5.31.2007
Be on the lookout....
Just so you know, my website will soon be changing. I officially own the domain name www.leahrobbins.com and will be moving my website to this location soon! I also have a new email, leah@leahrobbins.com, so you can begin to use that email. Thanks for your patience in this transfer, but I just didn't want anyone to get lost when I officially switch over! Thanks!
5.30.2007
Buddhism in a nutshell...
The other day, Emily, Jamie and I decided to visit the Jade Buddha Temple just around the corner from our apartment. Although I've seen Buddhist Temples before and was prepared for what I was going to see, it still continues to sadden me. These people are so lost. As we walked around, we heard chanting coming from one of the rooms. We walked in to find a group of monks chanting and burning incense on an alter near a picture of a woman. There were a group of Chinese people also standing nearby in normal street clothes holding sealed paper bags. They all then lined up and walked out of the room. We assumed it was a funeral of some sort, but we weren't sure. Later, we started talking to a man who worked in the Temple, and he explained some things about Buddhism to us (either trying to convert us, or just educate...I'm hoping the latter. Side note: I totally wanted to share the love of Jesus with him, but we were restricted...it was a rule posted outside the temple). Anyways, while we were talking to him, those same monks came out into the courtyard area where we were standing and chanted while the family put the paper bags in a burning well. He explained that it was a ceremony for the dead and the family was burning fake money for their loved one to take with them in the next world. Sad.
Despite the idolatry, the architecture and landscape was very beautiful (just don't look at all the statues and gods in the rooms, and you have yourself a nice vacation spot). :) Unfortunately, I did not have my good camera with me, and the little camera I had was holding onto life from the last bit of battery juice left, so I was only able to get a few pictures. I'll post some later, but right now the internet is moving slow and it takes so much just to upload a couple pictures.
So we left the temple and headed back to the apartment. On our way back, we passed a little tea shop that we decided to stop in. Jamie wanted to buy some tea, so we had come to the right place. There was a man and a woman in there, but apparently the man didn't work there, he was only friends with the owner (the woman). She didn't speak English, but his English was very good. So he translated as we sipped samples of tea at this mini bar area. It was a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but have very good tea. He even taught us some Chinese phrases like too expensive (ty gui la), very good (hung how), I'm sorry (de bu chi), I love you (wo I nee), and good-bye (ty chien). Some of them we already knew, but he helped correct our pronunciation.
Tang, our tea friend, during our conversation, told us that he owned a pearl shop just around the block. When we were done with our tea, we decided to go with him to his shop. It was a very very nice pearl/jewelry store, not one of these hole-in-the-wall places. There was a little fountain in the front of the store with oysters and fish, and told me to pick an oyster. I pulled one out of the pond and he took us over to a table and chairs and opened up the oyster. There were at least a couple dozen pearls in it! He then demonstrated to us the difference between fake and real pearls, and simple tests that can be done to prove it. I can show you those when I get home if you'd like. It's pretty cool.
He invited us to look around his store and guaranteed us a very good price on his pearls. His employees were helping us as we were looking at the jewelry, and were giving us their price on them. He then would pipe in and give us a lower price. One of the girls told us that we definitely need to buy while her manager (Tang) was there because he liked us and was giving us a really good deal. They wouldn't give that deal. Now it could all be a scam, but I don't care. It's beautiful pearls at a cheap price. And they are all real. We haven't bought from him yet, but will because he was very helpful.
It was a very good day because we made some Chinese friends, and had good cultural experiences. I'm very excited now to go pearl shopping!
Despite the idolatry, the architecture and landscape was very beautiful (just don't look at all the statues and gods in the rooms, and you have yourself a nice vacation spot). :) Unfortunately, I did not have my good camera with me, and the little camera I had was holding onto life from the last bit of battery juice left, so I was only able to get a few pictures. I'll post some later, but right now the internet is moving slow and it takes so much just to upload a couple pictures.
