Today was very fun. It's still pretty darn chilly here, but after a mellow morning, I met up with Sam and we went to an area that has a lot of great little neighborhood streets, a Confucian temple, and a book fair. The streets were great, laundry hanging everywhere, street food (yum), and I witnessed the very Shanghai thing of people wandering around in their pajamas. Got a picture of one lady, even. And then we ran across some book sellers just outside of the temple wall. Eventually we found the entrance to the temple and made our way in to find a huge book fair in the courtyard. It was fun to see some of the very old books, plus things like "Kidney Black Market". Not sure what a book about that would say...
Once inside the other part of the temple, we found total peace and beauty in the middle of Shanghai. It was so lovely! Many great rocks and a nice pond, lovely buildings, Shanghai's first library (with things dating back to the 1400's), a collection of teapots, and just a pleasant place to be. Lots of good stuff and a ton of photos there, too.
Once we left there we went to another area of town to get food, this time from Macau. It was incredibly tasty, and I had my favorite beverage so far: a tea made from carrot, water chestnut, and sugarcane. I can't explain it, but it was so delicious! I want to make this at home. The rest of the food was great, too!
And then I managed to figure out that we were near the Barbie flagship store, and got Sam to take me there. I had just read about this 5-story building in Fast Company magazine, and wanted to see it for myself. So amazing. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's really quite impressive. I loved loved loved the Barbie wall surrounding the central spiral staircase. I have a million photos of it from various angles, plus many other fun things around the store. Plus Flat Stanley tucked into the arm of a huge barbie. Good stuff.
And finally we ventured to a nearby coffee house that Sam knew. It's run by a coworker and her college roommate, and it's tucked far into a building so that you'd never find it. It looks like you're going to somebody's apartment on the 3rd floor when you go there, and it's a very relaxed place. We spent time talking to them and enjoying coffee and milky tea, and after a long while ventured out into the rain to head home.
Once back, I joined Itamar and Fabiane for pizza night, featuring the finals of the English Cup competition. Did you know that in Brazil, almost everybody puts ketchup on their pizza? And many people (including Fabiane) put mustard and mayonaise, too? Wacky!
Now I'm trying to get my pics to upload, but it's slow so I may just give up tonight. I'll post fav's tomorrow.
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