China Trip Pt. 2

Monday, May 16 (day after the marathon and our last full day in Beijing)

Walked a half marathon around Beijing! Not the best recovery day because by the end, we had to take a rickshaw back to our hotel. So sore!! We walked to this incredible shopping district with everything from merchandise, to scorpions on a stick and the largest escargot I've ever seen. Enjoyed a beer in the shade and then proceeded to the Forbidden City which ended up being closed on Mondays (big bummer). Max and I walked through a park/garden next to the city and the made our way to Tiananmen Square. It's a huge/spacious plaza.

Tiananmen Square

From the square, we took the subway to the Temple of Heaven and made a pit top at Starbucks (thank goodness Starbucks is international - I had the best black tea lattes in my life).  Before heading back to the hotel we grabbed an authentic Chinese dinner from a restaurant next door. Max had pettitoes aka pigs feet, ew.  Surely enough, we passed out early.

Tiananmen Square

Temple of Heaven

Tuesday, May 17
Arrived at the railway station to hop the bullet train to Shanghai. 320 km (200 miles) an hour, a 5 hour train ride from Beijing to Shanghai.  USA take notes, seriously. Once we got to the Shanghai railway station, we hopped on the subway 10 line all the way to our hotel. It took roughly 35 minutes by subway. We checked into the hotel then causally walked to People's Square. Reminds me of Michigan Ave in Chicago or Park Ave in New York City. The shopping, so much shopping. We grabbed food from street vendors and people watched while we snacked on squid, Takoyaki and a Chinese "breakfast" burrito. Then we walked through People's Square to a fun spot in the middle of a park, similar to Central Park but not nearly as big, and found Barbarossa. What a wonderful spot. It's a hidden gem. We made it for happy hour and half off all alcoholic drinks. Score! Then we walked around the corner to have a night cap at Cest La Vie Cafe for beer, pizza and a shot of Havana rum.

People's Square

Wednesday, May 18

Room view from the Bund Riverside Hotel

Max and I stayed at the Bund Riverside Hotel during our stay in Shanghai.  It was a great location and very convenient.  The staff was superb and upon our request to switch rooms due to construction going on in the hotel, they were kind and willing to "upgrade" our room!  Great service!Wednesday morning we walked to the bund and stopped in at Starbucks for breakfast and a latte, then walked along the river to see the Shanghai skyline. Amazing.  We were wondering the streets of Shanghai and happened to stumble into Yuyuan Garden tourist mart, tons of shopping and street vendors.  Yuyuan Garden is known for classical Chinese architecture, exquisite sculptures and carvings, and the busy Yuyuan bazaar.  We walked back to hotel where I took a nap and got ready to walk the big shopping outdoor plaza and stopped to eat dinner at Mojo Cafe, then walked back to Barbarossa for happy hour and ladies night!  Ladies drink for free!  Winning. After arriving back at the hotel I was able to easily text my Kai now that he was back in the states from his Jamaican vacation.  So thankful for all the capabilities of smart phones.

Stumbled into Yuyuan Garden.

Yuyuan tea house.

Thursday, May 19
Slept in and had a quick breakfast from the hotel cafe then walked to "cheap" street for more shopping!  Ate a big carb loaded lunch and walked around the shopping area some more. Came back to the hotel to relax/nap, and then we hopped the train to the Uni Max went too to hit up the English corner under the statue of Mao. However, the English corner is no longer a staple on the campus so we hopped the subway back towards the hotel and made our way back to the bund. Tried to get in the Bar Rouge but turns out they have a dress code, no flip flops or shorts, haha - so we walked to the Bund Brewery instead.

The Bund, new Shanghai at night.

Friday, May 20

The Bund, new Shanghai in the daytime.

Made our was across the bund and purchased tickets to go the the observatory deck of the tallest building in Shanghai and second tallest building in the world, Shanghai Tower.  It was a rainy day in Shanghai but it didn't stop us from seeing the incredible views.  We were very lucky to also only be sharing our tour and the observation deck with two other individuals.  We definitely planned this on the best day! After the observatory we made our way back to the heart of the city and back to Yuyuan Garden for some more shopping.  Tonight we finally dressed appropriately to get into Bar Rouge and boy does that bar have the BEST view.

The empty observation deck, Shanghai Tower.

Saturday, May 21
Another rainy day in Shanghai.  As our trip was winding down, Max and I decided to go to a movie since it was down pouring the majority of the day.  We saw Captain America: Civil War and yes, it was in English.


Sunday, May 22
Sunday was a very, very long day of travelling.  We made our way back to Beijing via the bullet train from Shanghai early in the morning and went straight to the airport from the railway station via bus.  After arriving to the airport, we were notified our flight had been delayed.  So we walked around for a short time before popping a squat at a Cafe to charge our phones and Max's laptop.  By Sunday, I was so ready to be back in the USA!  Once we landed in Seattle, our layover was a few hours shorter so we didn't have time to take transit into the city to explore.  Instead, we literally walked around the airport until our flight was boarding.  I may have walked 10 laps around that airport to stretch my stiff legs.  Once we landed in Minneapolis, I was so happy to see Kai and was surprised to find a bouquet of welcome home flowers in my room.  He's the sweetest man I know.

Monday, May 23
I'm BACK and I took the day off to relax and sleep off the jet lag before seeing BEYONCE at TCF Bank Stadium.  I was so happy to spend the evening with my girls and see Queen B herself.  So AMAZING.  And that folks, sums up my China vacation :)