So we left the temple and headed back to the apartment. On our way back, we passed a little tea shop that we decided to stop in. Jamie wanted to buy some tea, so we had come to the right place. There was a man and a woman in there, but apparently the man didn't work there, he was only friends with the owner (the woman). She didn't speak English, but his English was very good. So he translated as we sipped samples of tea at this mini bar area. It was a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but have very good tea. He even taught us some Chinese phrases like too expensive (ty gui la), very good (hung how), I'm sorry (de bu chi), I love you (wo I nee), and good-bye (ty chien). Some of them we already knew, but he helped correct our pronunciation.
Tang, our tea friend, during our conversation, told us that he owned a pearl shop just around the block. When we were done with our tea, we decided to go with him to his shop. It was a very very nice pearl/jewelry store, not one of these hole-in-the-wall places. There was a little fountain in the front of the store with oysters and fish, and told me to pick an oyster. I pulled one out of the pond and he took us over to a table and chairs and opened up the oyster. There were at least a couple dozen pearls in it! He then demonstrated to us the difference between fake and real pearls, and simple tests that can be done to prove it. I can show you those when I get home if you'd like. It's pretty cool.
He invited us to look around his store and guaranteed us a very good price on his pearls. His employees were helping us as we were looking at the jewelry, and were giving us their price on them. He then would pipe in and give us a lower price. One of the girls told us that we definitely need to buy while her manager (Tang) was there because he liked us and was giving us a really good deal. They wouldn't give that deal. Now it could all be a scam, but I don't care. It's beautiful pearls at a cheap price. And they are all real. We haven't bought from him yet, but will because he was very helpful.
It was a very good day because we made some Chinese friends, and had good cultural experiences. I'm very excited now to go pearl shopping!
5.27.2007
A Tour of Shanghai
Yesterday (Saturday), the gang headed out for a fun filled day in Shanghai. The Munozes have a friend of a friend that lives in Shanghai and out of the kindness of her heart, took us all around to see the city. Her English name was Avery, and her friend who came along with us was Echo (sp?). Both spoke broken english, but it was very good, especially compared to our Chinese! They were both so sweet and so much fun! I think I had more fun learning Chinese with them and learning about their culture than I did seeing the city!
We first went to the Yuyuan Garden and Temple area which was beautiful. It was built for one person during the Ming dynasty. It was a quaint garden with rock formations and little gazebo type things and ponds with plenty of giant goldfish (I know they weren't goldfish, but that's what they looked like).
We walked around outside the garden where there were a bunch of little shops and street vendors, selling anything from expensive memorabilia to cheap junk. So we did some shopping with the help of Avery and Echo, who did all our bartering for us. That was extremely helpful. Not that we couldn't do it on our own, they were just very good at it and would tell us if a price was good or not.
We then made our way to the Oriental Pearl Tower across the river in Shanghai. We went close to the top where we could get a full city view of Shanghai. I'm sure it would have been great site, but the air was so smoggy and foggy that it was hard to see much, or make for a very pretty view.
We then headed to dinner at a Thai restaurant, where Avery and Echo did all the ordering for us. There were Thai dancers on stage for our entertainment, which was quite amusing. Dinner was a hodge-podge of dishes put on a lazy-susan in the middle of the table that everyone shared. That's pretty much the style of eating around here: community dining.
After dinner, we walked through an area that I would describe as the Hyde Park of Shanghai. There were a ton of bars, restaurants, and western people. It was a very quaint area, one that we'll have to hit up at another time. We just walked through to see it, but on our way through, the guys ran into Jocheim, their German colleague at Grohe. So us wives got to meet him.
After a long day, we trekked back to the apartment and crashed. It was a good day.
(Side note: Now, loading pictures is kind of a pain with our internet being slow, and Matthew didn't feel like writing in his blog, only posting pictures. So, we decided that I would write, and he would post pictures. You can see his blog at web.mac.com/mrobbins4031)
We first went to the Yuyuan Garden and Temple area which was beautiful. It was built for one person during the Ming dynasty. It was a quaint garden with rock formations and little gazebo type things and ponds with plenty of giant goldfish (I know they weren't goldfish, but that's what they looked like).
