Picking back up with trip recap posts, after our brief stint in the Philippines, we headed to one of my very most favorite cities in the world, Shanghai!!! It was so nice, because after two unfamiliar cities, it was great to be back in a city that I recognized (even though I speak very little Chinese :)).
After we arrived, I showered, we had a drink at the hotel bar and then headed out to the Bund!
I just love the energy on the Bund; there are tourists and lights galore and we hit it right as everything was starting to light up for the night. The energy is electric, vibrant and so full of life. The whole time I just kept thinking, I can't wait to bring my family here one day!
We had dinner at a very authentic Hong Kong style restaurant and afterwards, our tour guide (who spoke Mandarin), took us up to a bar that is on the 87th floor of a hotel. While we were waiting for the other cab to arrive, we were right in front of the Shanghai Tower which when completed will be the largest tower in the world for a few months before a tower that is being built in Dubai.
Selfie fun- trying to get us and the tower in the snapshot.
LOVED this view of the Pearl Tower- just stunning!
After an 87 floor elevator ride, we had finally arrived!! We were tired as all get out, it took us 10ish hours to get to Shanghai, but the sky was clear and that is rare, so we had to take advantage of the situation.
And I am so glad we did- it was breathtaking and inspiring and definitely one of those type of pinch me, is this real life kind of moments.
The next day, we only had one thing on our agenda- shop until wedrop run out of RMB :). We headed over to the technology center (the shopping is on the bottom floor) and ran into this replica of the ancient Chinese earthquake predictor- there is a little ball in there and when it starts to move, there is predicted bad weather (or something like that...).
I really wanted to sneak two of those scooters into my luggage for Emma and Everly, but alas my bags were already packed pretty tight!
Our first stop was the pearl shop and with three women, it took us 2.5 hours to finish up there (and I got a major lesson in patience and realized quickly why I do the majority of my shopping online). These are itty bitty sized white and pink pearl necklaces for the girls! I am in LOVE! and need to get these necklaces on them as soon as possible!!
The group testing out my selfie stick I purchased!
Then we ate at another super traditional Chinese meal and I finally got my hands on some dumplings! I love love love the soup dumplings and was so excited to have them again!
Most meals are served family style in China which is neat because you get to try lots of different things- some good, some not so good.
After lunch, we made a few final pit stops where I picked up the girls Elsa and Anna dresses while simultaneously questioning who I have become :).
The next few days we worked which was pretty uneventful in itself, but one day I decided to get this drink that I had seen signs for in all the Starbucks; the only thing was I couldn't read anything except 'triple coffee'. I was tired so I figured triple coffee would be a good thing, but one of the elements of triple coffee was coffee jelly! Jelly in a Frap!! Weird, just way too weird. This is about all I drank of it.
A view from up high to show how smoggy and rainy the rest of our time in Shanghai was. I am so glad we took advantage of the clear, nice night on Saturday :).
The night before we were leaving Shanghai, we ate at a dumpling specific restaurant and oh my goodness, it was delicious! The soup in the dumplings provides a warming effect while eating combined with the slightly chewy texture of the dumpling that is just like nothing else I have ever tasted. Best surprise of the night, it was located on the opposite (and smaller) side of the Bund than we had visited the previous Saturday night.
It is way less crowded, almost felt like a secret spot that not many people knew about!, and a great way to end four days in Shanghai!
Looking back on the more Victorian side of the Bund all lit up at night.
Oh, yes, Shanghai! I really do heart you with all my might!! I know this is weird, but I could definitely picture the four of us living there one day :).
Angela and I, giddy with childlike excitement about the spectacular evening we just had.
The next morning, we were up bright and early to say goodbye to Shanghai. As we were headed from Shanghai to Chengdu, we couldn't find a Starbucks in the Shanghai airport; however, this turned out to be serendipitous experience. We randomly stopped at a Chinese cafe and I had strong internet to FaceTime Wes and the girls (which had been a problem earlier in the week) and then finished off the morning with the best Mocha of our trip with the prettiest design and bonus butter cookie.
