Finally in Shanghai

No bus or car waiting for us so we lined up for a taxi. The lined snaked in and out several times before we got to the top of the line, where staff were directing patrons to each car. we estimated the queue to be about one hundred and fifty people when we joined but it did move quite quickly and there were guards/staff directing things so no queue jumpers.

Seventy yuan got us to the hotel or about $13. We had to check in with the travel agents first and they did most of the hotel check in then we got our football tickets, room keys/cards one each which was a first and breakfast vouchers. I am sure that my passport went in and out of my handbag half a dozen times in a few minutes.

The room was nice and clean with a window seat, large lounge chair and a window to the bathroom, which can be a bit offing.

The hotel is not far off where we used to stay when we came to Shanghai when we lived in China, sometimes we would go there for a sanity break as there foreigners just blended in with every body else, after a rest we went for a walk in familiar territory. One of our meeting places, a maccas were not there but the butcher street was stil there and operating. These are shops facing the road side and the sides of lamb and goat are hanging with a large butchers block which they cut the cuts of meat to the customers wishes, some places cooked the meat as well, things like kebabs.

The park outside our old hotel was very shady the trees have grown tall green and bushy, it has a running track around the outside and many people used to exercise their dogs and people would also run or walk around it. To get there was to negotiate a six lane roadway under an overpass so we didn't go over as we were heading to our favourite place to eat in Shanghai, an authentic Italian restaurant.

Damn and blast! it is now a fast food pizza takeaway place. I guess still Italian but not what we wanted or expected to find. We walked back in the circular route that we used to do after eating there, which included going near the Bund, past the Westin Hotel and foreign bookshop looking for a place to eat and eat. many places but no appealed or a couple we went into, where only serving coffee and cakes. We wanted dinner!

Almost back to the hotel and we saw a StarBucks, i am not keen on their food but i knew Warren was hungry, again on offer was coffee and cakes and a couple of sad looking sandwiches. We walked out and saw a golden arch, not McDonalds but we were hoping it was one that we had been familiar with, a Yemeni restaurant we went in hopeful.

Yes, it was, menu was in pictures and better yet the girls spoke English, we ordered green beans rice eggplant sweet and sour pork and a platter of bread. Yum, a delighful meal for 88rmb approx $16.

Funny thing, we had been poured green tea, in many places that just happens without ordering, I had almost finished mine so I grabbed the teapot that was on the table and poured into my glass, oops, I had just topped my glass up with soy sauce. We asked for a coke after that.