More Shanghai

20/9/13

Today we are free to do as we please.  Eggs for breakfast.  Yahoo!!  I supervised the girl cooking them so they weren't over cooked . Set out about 9.30am and wandered along Nanjim East street which is the main street.   Many very expensive goods in the beautiful shops.  Very cosmopolitan.  Had a coffee at Starbucks and eventually went down into the underground and caught a train to go to the French Concession for lunch. The train system is logical, fast , clean, and easy to use.  But we came up onto street level again through the wrong exit and had trouble finding the French Quarter but a lovely young lady very kindly insisted on taking us there. Found the Fountain restaurant and had an excellent lunch, 3 courses for 150 yuan each (About $A 27).  A small fresh tomato soup, an aussie sirloin steak beautifully cooked and so tasty, and a lovely crème caramel.  Wandered along observing everything and caught a train back to the hotel.  After a rest we braved the horrendous crowds again and fought our way down to the Bund.  Sat there for an hour or so watching the mass of people then fought our way back.  Not my favourite experience.  Eventually found ourselves back at Starbucks and had an orange juice and a muffin for dinner.  We also had chips and and an icecream at a KFC on the way back to the hotel.  Exhausted and hot!  The sheer numbers of people on the streets is hard to comprehend and the noise is deafening. Still, Shanghai is an amazing city , appearing to be very rich and modern but still with life going on in the back streets.