Back to Shanghai!

We went to Shanghai last year but the trip was a bust as we were under the weather in more ways than one. This time we were ready to take Shanghai by storm (ha!) and the weather could not have been any better. It was also less humid than Hong Kong so that was a nice bonus!

Our first stop was the Yu Garden area with its beautiful water gardens and traditional buildings.

After walking through the gardens, we stopped at one of the soup dumpling stands. I love dumplings, but have never eaten one through a straw! We were a bit confused what to do after you suck all the juice out. Do you eat the dumpling? Mental note for next time... don't remove the straw as you will have a complete mess on your hands literally and it is nearly impossible to stick it in again.

After the dumpling we were still hungry and at that point,  a Turkish ice cream stand got my attention. Turkish ice cream is beaten with long clubs which is why I guess it is so creamy and thick, making it easily recognizable. 

We took the long way back to the hotel along the Huangpu river, Shanghai's famous waterfront. The river splits the city with the older part of the city, Puxi with the Bund and more historic architecture and the newer, Pudong which is home to the iconic skyline, including the famous Oriental Pearl TV tower.

The view across the river is only half the beauty you will enjoy from the riverside promenade. On the Puxi side there are over two dozen colonial buildings which date back to the early 1900s and give the Bund a classic European feel. I love new modern buildings, but have an real appreciation for older buildings and the Bund is an excellent example of a conservation district at its best.

One of Shanghai's signature dishes is Xiao Long Bao, which is a mini soup dumpling with pork. When we sat down they gave us written instructions on how to properly eat these tasty  soup dumplings, I responded that is not enough ginger!... and to the waiters surprise, I ate all of it! We also ordered the shrimp and pork dumplings which were also pretty good.

On our second day, we wandered the treelined streets of the French Concession. Our taxi dropped us off in Xintiandi which is a pedestrian friendly area with traditional stone gate houses on narrow alleys.

I woke up early a few mornings to take some sunrise photos of the Bund. It was the only time I could take a decent photo of the bull which is normally being mobbed by tourists. Before sunrise the promenade began to fill with old ladies doing their morning tai chi and old men flying kites.

For our last dinner we found a restaurant that specializes in the Beijing specialty, Peking duck.  Like most Peking duck restaurants, they bring the duck to your table and carve it in front of you. We watched as he meticulously made every cut and layered the meet in a nice little pile. This was the BEST Peking duck we have ever had.

Before our flight we walked around a bit and I was on a mission to have Shanghai style noodles which I had on our previous trip. We stumbled across a few parks and admired Shanghais skyline, a mix of the old with the new.

We ended up just going back to the same restaurant I had the Shanghai noodles at on our last trip to Shanghai. Oh well... it was still worth it. With some food in our stomachs, we were ready to head to the airport to face the unavoidable Chinese flight delays!