And with that cup of coffee, we bid farewell to Shanghai and headed to our fourth stop on the trip- Chengdu!! At this point I was happy to be moving one stop further, but I wasn't allowing myself to start counting down the days until home- it was still just too far away.
After we arrived, I showered, we had a drink at the hotel bar and then headed out to the Bund!
I just love the energy on the Bund; there are tourists and lights galore and we hit it right as everything was starting to light up for the night. The energy is electric, vibrant and so full of life. The whole time I just kept thinking, I can't wait to bring my family here one day!
We had dinner at a very authentic Hong Kong style restaurant and afterwards, our tour guide (who spoke Mandarin), took us up to a bar that is on the 87th floor of a hotel. While we were waiting for the other cab to arrive, we were right in front of the Shanghai Tower which when completed will be the largest tower in the world for a few months before a tower that is being built in Dubai.
Selfie fun- trying to get us and the tower in the snapshot.
LOVED this view of the Pearl Tower- just stunning!
After an 87 floor elevator ride, we had finally arrived!! We were tired as all get out, it took us 10ish hours to get to Shanghai, but the sky was clear and that is rare, so we had to take advantage of the situation.
And I am so glad we did- it was breathtaking and inspiring and definitely one of those type of pinch me, is this real life kind of moments.
The next day, we only had one thing on our agenda- shop until we
I really wanted to sneak two of those scooters into my luggage for Emma and Everly, but alas my bags were already packed pretty tight!
Our first stop was the pearl shop and with three women, it took us 2.5 hours to finish up there (and I got a major lesson in patience and realized quickly why I do the majority of my shopping online). These are itty bitty sized white and pink pearl necklaces for the girls! I am in LOVE! and need to get these necklaces on them as soon as possible!!
The group testing out my selfie stick I purchased!
Then we ate at another super traditional Chinese meal and I finally got my hands on some dumplings! I love love love the soup dumplings and was so excited to have them again!
Most meals are served family style in China which is neat because you get to try lots of different things- some good, some not so good.
After lunch, we made a few final pit stops where I picked up the girls Elsa and Anna dresses while simultaneously questioning who I have become :).
The next few days we worked which was pretty uneventful in itself, but one day I decided to get this drink that I had seen signs for in all the Starbucks; the only thing was I couldn't read anything except 'triple coffee'. I was tired so I figured triple coffee would be a good thing, but one of the elements of triple coffee was coffee jelly! Jelly in a Frap!! Weird, just way too weird. This is about all I drank of it.
A view from up high to show how smoggy and rainy the rest of our time in Shanghai was. I am so glad we took advantage of the clear, nice night on Saturday :).
The night before we were leaving Shanghai, we ate at a dumpling specific restaurant and oh my goodness, it was delicious! The soup in the dumplings provides a warming effect while eating combined with the slightly chewy texture of the dumpling that is just like nothing else I have ever tasted. Best surprise of the night, it was located on the opposite (and smaller) side of the Bund than we had visited the previous Saturday night.
It is way less crowded, almost felt like a secret spot that not many people knew about!, and a great way to end four days in Shanghai!
Looking back on the more Victorian side of the Bund all lit up at night.
Oh, yes, Shanghai! I really do heart you with all my might!! I know this is weird, but I could definitely picture the four of us living there one day :).
Angela and I, giddy with childlike excitement about the spectacular evening we just had.
The next morning, we were up bright and early to say goodbye to Shanghai. As we were headed from Shanghai to Chengdu, we couldn't find a Starbucks in the Shanghai airport; however, this turned out to be serendipitous experience. We randomly stopped at a Chinese cafe and I had strong internet to FaceTime Wes and the girls (which had been a problem earlier in the week) and then finished off the morning with the best Mocha of our trip with the prettiest design and bonus butter cookie.
And with that cup of coffee, we bid farewell to Shanghai and headed to our fourth stop on the trip- Chengdu!! At this point I was happy to be moving one stop further, but I wasn't allowing myself to start counting down the days until home- it was still just too far away.