Zai Jian Carrie...

Well, Carrie left this week for Pudong Airport, and it was really sad to see her go. After our back-to-back visits from Chris and Carrie, we're finding both the apartment, and Shanghai, suddenly very big and quiet. And that last comment is really saying something!

Carrie arrived at the end of January, so her departure today on March 5 has meant she had become part of the fixtures around here -- just like Chris did. I really miss the fact that we had someone to share our adventure with...and our favorite haunts...and now we're back on our own to fend for ourselves...when she left Carrie said that she was proud of me...for braving the streets of Shanghai, for one thing! So she has seen firsthand what a daunting daily prospect that is...and everything aside, you really do have to see this city, and experience it firsthand, to appreciate its challenges. I'm proud of her for making the half-round the world trip to do so! (Even if she did say that surviving the streets of Shanghai made her feel sometimes like her head was rotating around Exorcist-style in order to catch sight of all the vehicles...:-)

But there are wonderful aspects of the whole Shanghai trip, too! A highlight for all of us was Carrie's treat to us with a brunch at the Westin Hotel, where we enjoyed what has to be the most amazing buffet of our lives whilst listening to an equally incredible array of live music -- all in the palm-festooned lobby. While dining on lobster, shrimps, lamb, beef, and caviar we were treated to a full-course orchestra playing Strauss waltzes, a tenor and soprano singing Italian opera and guitarists playing Spanish music. Afterwards a group of Chinese traditional dancers and acrobats put on a performance in the middle of the lobby. To top it all off, we complemented the free flow champagne with coffee and liquers. This was Carrie's going-away present to us, and we were all really glad that the hype of the Westin Sunday brunch lived up to its name...it's always booked solid, and now we know why. As you can see from the pictures, it was truly a smorgasbord of food, music and entertainment.

Afterwards, Carrie and I went back to the Yu Yuan section of the city, and we both bought a number of souvenirs and presents. Then the day wouldn't have been complete without a last trip to Xin Tian De -- which had become one of Carrie's favorite locales -- where I enjoyed perhaps my last Gluwein (a seasonal drink...the recent warming temperatures have caused at least one restaurant to drop it from its menu) and then we explored a museum that is an old Shanghai house that has been opened to the public. It was amazing to see the rooms and artifacts of the 1930's, and having it to ourselves made it feel as if the occupants had just left to go about their business of old town Shanghai. Speaking of which, we also took in the actual "Old Town", which is a collection of narrow streets filled with vendors and shops that have yet escaped the wrecking ball...but for how much longer is anyone's guess.

And as if to accentuate this fact, walking home we were dismayed to discover another casualty of this bustling metropolis...our favorite corner restaurant, where we had all dined mid-week, was closed up and empty. And they hadn't even said zai-jian! (good-bye) Carrie was as upset as I was, as this was one of our most frequented and favorite restaurants...and that just goes to show how much Carrie had become entrenched in our Shanghai scene!

But rather than be sad about Carrie leaving, this blog is dedicated to her visit. When asked what her highlights of the trip were, she said that they almost all took place on water...which was doubly incredible, when you think that she hates being on a boat! But her favorite watery outings were: Number one, the tour of Halong Bay on the five-star "Valentine", followed by number two: the dragon boat tour of the Perfume River, and as you can see...number three, the Huangpu River in Shanghai by night. Number four was the Westin Brunch, and five was the incredible Hanoi-Hue train trip in Vietnam (sorry, but the only picture we took is in the previous Vietnam blog.)

But as Carrie said on the eve of her departure, time sure does fly as you grow older...and isn't that the truth? It seems, for example, that we just arrived in Shanghai -- in some ways -- and now Chris and Carrie's visits have come and gone. On her last night we all had a wonderful dinner in our now favorite local cafe, (since Zentral's has done the midnight dash) called the "Kommune", where we enjoyed a great dinner before coming back to crash. We spent the rest of the evening watching DVD's as usual, and in this case, Michael Palin's "Himalyean" trip, and "Pole to Pole" trips...now we'll have to finish the series, as well as our Shanghai adventure, sans Carrie!!

I guess it's count-down time until we're back in the summer. But like our last visit to China, we definitely found that even though the last few months flew by, we couldn't wait to get home. Now we'll have the extra challenge of knowing that we'll only be home until mid-August before we have to fly back for the next school year...oh well, we'll worry about that when the time comes.

So Zai Jian, Carrie...and thanks for flying half-way-around the world to see us, and bringing your political discussions, home-made meals, and treats from the "Top Supermarket" and "Paul".

We miss you!

See you soon,

Love,
Amy & Roel

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