First thing this morning we went to the Shanghai Museum. They showcase famous and antique pieces of jade, lacker furniture, calligraphy, art, and bronze. We had a good tome leisurely walking through the exhibits. I loved the white pottery with blue Chinese designs on it as well as the old costumes. Photos to come later! Dede and I of course went to the gift shop. I got some more postcards and a gift for dad. Hope he likes it. Tom found is in the gift shop... he was not surprised. After the museum we went to Mo-gan-shan Art District. We just walked in and out of the art galleries. Some highlights were a sculpture of a man with a dragon for an ummm... you know. Also a painting of two guys about to kiss and one of a couple in a compromising position. There were also beautiful works of art featuring the cherry blossom and some great photography of the Shanghai skyline at night. We found a small food and drink vendor and sat in the shade with an ice cold 4RMB beer... That's only about 65 cents!
We had lunch and then headed to the Yuyuan Garden. At this point it was just another Chinese garden. The four main elements: water, stone, plants, and buildings. We spent a little too much time here but only because I knew right outside was a shopping street where we expected to get out last minute needs/gifts. We were told the whole trip that Shanghai was the place to buy everything. We did get about an hour to shop but I was a little disappointed with the goods. The whole area was really busy. The streets were confusing and the sales people would not leave you alone. I did manage to get a few things and a bag to get my stuff home but I'm not totally satisfied with the shopping. Bummer. I was hoping for a knockoff bag but I didn't find anything. The negotiating was really fun! Dede was impressed with my skills. I end up with two pairs of Ray Ban sunglasses only $8.00 each and a little Pichu (the money animal) figurine.
Next was a very short stop at Hengshan Road. No one really understood why we went there. It was developed by the French and had some nice sidewalks, trees, and architecture. We stopped at the first bar we saw to have a quick beer but got ignored by the staff. We only had about twenty minutes and ended up just walking around before getting back on the bus and heading to dinner through a lot of traffic! Woohoo.
Dinner was by far the worst. It was very touristy, grimy, and the same old Chinese food. If it was the first Chinese I'd had in a few weeks I may have felt differently about the restaurant but after having pretty much the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the last two weeks I was a bit judgmental. If I never see a bowl of white rice again that will be just fine. Bring on the steak and mashed potatoes!!!
The highlight of the day was the ERA Shanghai Acrobatic Show. We were all pretty skeptical after the other shows we have seen in China but this was China's version of Circ De Sole. There were some very talented performers that could bend their bodies into the oddest of positions. Every act was entertaining and unbelievable but the most notable was the one with all the motorcycles. They drove them on the inside of a metal cage sphere in circles and upside down. Thy kept adding a motorcycle in the sphere until there were seven driving all at the same time. It's amazing that they didn't crash. If one person didn't do exactly as they were suppose to they all could have had one nasty accident! Dede slept through most of the performance, go figure. She don't get her usual bus or airplane nap in today. The show was a great way to end our adventure in China! Tomorrow we leave the hotel around 10:30 and head to lunch, then to the airport. Our flight leaves at 4:30 pm Saturday and we arrive in Chicago at 4:45 pm Saturday. Only a 15 minute flight? No, wrap your head around this one... We leave, fly about 13 hours to get there only 15 minutes later. Mind. Blown.
I do believe it's time to go home and eat nachos and pizza and a big tall glass of ice cold milk!!!
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