Shanghai from the sky!

Outside the hostel

When Mum and Libby first arrived, they were rather taken by Shanghai and so, it was with much enthusiasm (and a little sadness about leaving Wuxi) that we headed back to Shanghai for their final two days in China.

Pearls!

"This is not a good quality one!"

Shopping, of course, was on the agenda, with the first stop being the Hongqiao Pearl Market. We were confronted by row after row of pearl stores .... which one to choose? Finally, we were lured in by Juli Ann who, within seconds, had dozens of strands of pearls strewn across the counter. For over an hour, Juli Ann described the differences in quality (and price!). We finally departed clutching our new pearls and with our wallets slightly lighter. Thanks Mum for my first set of pearls!

Cloud 9 on the 87th floor

Bubbles on top of Shanghai

Since living in China, I have always wanted to go up one of the super tall buildings for a night time view of Shanghai. So, having visitors provided the perfect excuse for us to ride high into the sky. We decided to go up the JinMao Tower, rather than the World Financial Centre (which is the third tallest building in the world), purely because there was a bar at the top and every girl needs a glass of champagne after a hard day shopping! After two lift changes, we arrived at the 87th floor - wow!

Expensive....but oh so tasty!

The view was absolutely spectacular, the company was sensational and the champagne, well, at $200 a bottle, it was definitely wonderful. But, as was the cry for much of the holiday, premiere location always comes with a premiere price! Whilst Cloud 9 is an amazing location, the bar itself is a little stuffy and it was almost like there should have been a sign on the door saying 'No laughter'.

Birds eye view of Shanghai

The last stop of our luxurious day was at an art fundraiser event in the French Concession. Here, we looked at art by local and expatriate artists while quaffing cheap wine. Being a fundraiser meant that there was a raffle and after a couple of wines, several tickets were purchased. It was a lucky night for us - I won a wine voucher and a bottle opener but Ashley took away the big prize of a wine tasting experience for 10 people. Needless to say, he had quite a crowd around him after that.

Then it was on to the cheap stuff!

The final shopping stop on Wednesday, the last day, was the fabric market, where I had a new summer wardrobe made, as well as a couple of silk dresses for the weddings I will be attending over the holiday period. For just over $200, I was able to choose fabrics, be fitted and have five dresses made! And of course, Mum and Libby bought more scarves!

Winners are grinners!

Fun at the art exhibition

It was with much sadness that I bid farewell to Mum and Libby on Wednesday afternoon, but it is only 3 weeks until I will be home in Australia to see my family again. There are still many stories from our China trip to share....stay tuned for future blog posts. Thanks for a wonderful trip ladies!