my throat,,, all I could manage to eek out were random sounds of distress!  Once the near collision was past… ‘thank you Jesus’ was all I could manage. 

When we finally got in front of my entrance… he parked to the far side and again,,, popped the trunk and waited.  OH WAIT!!! He noticed I was again shelping one bag at a time to the steps and actually pulled up and backed closer to the steps, but never got out!!!  

Once I got all my groceries but up, I knew this was going to be a Papa John’s night.  I was hot… and tired… and sweaty and knew was not in the mood to stand in a hot kitchen to cook.  Thank the Lord Michael is easy to please when it comes to food.

Oh well…Just another ‘head shakin ‘ day in Shanghai!!!

An Evening on the Bund (Wed, Sept 7)

September 12, 2011

It is time to explore the Bund… it represents the era of Art Deco architecture, it sits on the end of east Nanjing Rd in Puxi, it is an incredible boardwalk, it is a bird’s eye view to the Oriental Pearl Tower and it is a place for people watching… just to name a few reasons to go there.  The barges move their cargo up and down the Huangpu River while dodging the cruise ships and the sightseeing boats.  The river is alive with activity.

The Bund (which means the Embankment) refers to Shanghai's famous waterfront running along the west shore of the Huangpu River, forming the eastern boundary of old downtown Shanghai. Once a muddy towpath for boats along the river, the Bund was where the foreign powers that entered Shanghai after the Opium War of 1842 erected their distinct Western-style banks and trading houses. From here Shanghai grew into Asia's leading city in the 1920s and 1930s, a cosmopolitan and thriving commercial and financial center. Many of the awesome colonial structures you see today date from that prosperous time and have become an indelible part of Shanghai's cityscape.

Today, a wide avenue fronts the old buildings while a raised promenade on the east side of the road affords visitors pleasant strolls along the river and marvelous views of both the Bund and Pudong across the river. Pudong's new skyscrapers and modern towers -- constituting Shanghai's "21st Century Bund" -- may dominate today's skyline, but the city's core identity and history are strictly rooted in this unique strip on the western shore. For years, the Bund was the first sight of Shanghai for those arriving by boat; it should be your first stop as well.

Recognize this guy?  None other than Chairman Mao!  Wrong… it is a statue of Chen Yi, Shanghai's first mayor after 1949 and a dead ringer for Mao Zedong, at least in bronze.

The one thing you will notice is the top of each of the buildings along the river fly the China flag… see all the red flags.

This bronze bull is big!  It is significant, but unfortunately I didn’t write down the story behind bull.  We did have some fun pictures with the bull… his hind side actually… I decided it better to not include those… although funny, probably not in good taste.

This is a signal beacon house… now a museum, bar, and ticket office.  The Signal Tower is a slender round brick tower that served as a control tower for river traffic during colonial days. First built in 1884, the tower was rebuilt in 1907, and also relayed weather reports. In 1993 during the widening of Zhongshan Lu, it was moved 20m (66 ft.) to its current site.

This is the Hero’s Statue.  It is a very bold statement … it is huge!!  It and the monument below are part of the Hero's memorial.

On the river shore now stands a granite obelisk, Monument to the People's Heroes, erected in 1993, and dedicated to Chinese patriots (as defined by the Communist Party) beginning in the 1840s.  It has impressive carvings all along the inside of the bowl.

We had intended to take the tunnel under the river to get back over to Pudong, but after walking down to where you actually buy tickets in the tunnel, they were closing it up almost 2 hours early.  Not what we had planned, but oh well!

We walked back up East Nanjing Road to the subway station to catch the #2 Line back over to the Luzjiazui station.  We had planned to have Paulander’s for dinner.  We initially got seated in the bar, but the smoking was more than we could handle.  Fortunately there was a high table available in the open dining area.  Although there were only tall stools, it was better than all the smoke. 

As usual, the food was wonderful.  I was glad we had to walk back to the subway so that we could walk off a little of the too full feeling. 

We had a great day and great food!!!  But we were all glad to get back home.  Tomorrow we would be traversing the market… Jason needs a few things to take home. 