We walked around outside the garden where there were a bunch of little shops and street vendors, selling anything from expensive memorabilia to cheap junk. So we did some shopping with the help of Avery and Echo, who did all our bartering for us. That was extremely helpful. Not that we couldn't do it on our own, they were just very good at it and would tell us if a price was good or not.
We then made our way to the Oriental Pearl Tower across the river in Shanghai. We went close to the top where we could get a full city view of Shanghai. I'm sure it would have been great site, but the air was so smoggy and foggy that it was hard to see much, or make for a very pretty view.
We then headed to dinner at a Thai restaurant, where Avery and Echo did all the ordering for us. There were Thai dancers on stage for our entertainment, which was quite amusing. Dinner was a hodge-podge of dishes put on a lazy-susan in the middle of the table that everyone shared. That's pretty much the style of eating around here: community dining.
After dinner, we walked through an area that I would describe as the Hyde Park of Shanghai. There were a ton of bars, restaurants, and western people. It was a very quaint area, one that we'll have to hit up at another time. We just walked through to see it, but on our way through, the guys ran into Jocheim, their German colleague at Grohe. So us wives got to meet him.
After a long day, we trekked back to the apartment and crashed. It was a good day.
(Side note: Now, loading pictures is kind of a pain with our internet being slow, and Matthew didn't feel like writing in his blog, only posting pictures. So, we decided that I would write, and he would post pictures. You can see his blog at web.mac.com/mrobbins4031)
5.25.2007
What a week...
Well, week 1 in Shanghai is coming to a close and we've had a very fun couple of days. Yesterday (Thursday), the boys were able to work from the apartment, so we had them around for the day, which was fun, even if they were working the whole time. So the boys worked in the "office" (a glassed in room), while us ladies headed out to the spa for a little massage. Fabulous. It's a rough life for us :)
For dinner that night, Matthew and I ventured out on our own to discover the great unknown that is Shanghai. So we ended up at McDonald's. I know what you're thinking - "You're in China...why the heck are you going to McDonalds?" Our answer: "You try eating strange Chinese food day in and day out, knowing you have 3 more weeks of it....God bless America and our fat food!" :) We did have to take a picture while we were there. Which makes us wonder, do Chinese people take pictures of themselves in America outside an Asian Wok restaurant? Hmm....
Tonight (Friday), we had a traditional Chinese meal, dim sum. Dim Sum is essentially a little of this, little of that style of eating. You order a bunch of different things to try each thing. You don't get a lot of one thing, which means we were able to venture out and try some different dumplings, noodles, rice, beef, etc. It was quite tasty, one of our favorite meals thus far. We even ordered some ice cream for desert, which they brought out to us with tiny little spoons....talk about portion control.
Right after dinner, we went to the Shanghai Centre Theater where we watched a spectacular acrobatic show. It was INCREDIBLE! There's really no good way of describing it, other than absolutely amazing. The things that these people perform - balancing acts, juggling, jumping on each other's shoulders, ribbon dancing, etc - all so simply amazing and leave you on the edge of your seats in anticipation and nervousness! The audience just goes "huh!" the whole time! This group is a very talented, strong, and flexible group of people! The ribbon dancing was my favorite of the show. It was so beautiful and graceful, I just about cried. It was just that moving (then again, I cry at everything, but trust me, it was fabulous). Cameras were technically not allowed, but I had the little camera with me. I tried to minimize my use of flash, hence some blurry pictures. If I had my big camera, I probably would have been able to get a little more, but there's no way that even on film you could capture the beauty and grace of these people. It's just something you'd have to see for yourself.
Tomorrow, we are headed on an all day tour of Shanghai with a friend of a friend of the Munozes. We are very excited about what's in store for us! Hopefully I'll be able to get some good pictures with my good camera. Until then, God bless and goodnight!
(Ok, FYI, I have a bunch of pictures to show, but for some reason it's not uploading correctly, so check out Matthew's blog for pics! Sorry!)
