Last Days in China - April 5 - 6



Variety of food sold at the street market



We started Tuesday off with a nice breakfast at Element Fresh, the restaurant in the hotel where we are staying.  We are fortunate to get free hot breakfast with our stay.  We had accomplished most of what we wanted to do the last two days but did want to do a bit more touring.  We decided to go back to walk through the fruit and vegetable shop area but take a different route this time.  As we went down the different streets we did indeed find a lot of interesting foods (?) to buy.  There on the side of the street were live eels, turtles, frog, fish of all sorts, chickens, ducks, doves, eggs from different birds, and other things we weren’t sure what they were.  I always enjoy visiting places like this because it shows the differences in our cultures. 

Enjoying tea

We than stopped by a tea shop to look at getting some tea and look at a couple of other items.  The lady at the store asked if we wanted to try  different teas and we tried jasmine, wulong with ginseng, and fruit tea with six different types of fruit… apple, lemon, lychee, orange, pomegranate and another one we do not remember.  We always enjoy trying new teas and got some to share with others.  During the tea “ceremony” you sit at a low table and they pour small cups of tea.  The table is designed so any spillage runs off the table into a drain on the floor.  They are however very low and you sit on low stools which caused my feet to start going to sleep after a short while.



Sophie's name being artistically written

We than walked through several stores and decided to get Samuel and Sophie a wall hanging with their names spelled out in colorful artsy letters.  It was fun to watch the man do the letters.  We then went into a shopping  area we had walked by the day before and did not even know it was there.  It was actually an outdoor mall with a variety of stores and was a very busy place. 

Out door shopping mall in Shanghai

We had lunch there at a Chinese restaurant after passing through a very crowded cafeteria area.  After lunch we made a call to the tailor making Eileen’s dress and they said it was ready so we got a bus to the Hong Qiao New World Pearl Market.  Eileen tried the dress on and there were some issues with it that needed to be fixed.  After some discussion we left with the promise it would be corrected by 11 AM tomorrow.  There was concern knowing tomorrow was our last day here.

Jan here - We did a bit more walking around the Pearl Market and then headed home for a relaxing evening.  We had bought stuff to make stir-fry and rice, so that was our dinner…and fruit too of course!

Horse statues along bus route to Pearl Market

Today is Thursday….we had another full and fun day just being together.  We went in the morning to the nearby grocery store that had imported foods so Eileen could stock up on some goodies she was wanting to take home.  You know…cake mixes, pop tarts, cheetos, sun chips, baking powder and such.  Then we headed back to the Pearl Market for the dress.  This time it fit nicely!  I may be a bit prejudice but she looked gorgeous in it!  As we were walking out we were looking in yet more shops and she found a nice sweater she could wear with it so that was great. 



Night view from our room



It is fun to bargain for things and see how low you can go.  The trick is being willing to walk out of the store and away from whatever it is you want to buy telling them your highest price you are willing to pay…which is way lower than they are asking…they almost always will come after you then and than tell you can have it at your price.  It sounds mean but to be honest it’s part of the game and they start so high to begin with because it’s expected so you have to do it or hurt their feelings for not bargaining!  By the time we left there we were getting hungry but wanted to eat somewhere nice and maybe Italian/American so took the bus to an area where we know we could find a bunch of restaurants to choose from.  It is good the buses are so inexpensive to ride.  The 3 of us road the bus for 40 minutes for a dollar total!!

So back to lunch…we ended up eating at a place called Kaab Bistro…good variety…Roger and I went for nice pasta dishes and Eileen had burger and fries.  The hamburger (which I had to taste and wished we had a picture of) was huge and so good.  It was about 6 inches tall form top to bottom with the meat part most of it.  After lunch Roger wanted to wander the antique market again and look for old locks (just something he finds fascinating)…so Eileen and I went to the store once again…we got a roast chicken and bread for supper tonight!  Yummy!!

Another night view from our room

As I write Roger is packing up our suitcases…we head out in the morning.  It is so hard to say goodbye to Eileen again and know it will be December before we see her again but I am so thankful for these days we have had together to just be together…eat, laugh, walk, talk, shop and play games etc.  And…I am so thankful to be able to go next to see Lucas, Jamie, Sam and Sophie and see where they live and spend time with them…what a blessing.  To be honest I struggle with a lot of different emotions these days...excitement to be with our kids (at least 2 of them) and sadness that our trip is nearing the end…excitement to be home again and see what our Father has for us next…sadness to say goodbyes…back and forth the emotions go…I guess its normal…and one of these days I will have time to process it all…but not tonight.  I just want to enjoy the last night with Eileen being thankful…I can see progress anyway.  I have learned to embrace the transition…stay engaged where I am until I leave….giving thanks for the time there and with them…and then…look forward to whatever is ahead…thank you Father for that!