Back in Shanghai & William's last week

28th
This morning when we got up the weather was really bad, there was lots of snow!! We went into town and went to the urban planning museum which was really good. They had a boat ride thing where you sat in a boat and there was a video screen in front of you could drive the boat around this port thing. When I went on it, it actually made me feel seasick even though I was on a boat that wasnt moving and I was just looking at a big tv screen!!! For lunch we went to one of the Japanese chain restaurants that are everywhere and william really enjoyed it, but I chose something that wasnt very nice which was annoying, but it was really cheap.
We went to the market for a bit and william got some fake designer stuff and then on the way back home william wanted to go and have a look around people's square. We went in and there was loads of water and slush all over the pavements and my feet got really wet. After a couple of minutes I got really cross because I was so cold so we got the metro home.
When we were back I was getting ready for work when I got a call from one of the teachers who told me that I wasnt actually needed to teach the class that night - it was so annoying, but we went out for a nice tea instead.

29th
Today when we got up it was still snowing but the weather wasnt as bad as it has been. We went and had a walk along the bund. There are always people selling random stuff along the bund for all the tourists like plastic models of the pearl tower and other crap. But there was an old lady selling the most random and funny thing - she was selling those glasses that have a big nose and moustache on them. And whenever a white person went past her she'd go over to them and she actually thought people would want to buy them. Although I have to say I was quite tempted to get one.

We went on the bund sight-seeing tunnel which was so wierd. It is a little tunnel that takes you under the river from the Bund to Pu Dong. You just sit on a little train and there are loads of random flashing lights going off and ghost type people and random music.

We went to the superbrand mall and had a nice chinese lunch at burger king and then had a look around some of the shops. We went to have a look at the pearl tower afterwards, but we didn't go up it because it wasnt a very clear day so we didnt think it would be worth it. We went to the Jinmao tower afterwards to have a drink at the cloud 9 bar, but it was closed so we went to the hotel bar instead which was really nice and very posh!! We had a nice hot drink each and a pudding. I got crepe suzettes which were soooo yummy. It was very pricey though - two drinks and two puddings came to 300yuan which is usually my weekly budget in Shanghai.

We went back home afterwards because I had to get ready to go to work. Teaching was really good tonight because I had the good class and I just had to teach them new words which is really easy.

30th
This morning we had planned to get up early and go to a garden on the suburbs of Shanghai, but the weather was so bad when we woke up, so we went back to sleep for a couple of hours. When we were finally up and ready to go out, we got the metro into town and went to the french concession and had a walk around there. We went to parksons afterwards which is a bit shopping centre that has a western supermarket in the bottom of it, but unfortunately they didnt have any ribena there. Nowhere seems to sell it in Shanghai, its so annoying. We went for a nice lunch, and then we walked to the antiques market, but a lot of the stalls were closed because of the weather. We had a walk to the old town and did a bit of shopping - we went to my new favourite shop, the 2yuan shop!!

31st
This morning we managed to get up early and get on the tourist bus to the gardens. When we were there the conductor on the bus tapped william's knee which meant that we were supposed to get off. But when we got off the bus we just appeared to be standing next to a busy road in the middle nowhere. We decided to walk up the road to the next junction and see if there were any signs for it. When we got there william spotted a map and we quickly found where we were and discovered that the gardens were quite close by. We set off in the direction of the gardens and quickly found ourselves in the middle of a really busy shopping area, and 5 minutes later we arrived at the gardens, which only cost 5yuan to go in!! The gardens were so pretty - maybe my favourite gardens that I've visited in china!!

Afterwards we went to get some lunch and we went to a Japanese restaurant. Even though we had only gone an hour away from the centre of the city, the food seemed a lot cheaper here. We ordered so much, I had some salmon sushi, fried bananas and a bowl of chicken, vegetables and rice with a nice sauce - it was a really random mixture of food, but it was good.

We had a wander around the shops and then we got the bus back. The bus took ages - about 2 and a half hours - because the traffic was so bad. Will wanted to go to a bike shop near the stadium when we got back, but the man in the shop was so annoying and insisted on following us all around the shop. But he wasnt just walking a bit behind us to incase we needed any help - he was actually walking right behind me which made me feel really uncomfortable, so we didnt stay very long. We went to the supermarket and then went home.

1st February
This morning we went to the zoo!!! Unfortunately we couldnt see all the animals because it was still snowing so they weren't all out. But we got to see some good animals like pandas, lions, leopards, labradors!! Yes, they actually had normal dogs on display at the zoo!! It was so wierd, they just had an area called "Pets" and it was just full of different breeds of dogs.

We went to peoples square afterwards to get some lunch and then we went to the market because william wanted to get some stuff to take home. Afterwards we went to a bookshop because william wanted some books to help him learn chinese but it was just closing when we got there so we were a bit rushed. We went to raffles (a shopping centre on peoples square) after to get a snack and then we got the metro home.

When we had got changed and warmed up a bit we went to pizza express in Xintiandi which was so yummy - it might be one of the best meals that I've had in Shanghai. We ordered so much food and I couldnt finish all my pizza so I asked if I could take it home and I got a really cool pizza express bag to take it home in. Even though I couldnt finish all my pizza, I still managed to eat half a piece of chocolate fudge cake.

2nd
This morning we went to the stadium to go ice skating. But by the time we had got there my feet were really wet and cold and I was in a bad mood (again) so I just sat and watched while William went ice skating. I enjoyed taking photos though and laughing at people who were falling over.

We went to Guilin road after where my uni is because I had to go to the post office, and we had a nice lunch on campus. We went to one of the dvd shops afterwards because Will wanted to get some films to take home because theyre so cheap and then we went back home because I had to get ready for work.

Teaching was a nightmare this afternoon. Only half the class was there - i think it was because of the weather and because they might have already gone away for new year. But they wouldnt listen to a word I was saying, and I had a new assistant who wasnt helping at all. Shes supposed to tell them to stop talking but she just spent the whole class giving the children lots of stickers.

3rd
This morning we got up early and got a taxi to the airport. It was so busy with everyone going away for new year, and William had to queue for ages to check in, but I was nice and I waited for him - although I didnt actually have anything else to do.

This afternoon was really boring. I cleaned the apartment because it was in a bit of a state and then watched a couple of dvds.