For dinner that night, Matthew and I ventured out on our own to discover the great unknown that is Shanghai. So we ended up at McDonald's. I know what you're thinking - "You're in China...why the heck are you going to McDonalds?" Our answer: "You try eating strange Chinese food day in and day out, knowing you have 3 more weeks of it....God bless America and our fat food!" :) We did have to take a picture while we were there. Which makes us wonder, do Chinese people take pictures of themselves in America outside an Asian Wok restaurant? Hmm....
Tonight (Friday), we had a traditional Chinese meal, dim sum. Dim Sum is essentially a little of this, little of that style of eating. You order a bunch of different things to try each thing. You don't get a lot of one thing, which means we were able to venture out and try some different dumplings, noodles, rice, beef, etc. It was quite tasty, one of our favorite meals thus far. We even ordered some ice cream for desert, which they brought out to us with tiny little spoons....talk about portion control.
Right after dinner, we went to the Shanghai Centre Theater where we watched a spectacular acrobatic show. It was INCREDIBLE! There's really no good way of describing it, other than absolutely amazing. The things that these people perform - balancing acts, juggling, jumping on each other's shoulders, ribbon dancing, etc - all so simply amazing and leave you on the edge of your seats in anticipation and nervousness! The audience just goes "huh!" the whole time! This group is a very talented, strong, and flexible group of people! The ribbon dancing was my favorite of the show. It was so beautiful and graceful, I just about cried. It was just that moving (then again, I cry at everything, but trust me, it was fabulous). Cameras were technically not allowed, but I had the little camera with me. I tried to minimize my use of flash, hence some blurry pictures. If I had my big camera, I probably would have been able to get a little more, but there's no way that even on film you could capture the beauty and grace of these people. It's just something you'd have to see for yourself.
Tomorrow, we are headed on an all day tour of Shanghai with a friend of a friend of the Munozes. We are very excited about what's in store for us! Hopefully I'll be able to get some good pictures with my good camera. Until then, God bless and goodnight!
(Ok, FYI, I have a bunch of pictures to show, but for some reason it's not uploading correctly, so check out Matthew's blog for pics! Sorry!)
5.23.2007
James & Caitlin
Right before I left, I was able to get one last engagement session in. I will be doing James & Caitlin's wedding in November, and was very excited to do their engagement session downtown. Caitlin is a big NYC fan, so we wanted the big city feel. Hopefully I was able to capture that and more. We had a great time downtown and I am very excited to do their wedding in November!
Here are some of my favorite pictures from our time together. You can also see the slideshow here.
Thanks for a great day and I'm looking forward to your wedding!
Here are some of my favorite pictures from our time together. You can also see the slideshow here.
Thanks for a great day and I'm looking forward to your wedding!
5.22.2007
Michael & Kari's Wedding
Ok, a little side step from Shanghai for a moment....
On May 5, I did a wedding of an old childhood friend. It was a great day, except for the fact that the groom had an appendectomy the day before. Michael was not feeling the greatest, but both were in great spirits throughout the day. I was very impressed with both of them, and in the end, they were married, so that's all that matters!
Here are some of my favorite pictures and you can see their slideshow here.
May God bless your marriage and show you His glory in your rough but wonderful start together!
On May 5, I did a wedding of an old childhood friend. It was a great day, except for the fact that the groom had an appendectomy the day before. Michael was not feeling the greatest, but both were in great spirits throughout the day. I was very impressed with both of them, and in the end, they were married, so that's all that matters!
Here are some of my favorite pictures and you can see their slideshow here.
May God bless your marriage and show you His glory in your rough but wonderful start together!
5.21.2007
Lazy days....
On Sunday, we all decided it would be a good idea to just lay around. So we basically stayed in the apartment most of the day and talked, worked on blogs (I worked on photo jobs), watched TV, and just took a day to unwind before the boys started work.
