The Olympic Dream

Today is my last day in Shanghai and I have so much to tell.

My first day in the office (Friday) I was told that the Olympic torch relay was passing the office at 2:00pm...how exciting!!! So my co-worker Mandy and I headed down to the street for a closer look. The street was packed and let me tell you nothing is more frightening than a group of really excited Chinese people. I felt like I was at a rock concert and on the edge of the mosh pit! They were chanting, waving the Chinese flag and jockeying for the best places, traditionally not the tallest people..they are quite strong! Being the only western face that I could see, I quickly grabbed a flag and began to wave so to fit in..Jennib always the follower! Within 10 minutes there was a big surge in the crowd and I witnessed the flame pass me by. Now being 5'3” (actually 5’5” in my Manolos which made me tallest in the crowd) and being the only western face has its advantages as I was suddenly whisked away and the touch handed to me...



Ok, ok, obviously kidding about the last part but I did see the torch and it was a pretty cool experience.

So after coming as close to the Olympics as I will probably ever get, it was time to start the weekend and time for Phil to arrive. We were staying at the Grand Hyatt. This is where I stayed last time, the one with the really annoying technology but the building is beautiful, has a great bar and it really tall! We stayed in the 77th floor!!


Can I just tell you again how much I love Shanghai?? What a great city! It is such a great mix of history, interesting architecture, culture, awesome neighborhoods, grittiness, amazing food and restaurants. Let me repeat that...AMAZING FOOD AND RESTUARANTS. Phil and I basically ate our way through the city. Boy can we eat.

We had a good mix of touristy pricey, trendy/innovative and traditional Shanghainese cuisine. It was a toss up between trendy/innovative and traditional but I am going for the traditional Shanghainese meal. OH MY GOD! One of my favorite moments of the evening was when (in between chopsticks full of food) I commented on how much I loved the noodles. Phil, knowing my phobia of carbs, commented on how he never thought he would hear those words form JenniB’s lips. Shortly thereafter Phil commented on how much he loved the fried beef...Phil is slowly weaning himself off vegetarianism...never thought I would hear that from his lips. What type of influence are we on each other????

In between our feeding sessions we did manage to work off the food by doing a bit of site seeing.

Here we are at the Shanghai Museum (we did go in)


At The Bund opposite the skyline (terrible pic)


Me and some fish in a garden. Shortly after this photo was taken Phil dropped our map into the water to the shock and dismay of the people around us. I pretended I didn’t know him!


Image from the meat market. That is an actual pig face…give a whole new meaning to pressed ham huh Jeff??


Oh wait one bad thing did happen to me….I was given a counterfeit $50RMB bill. Yup..I was given the shocking news at the café in the museum (don’t worry we were not eating there too..just a beverage). I really didn’t believe the guy so later that afternoon we stopped for ice coffee and I tried to pass it off on Starbucks (hey they have enough money) only to be told..sorry no good. The words “that guy was right” just about left my lips but I quickly regained my “passing counterfeit money” composure and acted shocked and amazed but could feel my face being red as a tomato.

If there is one phrase that will always remind me of Shanghai it would have to be…..”you want handbag, watch, t-shirt…Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton…the knockoffs are endless and the salespeople..lets just say annoying is an understatement.

Bangkok this weekend then a vacation hiatus.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! What did you do?