First, the subway. We found it with no trouble this time, but we hit rush hour. It was SO crowded! Sardines doesn't do it justice. Especially since I was 4 inches taller than most of the men in there. We eventually made it to Shanghai Tower, the second tallest building in the world.
Have I mentioned that Scott doesn't do heights?
There was a lot of sea haze, but the view was still spectacular. The elevator is the fastest in the world. It traveled all 118 floors in seconds. You could climb up to the 119th floor. Scott was very freaked out by the window washers outside. There was also the BEST toilets at the top. They had heated seats and a full bidet menu. Honestly, I was simply happy to find clean western toilets, but wow were they fancy!
We descended to safety and took the subway to the French Concession, specifically, Old Town.
We walked and walked and walked. Unfortunately, a few thingswere closed for the upcoming holiday, but we still enjoyed it.
Scott's friend warned us that we shouldn't use maps because they're always out of date. Well, we discovered that was true today! We had a new book, but it suggested a walk that ended up being blocked at almost every turn as the government was tearing down the old and putting up the new. We did find the birthplace of communism in China, the oldest mosque in Shanghai and stopped by the Shanghai Museum and People's Square.
Whew! Thirteen miles logged today!
At the end of the afternoon, we rejoined our group for an amazing acrobatic show. Somehow, we scored awesome seats. Oh, but funny story first. Our group was late, so Scott and I were hanging out in the parking lot watching the equally incredible bus basket going on. Those drivers can park those things inches apart! One driver near us began trying to pull a banner from his windshield. He enlisted a buddy, but they couldn't accomplish it. Scott jumped in and offered a leg up. The three soon had an appreciative audience oohing and aahing at the preshow show. Windshield cleaned!
After the show, our guide got us a private car because he forgot to figure us in when he ordered the van for the day. Not going to say that was a hardship. Our driver zipped in and out of the crazy traffic and we got back in record time.
We were pretty exhausted, so we opted for the hotel restaurant for dinner. My first time being served shrimp and prawns in the shell! But you can't stay next to the ocean and not eat seafood!
For the trip finale, we located the hot tub to loosen up. Several 5yo boys found the foreign couple in the hot tub to be irresistible. We were chased by monsters and given examples of their English lessons. (I want FIVE hamburgers!). Side note: public pools require swim caps in China. Luckily, I had read that and packed a couple because that tub felt SO good at the end of a long day.
That's it folks! We're off to the airport at 0730. Time to go home!
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