We did venture out for dinner at a restaurant near our hotel. For awhile, we were the only customer's in there, and we got a lot of attention, being foreign and all. Jon and Michael took care of the ordering with our waitress, who spoke very broken english. We ended up with 5 dishes, some which we're not 100% sure of what they are. But fortunately, we are all feeling brave and adventurous (especially me!) when it comes to the food, and tried it all and pretty much finished it all up. I even ate shrimp on a stick!! (P.S. I don't like shrimp, but this wasn't to bad. The worst part was cleaning off the head and legs - ick!) But I survived, as we all did.
We then just walked around the block to a local grocery store to try to conjure up some goodies for dinner at another time. On our way, we passed the Jade Buddhist Temple, which I'm sure we'll be visiting at a later date.
Here are some pics from Sunday:
the "tasty" shrimp on a stick....it's blurry because I was probably shaking out of nervousness. It looked like it was going to crawl right off the stick.
Jaime enjoyed her shrimp a little too much.
Emily's tasty chicken foot.
The Jade Buddhist Temple
Yesterday (Monday) was the boys' first day of work. I must say that I did miss them during the day and this whole working thing is totally overrated. But regardless, they still had a job to do. You can read about Matthew's work experience on his blog.
Us ladies took it easy during the day. We worked out (yay for us!) and then hung out in the apartment for awhile. We then decided, that since we are in China, maybe we should get out and explore. We wanted to see what was around our apartment and find a good restaurant to go to. I was in the mood for just a good bowl of noodles, but we couldn't seem to find any place that served those. Either that, or we didn't look hard enough. We also wanted to find a restaurant that had menus with English writing or with pictures. We happened upon a hot pot restaurant that had both, so we decided to try it. For those who don't know, a hot pot is a local cuisine where they bring out a big steaming bowl of broth (ours was the Ying and Yang - mild and spicy) and put it over a flame so it can boil. The broth they brought out had a fish head, eyes and everything, floating in it, a good way to start our meal.
You then are supposed to order vegetables and beef, which they bring out raw, and cook them in the broth. We decided to order the chicken and duck, some spinach, and potatoes. The "chicken and duck" was actually maroon cubes of meat flavored jello, or at least that's the best way to describe it. Even after cooking it in the pot, the consistency and color stayed the same. We each tried one, then decided for health reasons, to not continue eating the jello cubes of meat. Thank goodness we ordered potatoes, because that's basically all I ate. We also had an audience while we ate, because there was a family sitting near us who kept watching us and laughing at us. They probably thought it was funny because we had no idea what we were doing. Quite an experience.
We walked around the area of our hotel a little to find out what's around us. What we found was that there's not much around us. So to do anything exciting, shop, or go to a good restaurant, we're going to have to travel more to the middle of the city, which is what I think we're going to do today (Tuesday).
Later that night, after the boys returned home from work, we all decided to stay in for dinner and we ordered New York pizza. Not the best pizza ever, but definitely fantastic compared to some of the meals we've had. Don't get us wrong, we are trying new things and enjoying it, but knowing we have 4 weeks ahead of us with new foods and new things, we are not opposed to some good ol' American food. Also, being the first day of work for the boys, they were exhausted and we just all wanted to relax in the apartment.
I've included some more pictures of the day below.
My plates..I just thought they looked cool, even though we weren't sure if we were supposed to use the bowl, or the plate, or both...hmm...
sorry it's sideways...this was through the window of where we were eating
one of the many fruit markets...it all looks good, but you really can't eat it because they wash it in their water
the first accident we've seen...so Chinese drivers AREN'T invincible. I'm surprised we don't see more of these or are involved in more of these based on the way they drive
We did venture out for dinner at a restaurant near our hotel. For awhile, we were the only customer's in there, and we got a lot of attention, being foreign and all. Jon and Michael took care of the ordering with our waitress, who spoke very broken english. We ended up with 5 dishes, some which we're not 100% sure of what they are. But fortunately, we are all feeling brave and adventurous (especially me!) when it comes to the food, and tried it all and pretty much finished it all up. I even ate shrimp on a stick!! (P.S. I don't like shrimp, but this wasn't to bad. The worst part was cleaning off the head and legs - ick!) But I survived, as we all did.
