City Envy

I am totally jealous of everyone who lives in Shanghai!  TOTALLY!!!!!!!!!  Yes, I think Monday was one of the more perfect days out there.  And yes, it was quite miserable when we went there over Christmas (rain and cold no fun), but Monday was gorgeous clear blue skies and everything.  But that's not the only reason that I'm jealous.  I stayed with a friend in Shanghai and she had this view:

They have grocery stores that sell things like Vanilla.  When we were trying to decide what to do for dinner, she listed the cuisines; Sushi, Schrwama, Indian, Thai, Brazilian barbecue, Russian.... I'm sure I'm missing something, but I can't think of what it is--compare this to "do you want Hubei or Sichuan?" that you get in Wuhan.  THEN on the way home we dropped by the organic bakery to pick up a loaf of bread made with spelt, and some cheese!  And if you still don't see why I'm jealous, here's a picture of a fresh squeezed juice machine!  That's right, a vending machine that sell fresh squeezed juice!!

Luckily, it's only 5 hours away by train, so we really can escape if we have to.

Walking...but not in Wuhan

Monday I had to go into Shanghai to see a dentist (BOO).  Luckily, things were not as dire as they seemed, so I basically had a free day (YAY) to wander around Shanghai. It was a beautiful day, blue skies, mild weather, lots of quiet streets....

well manicured green spots

Phone booths with WIFI!

The Shanghai Metro map... so convenient

I know it's new, but look how clean!

Quiet tree lined streets

Neighborhood pedestrian areas

skin care boutiques at the mall

people's park

the big pedestrian street

for your protection

the fancy new Shanghai train station

This guy has on roller skates and fans!

Shanghai

I finally published this post that I started way back at the end of January....

I'm finally back from my whirlwind tour of China with my sister.  When I worked in the consular section in Beijing I always thought it was crazy that Chinese business men would go to America for a week and see 10 American cities.  But, this is the second whirlwind tour of China that I've done, so I guess it's not that crazy.  After spending several days in Chengdu, Sis and I flew to Shanghai.  While in Shanghai we stayed in the French Concession.  Granted we were only there for a day, but Shanghai is a very pretty place, even with snow melting into mud puddles on the street.  As we breezed through (no time to stop and look, we only had a day to see everything we could) the streets I couldn't help but notice the little bakeries, the small clothing shops, and even tinier coffee shops.
Unfortunately we had to whisk ourselves right out of the French Concession and into the very heart of Shanghai.
It is easy to see how Shanghai can be considered to be one of the cities of the future.  It is growing at an amazing rate, clean and modern.  In comparison to Chengdu, traffic flows nicely, people follow traffic laws, and pedestrians stay on the side walks and in cross walks (for the most part).  The Shanghainese are fashion conscious and stylish. 
When I see Shanghai, I am reminded again how Americans are losing sight of what's important.  Yes, American cities are at a disadvantage, after all how many US cities can boast a population of several million people, but still, the city center in Shanghai is bustling.  Lights, shops, eateries, all centered around a fairly busy pedestrian street.  The subways are clean and efficient, and there are buses that connect the distant parts of the city (so I'm told, Chinese busses still scare me, the maps are in Chinese, and the streets often fly by too fast to read a map). 
Seeing all this, I wonder what the world expo was like.  I'm sorry I missed it, I've been told it was a sight to behold.