Yu Garden Views, Shanghai, June 2014

I’m currently revising Serpentine so my words are limited,

for all those who are looking for a China update. =) I’m not

very good with travelogues in general, preferring visuals, because

i actually keep a travel journal so all my thoughts and details

go in there. All parts of my China trip were amazing, with too

many highlights to count, but Shanghai was the first city I was

in on my own. And I had splurged on an amazing boutique hotel

on The Bund (worth every penny!) and there’s nothing like waking

up and walking through a city by yourself. I don’t think it’s an

experience I’ve had very much in my life, as I’ve been married near

twenty years (yep) and have always had a traveling partner with hub.

One of the major sights I wanted to see, within walking distance,

was the famous Yu Yuan (garden). As you can see, i’m fascinated

more by the architectural details than the actual fauna there–which

were beautiful as well. The garden itself sits in a warren of boutiques

and shops catering to tourists, and I enjoyed browsing through that

as well.

I got to the garden early (by 9.30am, I believe) and it was quiet

and nearly empty. Then I was in a shop that sold original Chinese

brush paintings and I spent too much money buying two originals

I really loved–by the time I reemerged near 11am, the garden was

very crowded. So I’m glad I went early for that peaceful morning

ambiance. (This was on a Monday, so I can’t imagine how busy it

would have been on a weekend.)

After, my high school friend treated me to steamed xiao long

bao (crab roe and regular) as well as veggie buns. All so delicious!

The ground floor has a hundred people long line for the take out

of xiao long bao, but the third floor, where we dined, had the more

pricy fare (with crab, etc.).

I only had one full day in Shanghai, and this was my morning. =)