Our Spring Break has come and gone and I wish it weren't over so soon. My parents came to visit from the States, with a friend of theirs, and we had 8 lovely days together. Pete and I miss our families terribly so when they come, it’s the best treat!
[above] Reese and Babcia ("grandma" in Polish) playing Boggle Jr.
And, of
course, it doesn’t hurt that when my family comes they bring goodies from my
aunt’s Polish deli in Seattle. Reese even got some
gifts, including a couple new dresses and half a dozen books about dinosaurs
(her newest obsession).
We took my parents and their friend to Tianzifang, an artsy
pedestrian-only shopping area,
to the Bund (Shanghai’s riverfront promenade
where you can see all the skyscrapers),
and up to the “bottle-opener”
(Shanghai’s 2nd tallest skyscraper with observation decks on the 94th
and 97th floors)... but sadly the pollution was so bad that afternoon, none of our photos from up there turned out!
Of course,
we also took them around our neighborhood,
[above- our building is the red brick one on the left-side of this photo...]
[above- Reese loves listening to this blind couple play music near our park...]
showed them the school where I work,
and the
parks and stores that make up our day-to-day life.
[above- this is part of the meat section in our local grocery store, turtles & frogs & all...]
On their 3rd day in China we departed for a short
trip to Hong Kong—Asia’s equivalent of New York City. Hong Kong is super-urban, densely-packed and
wonderfully international. While it
rained most of the time we were there, we were still able to catch Victoria
Peak,
a harbor cruise,
the Avenue of Stars (including Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan),
several temples,
and a double-decker bus tour that took us around many of the major sights.
Of course, Pete, Reese, and my Dad were chatting up the locals while the rest of us were sight-seeing:
We even spent one morning in Stanley, on the quieter south
side of the island, at a little market and eating seafood along the waterfront
while Reese played.
When we returned to Shanghai, the weather was much better
and we ate lunch in cafes, visited another park, did some shopping,
and went for one more river cruise so that they could see Shanghai at night.
[above- Mom and her friend in a tea shop...]
and went for one more river cruise so that they could see Shanghai at night.
My parents and their friend have now joined another couple
and a travel group and are on a tour of China.
In less than two weeks they’ll see the Three River Gorges & Dam, the
terracotta soldiers of Xi’an, Beijing (including Tiananmen Square and the
Forbidden City) and the Great Wall.
I’m
terribly jealous since they’re seeing more of China than we are, but I’m sure
we’ll cover all these landmarks soon enough. Until then, we'll have our memories!
