Visit to Yu Garden

Today we planned to visit Yu Garden, which was built during the Ming Dynasty. However, it was pouring rain again this morning so we stayed in until around noon. We broke out the crayons and the Hello Kitty color book and Cara spent quite a bit of time coloring. She would take out a crayon, scribble a bit, then put it back and take out another one. She made sure she used every one. After a while, we went back to the sports and rec floor of the hotel so she could run around a bit. There are separate rooms for boxing, weightlifting, volleyball, gymnastics, etc and they all have high ceilings and echo. No one was in any of them so she chased around and laughed and hollered all she wanted.

We finally left for the garden and did a bit of sight seeing in the shops around the garden. The place was packed! People were everywhere. We stood in line for steamed buns at a stand which supposedly has the best steamed buns in Shanghai. There was a long line and it probably took a half hour to 45 minutes to get to the front. By the time we got to the front of the line all the pork were gone; they only had pork and crab together. J is allergic to crab, so that kind of put a damper on the whole thing. After tasting the buns, I don't think they were the best I've had in Shanghai. We didn't even eat them all.

After we ate, we went to the garden, which was also very crowded. Cara wanted out of the Ergo, which we didn't dare do because she could've gotten lost in all the people. It was interesting and Denise, our guide, is very knowledgeable about the garden, but it was hard to enjoy or see it with all the people.

After visiting the garden we went to a few more shops. We got a few things, but are waiting to do the majority of our shopping in Guangzhou. It was getting late and time for people to head home from work so the metro was very crowded. All of the pushing and shoving; I'm amazed more people don't fall down. It was a relief to be back to the hotel and have a little dinner.

Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou. I am excited to see what the next leg of our trip brings. I hope Cara does well on the plane and is OK with the transition. I will miss Denise. She's been great. I wish she could go with us to Guangzhou.

Additional note for all of my Ugg-loving friends: There is a clothing show going on in our hotel. A whole floor of little rooms of different designers selling their merchandise. A bought Uggs (real ones) for $42! They are triple that price at Nordstrom! Needless to say, she was excited. I wish they had them in Cara's size.

Also, please see pic of how Cara sleeps in bed. I am sharing the bed with her. Bed sizes are smaller in China; a little bit larger than a twin. This is why I am getting very little sleep! :)