1.14.12 – Marriott Courtyard Puxi Shanghai
The shower had a rain showerhead and a regular showerhead that could be used at the same time. It was one of the nicest rooms both Glenn and I had stayed in. When we arrived, it was raining and cold so Glenn and I decided to just have dinner at the hotel restaurant. I ended up getting some fantastic carrot soup and a great Black Cod dish. I wasn’t feeling well after dinner so we called it a night.
1.15.12 Big Bamboo, Propaganda Art Center, Boxing Cat Brewery, Xiantaldi, Tian Zi Fung
The breakfast buffet at the Courtyard was incredible and overwhelming. So many great options – sticky rice, BBQ pork buns, plus all the Western options, fresh fruit, Danish, etc. After breakfast, Glenn had a great idea to find a spot to watch the Patriots playoff game. After some internet research, we headed to Big Bamboo. 
Walking in was a little shocking – the place was absolutely packed! We found a little spot upstairs at the bar and ordered two of the biggest beers I have seen in a while. The game started at 9:30 am Beijing time.
It was a lot of fun. After 4 hours of beer, BLTs and Patriot victory, we headed out for some culture. I had read about the Propaganda Art Centre in the guidebook so we set out to find it. It’s a little weird because it is in the basement of an apartment complex in the French Concession. Admission was US$4 a person. It features propaganda posters from the 40s thorough the late 70s. Very pro-Russia and anti-American posters in the early years. Lots of pro-worker, we will rise together, and join Korea messaging.
Surprising to me were the posters calling for support of the US Civil Rights and the US Anti-Vietnam movements. It was also interesting to see how the messaging moved to anti-Russia statements towards the 70s. I was surprised by the hand written signs containing quotes from Mao and indictments of neighbors and friends who weren’t supporters. Mao supporters would hang these indictments up in their neighborhood on any open surface.
We headed back toward the subway – stopping at the Boxing Cat Brewery to try their Scotch Ale and Winter Warmer Ale.
It’s really developed since we were there 2 years ago though the clientele is still all expats. We bundled up and headed toward Xintaldi – a high end shopping area. It’s a few shops along an older set of buildings then conenected to a large mall. The mall was a set of very small boutiques with only a couple shelves of tops or pants. It’s amazing there’s enough business. We then headed down to Tian Zi Fung – a great little shopping area in a series of alleys.
We had dinner in a café. I had the best cup of tea – a citrus tea with honey. I also had a greal meal with Kimchi rice “cakes” – more like very dense long gnocchi. It was so interesting and so good.
Glenn had a good fried rice dish.
After dinner, we headed back to the Courtyard.
1.16.12 Science and Technology Fake Market, Fried Dumplings, Xian Nan Guo Spa and Dim Sum
The day started with a leisurely breakfast. We headed down to the fake market at the Science and Technology Museum. The area was very nice. Individual stores had one type of item – purses, clothes, jackets, scarves, etc. We went through several of the purse stores. Merchants offered secret rooms of Louis Vuitton and pulled LV wallets from under piles of other purses. I am not a Louis Vuitton girl so I found it very humorous. I did find a great red travel bag (or bowling bag as Glenn likes to call it). The store owner gave the price at 480RMB (US$80). I got her down to 180RMB (US$30) after walking away. I feel like I got a very good price for this lovely leather bag. I found another beautiful 8.5x 11” pink purse. She started at 780RMB (US$130). I got her down to 165RMB (US$27) again walking away twice. We headed back to the hotel with our purchases. After dropping things off, we headed back out in search of a soup dumplings. We had general info on how to find the dimpling place, but after a thirty minute search, we gave up and headed to a Vietnamese restaurant for pho soup, cuttlefish balls, and sautéed pork. YUum!
We regrouped and headed back out to continue our dumpling search. We found it!!
We bought four dumplings for US$1. The dumplings were steaming hot and the liquid poured out when I bit into them.
They were very very good. After dumplings, we headed west to a bath house. This was definitely a locals’ place. It is affiliated with and located behind a well-known dim sum restaurant Xian Nan Guo. We were told to follow the signs through the alley.
We were pleasantly surprised to emerge from the dumpsters and employee parking to find a four story building. We turned in our shoes, got slippers, and headed to the separate men’s and women’s areas. It was time to take it all off. No one spoke English, but they pointed me to where to shower and then head out to the whirlpools, steam room, and saunas. I opted for a very thorough body scrub. I laid on a table and an attendant scrubbed off my dead skin cells with a rough glove while I got a cucumber mask. Glenn said the men’s area (and scrub) was very similar. After the whirlpools and steam room, I changed into their Hawaiian print pajamas and headed up to the 4th floor. The second floor had a café for dim sum. The 3rd floor was private mahjong and game playing rooms. The 4th floor had a VIP area, treatment rooms and the recliner room. I walked into a room with 125 recliners, each with their own tv. From here, we ordered juices, dim sum and received an intense 90 minute foot massage. I squirmed a little bit as the masseuse applied pressure to my sore feet. The foot massage even included cupping – where the masseuse heated the inside of a glass cup and applied it to the bottom of my feet. The heat creates a suction to increase blood flow. This was so weird at first and I won’t try it until Glenn assured me that it did not hurt. It ended up being the most relaxing part of the massage. After five hours there, we figured we should head back to the hotel. The five hours, scrubs, massages, juices and dim sum all totaled $110 for the two of us. Just awesome!
1.17.12 – The Long Journey Back to San Francisco
Our long journey home started with a flight from Shanghai to Beijing then from Beijing to San Francisco. The Air China flight was Beijing to San Francisco was a little scary. During takeoff – water began streaming from the overhead bins.
Our long journey home started with a flight from Shanghai to Beijing then from Beijing to San Francisco. The Air China flight was Beijing to San Francisco was a little scary. During takeoff – water began streaming from the overhead bins.
The woman next to me collected about 7 ounces of water by making a little cup out of her plastic covered blanket. Then we hit turbulence that made the plant pitch and creak in a way that was disconcerting. The leaking began again on the descent. We will not be flying on Air China again. Ever.
After gathering our bags and our rental car, we headed back to the Vagabond Inn Executive. We got to the hotel around 1:30 pm – about 2 hours after landing. Usually, we try to adapt to the local time, but both Glenn and I were suffering from severe colds so we just slept for 7 hours, had some pizza and went back to sleep. After a very rough night where my fever broke and Glenn could not shake a severe cough, we were ready to head to Napa Valley.
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