Mom & Mrs. Schreck visit!

My mom and Mrs. Schreck finally made it to Shanghai last Thursday, and we have been on the go since they got here!  Wiped out, but excited to have finally made it we treated them to dinner at one of our favorites, The Blue Frog.  We got started early friday after dropping Lily off at school.  Our first stop, Shanghai's iconic, Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai History Museum.  After we finished the tower and surprisingly large museum we headed across the street for lunch at Southern Beauty and enjoyed a wonderful Sichuan lunch while taking in the Huangpu river.  With rain forecasted for Saturday we decided to absorb some culture and visit the Shanghai Museum.  Having had our fill of culture we headed home to drop the kids off with Lucas and indulge in some retail therapy!  Both mom and Mrs. Schreck had a grand time bargaining for the best price and spending their "Monopoly money".

With clear sunny skies on Sunday, we decided to enjoy a day in Puxi, starting with Nanjing Pedestrian Street.  Filled with shops and restaurants, this street is a must see, and I don't think mom or Mrs. Schreck were disappointed.  We even took a short detour down a few side streets and got to watch a man make noodles for the days lunch. We made our way up the Nanjing Street to the Bund.  Known for its beautiful, and eclectic architecture, we took our time strolling along the river walk and even peeked inside the Peace Hotel to check out its marble lobby.   Not wanting to get lost on our way to the Yu Yuan Garden and Market, like we did when mom and dad visited, we had our driver drop us off instead of walking it.  With the kids complaining of empty bellies we made a pit stop at McD's for some Happy Meals before heading to the famous Nanxiang Steamed Buns for xiao long bao.  Reenergized, we headed off for the walled gardens, which Lucas and I had never had the pleasure of seeing.  It certainly lived up to its hype.  With tons of ponds, rock gardens, and traditional Chinese buildings throughout it was peaceful and you could almost forget you are in the middle of a city of 23 million people.
Monday we got to enjoy Lucas's company since he had an afternoon plane to catch to Tokyo and wasn't planning on going to the office that morning.  We started the day at the Jing'an Buddhist Temple which was originally built in 247AD!  We switched gears and left the peace and tranquility of the temple behind, and headed to trendy Xintiandi.  Originally a neighborhood filled with the Chinese version of brownstones, it had been neglected and was restored and turned into a busy and popular spot for shopping and grabbing a tasty meal.  It was after our tasty meal that we headed to the small museum  which brings you back in time to see what life was like in old Xintiandi for a typical family.   Unfortunately, we had to head home after so Lucas could make his flight, the kids were wiped out from all the walking too.  However, it was not the end of our day!  Mom, Mrs. Schreck and I enjoyed an amazing dinner at The Peninsula Hotel where we had not only a fabulous dinner, but and equally fabulous view of the Bund and downtown Pudong all lit up for the night.  Thank you mom, and Mrs. Schreck for the wonderful dinner!

With time flying by and more rain forecasted, we decided to press our luck and see the remains of Shanghai's old city wall.  Unfortunately most of it was torn down for construction but a small 50 meter section remains.  It was a nice piece of history that until today I was not even aware of.  With Mrs. Schreck love of small out of the way streets we wondered a bit and came across a plant and pet market where you could by crickets for competing.  The Chinese LOVE to gamble and will gamble on almost anything, even crickets.  We also found a local produce market which was filled with meats and veggies for sale.  Not surprisingly there was no poultry around.  After calling my driver we headed back to the Bund to check out a local shoe maker, and although we were a bit disappointed by the shoes, they did have beautiful silk purses, which Mrs. Schreck bought for me as a totally unnecessary thank you.  With a bit of time, we decided to poke our heads into the one of the banks along the Bund to see the amazing marble foyer and breathtaking ceilings.  We grabbed lunch on Nanjing Street and headed home for Charlie's nap.  Tomorrow we head to Tongli a local water town!