We then just walked around the block to a local grocery store to try to conjure up some goodies for dinner at another time. On our way, we passed the Jade Buddhist Temple, which I'm sure we'll be visiting at a later date.
Here are some pics from Sunday:
Our feast
the "tasty" shrimp on a stick....it's blurry because I was probably shaking out of nervousness. It looked like it was going to crawl right off the stick.
Jaime enjoyed her shrimp a little too much.
Emily's tasty chicken foot.
The Jade Buddhist Temple
Yesterday (Monday) was the boys' first day of work. I must say that I did miss them during the day and this whole working thing is totally overrated. But regardless, they still had a job to do. You can read about Matthew's work experience on his blog.
Us ladies took it easy during the day. We worked out (yay for us!) and then hung out in the apartment for awhile. We then decided, that since we are in China, maybe we should get out and explore. We wanted to see what was around our apartment and find a good restaurant to go to. I was in the mood for just a good bowl of noodles, but we couldn't seem to find any place that served those. Either that, or we didn't look hard enough. We also wanted to find a restaurant that had menus with English writing or with pictures. We happened upon a hot pot restaurant that had both, so we decided to try it. For those who don't know, a hot pot is a local cuisine where they bring out a big steaming bowl of broth (ours was the Ying and Yang - mild and spicy) and put it over a flame so it can boil. The broth they brought out had a fish head, eyes and everything, floating in it, a good way to start our meal.
You then are supposed to order vegetables and beef, which they bring out raw, and cook them in the broth. We decided to order the chicken and duck, some spinach, and potatoes. The "chicken and duck" was actually maroon cubes of meat flavored jello, or at least that's the best way to describe it. Even after cooking it in the pot, the consistency and color stayed the same. We each tried one, then decided for health reasons, to not continue eating the jello cubes of meat. Thank goodness we ordered potatoes, because that's basically all I ate. We also had an audience while we ate, because there was a family sitting near us who kept watching us and laughing at us. They probably thought it was funny because we had no idea what we were doing. Quite an experience.
We walked around the area of our hotel a little to find out what's around us. What we found was that there's not much around us. So to do anything exciting, shop, or go to a good restaurant, we're going to have to travel more to the middle of the city, which is what I think we're going to do today (Tuesday).
Later that night, after the boys returned home from work, we all decided to stay in for dinner and we ordered New York pizza. Not the best pizza ever, but definitely fantastic compared to some of the meals we've had. Don't get us wrong, we are trying new things and enjoying it, but knowing we have 4 weeks ahead of us with new foods and new things, we are not opposed to some good ol' American food. Also, being the first day of work for the boys, they were exhausted and we just all wanted to relax in the apartment.
I've included some more pictures of the day below.
Our first hot pot....if you can see, there is a plate to the right with the "meat" in question...
My plates..I just thought they looked cool, even though we weren't sure if we were supposed to use the bowl, or the plate, or both...hmm...
sorry it's sideways...this was through the window of where we were eating
one of the many fruit markets...it all looks good, but you really can't eat it because they wash it in their water
the first accident we've seen...so Chinese drivers AREN'T invincible. I'm surprised we don't see more of these or are involved in more of these based on the way they drive
5.20.2007
Day Two
Day 2 was a success. We met up with 6 other guys from Matthew's MBA program that are also in Shanghai to do a little (or a lot) of walking around the city. We left around 10 am and headed out into the great unknown that is Shanghai. The more we walked, the more we realized how giant this city is and just how many tall buildings there are. The best way I can describe it is a city like New York in land mass, but very very vertical. All the buildings are at least 20 stories tall, nothing shorter.
We started out on streets that smelled like what I don't want to even think about, and made our way to a much more populated and expensive area. Yeah, let's just say that this trip to China isn't nearly as cheap as my first time around in Kunming. We stopped at a Starbucks to get a cold beverage after passing a bunch of McDonald's and KFC's. Fine Chinese cuisine.