Jing’An and Jade Buddhist Temples (Monday, September 5)

September 11, 2011

Although we have been in Shanghai for over 6 months, we had not visited any of the Temples here… I think it is probably past due.  Jason was curious about them… so we picked a couple and made plans to hit the Temples in the morning and then the Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in the afternoon.  I had not been to a wax museum since I was a kid.  That was the plan for the day!

We were up and out of the apartment by 9am for a full day of activities.  Fortunately, we could take the subway to every destination for today, then only short walks.

Jing’An Temple was first up.  Both of the Temples we were visiting are active Buddhist Temples.  We would have access to much of the Temples, but there were still a good bit we would not be allowed to see.  The incense was thick in the air.  

The temples are located in the midst of the city.  It is so strange being in a Temple steeped in history and yet just over the roof tops are sky scrapers towering over.

A little history… It is said that it was built in the 10th year of chiwu, the eastern Wu Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms (247 bc) and relocated to its present location in the 9th year of south song emperor's jiading era (1216 bc).  It has been restored several times since the Yuan Dynasty and was finally destroyed in taipingtianguo with only dafou hall left. In 1921, the hall of the three saints was added and the present scale came into being gradually. In 1999, the temple was renovated on a large scale and it became more charming. Jingan temple loosely translates to mean: the hall of heavenly kings, the hall of the three saints, the hall of virtuous works and the Abbot's Chambers. Zhenyanzong(a school of Buddhism) forums are  held in the Abbot's chambers upstairs, there are 5 such meetings held each year. as well, there is  the memorial hall of master dadechisong of the Zhenyanzong and some historic relics like stele with inscription of Guangzong emperor of the Song Dynasty and bell of the second year of Hongwu. 

The buildings are built of teak, with marble and granite.  The carvings in the teak are intricate and magnificent.   It is amazing craftsmanship.

Onward to the Jade Buddhist Temple… which was a bit trickier to find, but our determination prevailed and we found it!  This was a bit more of a tourist trap.

A little history… In the western part of Shanghai, a very modern and flourishing city, there is a venerable and famous Buddhist temple, Jade Buddha Temple. In 1882, an old temple was built to keep two jade Buddha statues which had been brought from Burma by a monk named Huigen. The temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately the jade Buddha statues were saved and a new temple was built on the present site in 1928. It was named the Jade Buddha Temple.

The two precious jade Buddhist statues are not only rare cultural relics but also porcelain artworks. Both the Sitting Buddha and the Recumbent Buddha are carved with whole white jade. The sparkling and crystal-clear white jade gives the Buddha’s the beauty of sanctity and makes them more vivid. The Sitting Buddha is 190 centimeters high and encrusted by the agate and the emerald, portraying the Buddha at the moment of his meditation and enlightenment. The Recumbent Buddha is 96 centimeters long, lying on the right side with the right hand supporting the head and the left hand placing on the left leg, this shape is called the 'lucky repose'. The sedate face shows the peaceful mood of Sakyamuni when he left this world. In the temple there is also another Recumbent Buddha which is four meters long and was brought from Singapore by the tenth abbot of the temple in 1989. Furthermore there are many other ancient paintings and Buddhist scriptures distributed in the different halls of the temple.

The main green  jade Buddha was in a building all by itself… and there were no cameras allowed. 

It is said that if you rub the tummy of this happiness budda, you will have good luck and happiness… I will let you know how that worked out for me!

We were told that this carving took 7 years to complete... that is determination!!!

Now back to People’s Square and the wax museum.  I will just include a few pictures we snapped while there.  Hope you enjoy.

With Madame herself!!!!

We wrapped up the museum with 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' and Audrey Hepburn!!!

What a day!  The guys just could not be in People Square and not hit the Hershey Store… They got their fix with a Hershey soft serve and I had a water.  I was more interested in finding a place to sit down than having ice cream. 

After a short rest, we boarded the subway and headed back across the river to Pudong… next stop was the Super Brands Mall.  We are having dinner in the same dumpling place that I went with my friends from Bible Study.  We ordered a variety of dumplings and chowed down.  It was soooo yummy!!! 

After a full day and now a full tummy… we were ready to get back to the apartment and relax.  Of course the guys had only one thing on their minds…A NAP!!!!