Chris - mas

Hello everyone from the three of us! Chris, as you know, is here for one month over Christmas and the new year...and his first week has gone by in the flick of an eye. It's simply awesome having Chris here, and not just for the fact that we got to spend Christmas together, but it's wonderful being able to share our Shanghai adventure with him.

From the start we've been storing up places for Chris to see, and so far his itinerary has been pretty busy, from buying a bike on his second day, to using it to cover the waterfront (or Haungpu riverfront!) as the pictures will attest. The first afternoon we went to Xin Tian De - our favorite collection of restaurants and just general 'chill' place -- and a few of the locale's restaurants we've gone to since are Chris' fave, "Din Tai Feng" (voted one of the 10 best restaurants in the world according to the New York Times) and one of my personal faves, "Kabb" where we went on Chris' first night, and have since been back to for brunch -- and possibly for New Year's dinner.

Christmas took over the first week, and as Chris himself said he managed to get stuffed with it! On Xmas Eve we went to the Ramada hotel for an all-you-can eat banquet that included turkey and all the trimmings, (along with such offerings as lamb, ham and filet mignon cooked to order) and 'free flow' wine, champagne and beer. Roel was disappointed that there wasn't a river of alcohol running through the place, but in a sense there was -- as our headaches the next morning proved. So, needless to say, the evening was a blast! Since the hotel is located on the Pedestrian Street - Nanjing Dong Lu -- we finished off by walking along in the festive throngs sporting a variety of headgear -- Mickie Mouse ears, Reindeer Antlers, Pigs Ears and Devil's Horns -- and shouting "hello", and "Happy New Year" to us as we passed. Then we sat and watched from an outdoor cafe with a hot Bailey's coffee -- Xmas in Shanghai...can't beat it!

On Xmas day we opened prezzies and then went to "New Heights" bar where we enjoyed a fantastic lunch overlooking the Bund and then brought our ''turkey-to-go" package back for Xmas dinner. Roel was rhapsodizing about the history of the place, saying things like the view of the actual Bund hasn't changed in almost 100 years -- and he's right. The place has a historic, art deco feel about it -- and it was filled with expats spending Christmas day in its historic ambience -- with a fantastic view of the harbour. Back at the apartment, we discovered that the Xmas package contained all the trimmings -- turkey, stuffing, roast vegetables, cranberry sauce, gravy and even a pretty cheese cake -- and its generous portions allowed for many turkey sandwiches to follow. So we don't feel that we missed out on Xmas goodies. Others we've enjoyed have been Xmas cake (from home) mince tarts (from Starbucks) and "Xmas in the mouth" itself, "Baileys" (from City Shop). So the holiday was completely do-able in Shanghai, and thanks to Chris...and Skype calls to Carly, Craig Jr. and Sr. on Xmas morning, followed by a cell phone call to Carrie and Chalo at night...we managed to "do it" in the words of Chevy Chase, in the movie by National Lampoon. Speaking of Christmas movies, we managed to get our hands on "Deck the Halls" with Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito...and on Xmas day it was a fairly good substitute for "Xmas Vacation" -- but nothing quite measures up to that masterpiece of Xmas movies, in my opinion.

Along with watching a myriad of other bootlegged films, we've also gone to the cinema to see the "The Assembly" which is a violent, but somewhat intriguing story about one man's part in the People's Liberation Army in the communists vs nationalists fight, and the Korean War. The write-ups call it the Chinese "Saving Private Ryan", but seeing the Americans being attacked in the Korean War was off-putting to say the least...nevertheless, the story centered on one soldier's point-of-view and politics didn't really play into the story. Overall Chris felt the story a bit slow, but I enjoyed our experience of seeing our first Chinese film in a theatre, (complete with English sub-titles, of course) and salty popcorn which was offered alongside the sweet version they usually offer.

We've all been having a great time, but as I mentioned in our last blog, on top of everything else Chris has had to contend with having a root canal and a filling since he arrived...the good news is that they cost him a third the price he was quoted in Toronto...so it's good that he has those procedures basically behind him. He needs to finish it off this Friday, but the worst part is over. Apart from the ''brutal" flight over, Chris says that he's going through "Jetlag Lite" to use his own words -- and that's the really good news! The only thing that I'm sorry about is that our holiday is going by so fast, but I'm trying not to dwell on that and enjoy each moment as it comes.

So, for Chris' second week we plan to visit more Shanghai sites, and even take in neighbouring Hangzhou and possibly even Suzhou before Chris leaves for Hong Kong to meet Sylvia. Since he is here long enough to get the "Communist" style coat he wants, we're off today to the Fabric Market to have one custom-made and then to Pudong, to take in the quieter, clearner side of the city from one of my favorite restaurants -- "Element Fresh". At some point the guys want to go to the top of the tower, but since I feel that I've already done my bit by having brunch on Sunday on the 38th floor of the Merriot Hotel, I'll wait it out with a glass of wine on the deck of the restaurant. Naturally, it's back to the bikes for all of this...and we may wheel by the Shanghai Grand Theatre at one point to check out the dates for a live concert. Tomorrow we plan to take a bus tour, because it's not possible to see everything by bike...even though we've been trying!

This is the first installment of Chris in Shanghai...look for at least one more before he leaves.

Happy new year, or 新年快乐 and have a drink of egg nog for us!

Amy and Roel

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