One of the guys got enticed by a street vendor who said he had North Face. So we followed this little man to a back alley, into a run down building, through a warehouse, and up some tiny stairs we didn't think could hold us, to a little room filled with "Rolex" watches, "Oakley" sunglasses, and "Northface" Jackets. Matthew ended up with a pair of Oakley's, Michael a pair of "Raybans", Jaime a "Gucci" purse, and David a "NorthFace" jacket. So thankfully this sketchy trip to the alley turned into a successful shopping experience.
We then made our way into the People's Square where there were a bunch of jewelry vendors selling plastic jewelry on the ground. Each set of jewelry looked exactly the same, and these vendors were inches from each other. I wonder how business is for them and how they compete with each other. Fascinating.
We had lunch at a little restaurant for our first official authentic Chinese meal. Matthew and I shared a bowl of rice and pork (more fat than pork), while others had meals ranging from crab meat to squid to eel. Quite delectable.
We made our way to the shopping mecca of Shanghai, which had tons of little shops and restaurants and lots of Haagen Daas. Us ladies happened upon Pearl City, which had more pearls than we knew what to do with. We plan on making that a day trip in itself to pick out the perfect pearl jewelry. Ladies, let me know what you want (necklace, bracelet, earrings, fresh water pearls, saltwater, etc) and we can get it for ya! I'm very excited about that little shopping adventure.
We then traveled further down to the river, took a few pictures, said our goodbyes to the other guys, who went their own way. We took an interesting trip to Carrefour, the Walmart of Asia, to get some stuff for the apartment. It was crazy busy and we found some interesting finds, such as cow tongue, whole chickens (feet, head, and everything), and an interesting "condiment" (see picture below).
After a very long day of walking around, we were pooped and headed back to the ol' homestead where we made a gourmet meal of mac & cheese, ritz & peanut butter, and granola bars. We were in bed by 9:30. All in all, a good day. (P.S. Cankles are gone and feet have returned to normal size)
Here are some pictures of the day: (you can see more at Matthew's Blog)
Walking through Shanghai
The large shopping "mecca"
Where we had lunch....I've decided that I'm on the chopstick diet. Although I'm pretty good at the chopsticks, you still eat less and very slowly, so you get full really quickly. Hey, whatever works.
One of the many jewelry vendors. Also notice "the squat," a very popular sitting position in China.
The Chinese "dryer"
The whole gang (minus me of course)
I'm a wedding photographer....it's what I do...
LOVE the umbrellas...
the Pearl Tower....
How the Chinese get their news....
Jon trying to figure out where we need to go...
Emily is now famous in China. She was being nice by asking this group if she could take their picture for them, but instead ended up being IN the picture. They took a group shot, and a bunch of individual shots with her.
The chaosness of people in Shanghai....
More building...
Crazy American tourists (no, they were not with us)
Our gourmet meal of mac & cheese. Notice the nice presentation of ritz crackers and the assortment of granola bars. We are living it up.
I just thought it was funny it said "Watch the car". We all got a little high from the fumes in the garage below Carrefour waiting for a taxi cab. While in line for the taxi, we ran into an American couple that we met in the airport when we first arrived (they too had luggage missing and was later found when someone returned it after thinking it belonged to them - same situation as me). We've seen them 2x since the airport. What are the chances that in a city of 17 million people, we manage to see the same couple 3x??
The guys questioning some of the food in the Chinese Walmart.
the food in question...."Condiment. Small fat sheep chafing dish subsidiary ingredient." Yes, that's what it said....
A little note inside a taxi, "Don't forget your belongings"...this was for Matthew...hold on to our passports!! (side note, we did get those back, praise the Lord)
Our apartment building...we're on the 24th floor....
24th floor = executive floor...yeah, we're kind of a big deal here in China...
