Best Visit Ever!

We were blessed with an amazing visit from Rod, Katie, Paul and Karen.  We had so much fun showing them some of our favorite spots and eats in Shanghai and the time went by far too quickly.  They were all amazing tourists as they walked miles, mastered the metro, grew accustomed to the craziness of the roads, and ate at local markets instead of just restaurants.  谢谢 for coming!

Dumplings at our local joint

Biking and boating at Century Park

Chillin & Jing'an Temple

Easter fun and the special Easter basket from Karen!

Walking food tour sampling 5 different regional cuisines of China

Ganbei!    -----    Xintiandi

Grandma's heartbeat rose when walking through the turnstiles ;)

Yu Garden

Lost Heaven

Grandma's   ------    The Bund

Brush & Calligraphy Museum   ----   Natural History Museum

Middle Eastern Food Market  ----   Kitchen supply superstore

Jade Buddha Temple   ----   Pearl Tower

Century Park beauty

Bonsai Garden    ----    Uno

Science and Tech Museum

Reflecting   ---   Walking the girls to the bus stop

Nightmare on Art Street

Spring continues to fly by.  The girls helped Ben with a silly video for his Film Production club and they were pretty proud of their efforts:

HD Link

Kara and Ben got a night out on the town when we got our first babysitter.  We headed to the Shanghai Grand Theater where we got to see Carmen.  The music was fantastic and it was a wonderful evening. 

It's starting to get hot here, just in time for our much anticipated visit.  Grandma Katie, Grandpa Rod as well as Paul and Karen are making their ways to Shanghai and we're thrilled to see them.

Whaddya mean we haven't posted in March?

Well, time is flying and it's hard to believe that March is already nearing its end.  We have been going about our daily business and enjoying the beautiful days as they come.  Ben has loved the magnolia tree in bloom outside his classroom window and we see there are a few ready to bloom outside our apartment door.  We've gone to a few parties which have included birthdays, go-karting, celebrating an engagement, a fun run at school, women's day, and being Irish. 

Vivian's class has created a bakery in the classroom

Warm days   ----    New night outfits

 

Failing at badminton    -----    Catching spiders instead

Nina was Ruby Bridges on Hero Day

Year of the Dog

We braved another trip to Disney, which during the Chinese New Year might not have been the best timing.  They sold out of tickets days ahead of time and the lines were ridiculous (many rides had over 2 hour waits).  Apparently going to one of the top 25 destinations in the world on a sunny Friday when everyone is off work was a poor choice. 

The girls still had a great time and were in good spirits throughout.  We tried to do some different activities and watched a pirates acrobatic show, saw the Mickey parade, and stayed to see the fireworks.  Nina started bawling when we had to leave, but it was very sweet.

 

We ended our holiday with some random wandering, good food, and interesting museums.  We found a book/ink/brush district that had all sorts of interesting sights.  Everyone got some books and it's still crazy to see bookstores with 400 year old items and also a Bob Dylan book-collection.