Patti & Leanne in China: Finally, a full day of being tourists

The living room of our 2 BR apartment in Shanghai

The day started really early -- we woke up at 3:00(Patti) and 4:00 (Leanne). Not really so unusual - sunrise here is at 5:00 and the sky was light at 4:00.

The hotel breakfast buffet was very good, giving us the strength to head out for the day.

Waiting in the rain to enter the Shanghai Museum

First tourist activity - the Shanghai Museum, home to a very significant collection of ancient Chinese artifacts. The highlight was seeing the 600+ bronze pieces, some dating back to the 21st century BC. Our personal docents were 2 college-age Chinese young men who befriended us while waiting in line for admission to the museum. They were thoughtful, articulate and perfect gentlemen.

4 hours later we had only seen a fraction of the museum. The closest lunch spot was the museum cafeteria. We were the only non-Chinese people there, an experience common to the day. Lunch was excellent, even though we didn't know exactly what we were eating. We're pretty sure there were no cats on our plate. Patti handled the chopsticks with less finesse than she would have liked. The good news - she didn't drop anything on her shirt today!

Our hotel is in a fairly non-tourist section of Shanghai. We walk out onto older, narrow Shanghai streets lined with small shops. We have felt completely safe on the streets, even at night. For dinner we picked another local restaurant; Three Travelers. We were at a loss as to exactly what we were supposed to do. Each table was equipped with a gas burner in the middle. A very nice waitress helped us order and soon brought a huge ceramic pot to fit the hole in the table. They lit the burner and that stuff got hot in a hurry. Again, nothing but chopsticks and a spoon. But we managed and it was delicious.

Of special note: they serve huge bottles of beer here.

The capper to the day -- a motorcycle taxi ride to the Bund section of town, along the Huangpu river. Spectacular at night! And to end the day -- a gin and tonic in the hotel bar, watching a Beyonce video.

We are tired beyond description... and now, on to Day Two!