We started out on streets that smelled like what I don't want to even think about, and made our way to a much more populated and expensive area. Yeah, let's just say that this trip to China isn't nearly as cheap as my first time around in Kunming. We stopped at a Starbucks to get a cold beverage after passing a bunch of McDonald's and KFC's. Fine Chinese cuisine.
One of the guys got enticed by a street vendor who said he had North Face. So we followed this little man to a back alley, into a run down building, through a warehouse, and up some tiny stairs we didn't think could hold us, to a little room filled with "Rolex" watches, "Oakley" sunglasses, and "Northface" Jackets. Matthew ended up with a pair of Oakley's, Michael a pair of "Raybans", Jaime a "Gucci" purse, and David a "NorthFace" jacket. So thankfully this sketchy trip to the alley turned into a successful shopping experience.
We then made our way into the People's Square where there were a bunch of jewelry vendors selling plastic jewelry on the ground. Each set of jewelry looked exactly the same, and these vendors were inches from each other. I wonder how business is for them and how they compete with each other. Fascinating.
We had lunch at a little restaurant for our first official authentic Chinese meal. Matthew and I shared a bowl of rice and pork (more fat than pork), while others had meals ranging from crab meat to squid to eel. Quite delectable.
We made our way to the shopping mecca of Shanghai, which had tons of little shops and restaurants and lots of Haagen Daas. Us ladies happened upon Pearl City, which had more pearls than we knew what to do with. We plan on making that a day trip in itself to pick out the perfect pearl jewelry. Ladies, let me know what you want (necklace, bracelet, earrings, fresh water pearls, saltwater, etc) and we can get it for ya! I'm very excited about that little shopping adventure.
We then traveled further down to the river, took a few pictures, said our goodbyes to the other guys, who went their own way. We took an interesting trip to Carrefour, the Walmart of Asia, to get some stuff for the apartment. It was crazy busy and we found some interesting finds, such as cow tongue, whole chickens (feet, head, and everything), and an interesting "condiment" (see picture below).
After a very long day of walking around, we were pooped and headed back to the ol' homestead where we made a gourmet meal of mac & cheese, ritz & peanut butter, and granola bars. We were in bed by 9:30. All in all, a good day. (P.S. Cankles are gone and feet have returned to normal size)
Here are some pictures of the day: (you can see more at Matthew's Blog)
Walking through Shanghai
The large shopping "mecca"
Where we had lunch....I've decided that I'm on the chopstick diet. Although I'm pretty good at the chopsticks, you still eat less and very slowly, so you get full really quickly. Hey, whatever works.
One of the many jewelry vendors. Also notice "the squat," a very popular sitting position in China.
The Chinese "dryer"
The whole gang (minus me of course)
I'm a wedding photographer....it's what I do...
LOVE the umbrellas...
the Pearl Tower....
How the Chinese get their news....
Jon trying to figure out where we need to go...
Emily is now famous in China. She was being nice by asking this group if she could take their picture for them, but instead ended up being IN the picture. They took a group shot, and a bunch of individual shots with her.
The chaosness of people in Shanghai....
More building...
Crazy American tourists (no, they were not with us)
Our gourmet meal of mac & cheese. Notice the nice presentation of ritz crackers and the assortment of granola bars. We are living it up.
I just thought it was funny it said "Watch the car". We all got a little high from the fumes in the garage below Carrefour waiting for a taxi cab. While in line for the taxi, we ran into an American couple that we met in the airport when we first arrived (they too had luggage missing and was later found when someone returned it after thinking it belonged to them - same situation as me). We've seen them 2x since the airport. What are the chances that in a city of 17 million people, we manage to see the same couple 3x??
The guys questioning some of the food in the Chinese Walmart.
the food in question...."Condiment. Small fat sheep chafing dish subsidiary ingredient." Yes, that's what it said....
A little note inside a taxi, "Don't forget your belongings"...this was for Matthew...hold on to our passports!! (side note, we did get those back, praise the Lord)
Our apartment building...we're on the 24th floor....
24th floor = executive floor...yeah, we're kind of a big deal here in China...
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