We had a great time, it was so good to learn and laugh about our China experience with other expats - some have been here for years, and another family was brand new to China too. At midnight, we headed out onto their balconies to watch the fireworks - there were probably two dozen displays that we could see, everyway we looked. The sound was echoing off the buildings and was just constant - it seriously sounded like a war zone. The pictures and videos we took really don't do it justice - you'll have to take our word for it!! We didn't last long after midnight though - we were still dealing with jetlag, and the girls had long since crashed while watching TV.
We stayed close to home on Monday, then ventured out to the Science and Technology Museum on Tuesday. The museum is close by - less than a 10 minute drive - and was nice. Much of the literature and displays are printed in English, but any of the interactive computer displays were only in Chinese, so we couldn't get the full effect. We got a fair amount of attention at the museum - there weren't many other caucasians there that day. We are becoming a bit more accustomed to being odd-man-out when we are in a room! 
There is a market in the basement of the museum, so we walked around there a bit, but we didn't buy anything that day. When we came out onto the edge of Century Park, it was sunny and there were a lot of people out and about. We watched people flying kites and took a few shots of the skyline.On Wenesday we headed toward the river and went to the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium. It was another bright, beautiful day and there were a ton of people out. The aquarium is right next to the Pearl Tower
and in the shadow of both the Jinmao Tower and the World Financial building,
so we had a kink in our necks just from looking around at all the tall buildings and cool architecture of the financial district. Jeff and I have gone to the top of the Jinmao Tower to look out over the city . The observation deck is at the 88th floor and if it is clear, the views are amazing. It is dwarfed however, by the World Financial Building, which was not open yet when Jeff and I had come for business in years past, so we still haven't gone in. Once in the aquarium, we had a great time. It was SUPER-crowded, but the girls were good about just squeezing to the front with the rest of the kids to get good looks in the tanks. 
The aquarium is organized in a way that establishes a pretty set route through the facility, so for the most part, everyone was moving in the same direction, which helped manage the crowds a bit. At the end of the route is a huge submerged tunnel with moving walkway, which was great - it moved everyone along and ensured that everyone had a great view. There were huge sharks, sea turtles, fish of all sorts, jellyfish, seals, eels - everything you would hope to see, and the tunnels allowed you to really see everything. Definitely a must see for visitors!
and in the shadow of both the Jinmao Tower and the World Financial building,
so we had a kink in our necks just from looking around at all the tall buildings and cool architecture of the financial district. Jeff and I have gone to the top of the Jinmao Tower to look out over the city . The observation deck is at the 88th floor and if it is clear, the views are amazing. It is dwarfed however, by the World Financial Building, which was not open yet when Jeff and I had come for business in years past, so we still haven't gone in. Once in the aquarium, we had a great time. It was SUPER-crowded, but the girls were good about just squeezing to the front with the rest of the kids to get good looks in the tanks. 
The aquarium is organized in a way that establishes a pretty set route through the facility, so for the most part, everyone was moving in the same direction, which helped manage the crowds a bit. At the end of the route is a huge submerged tunnel with moving walkway, which was great - it moved everyone along and ensured that everyone had a great view. There were huge sharks, sea turtles, fish of all sorts, jellyfish, seals, eels - everything you would hope to see, and the tunnels allowed you to really see everything. Definitely a must see for visitors!
On Thursday, Mr. Wong went with us to the YuYuan Garden in Old Shanghai. This is a pretty common destination for visitors to the city - westerners and Chinese visitors alike. Of course, during the New Year celebration, there were a lot of visitors from other parts of the country in the city, so the area was packed, but with very few westerners. 
Again, we got a fair amount of attention, to the point that we began to understand why celebrities become frustrated with papparazi! There were two men that literally followed McKenna around snapping non-stop photos with these huge lenses - it was really a bit freaky. Jeff finally stopped, pulled out our camera and let McKenna take a picture of one of them while they were taking a picture of her! 
After that, he moved on and we were able to move around a bit more freely. We all really enjoyed the garden, despite the fact that the nice weather we had had the last few days had given out on us and we spent the day moving in and out of a pretty steady drizzle. 
While at YuYuan, Mr. Wong helped us navigate lunch at a Chinese eatery. 
It was a casual place, where you would select what you want at the counters, then they would bring it out to you. We tried several dishes - none of which I can name now! The girls tried a few things. Kayla didn't like the first two things she attempted, and then decided she really wasn't hungry and refused to try anything else. After we told her the they had "hot dogs" inside them, McKenna decided that she loved the dumplings that Mr. Wong had selected and proceeded to eat about 8 of them. We navigated the meal with chopsticks and Chinese soup spoons without too much issue. Kayla is pretty talented with chopsticks, and McKenna finally gave up and used her fingers.
It was a casual place, where you would select what you want at the counters, then they would bring it out to you. We tried several dishes - none of which I can name now! The girls tried a few things. Kayla didn't like the first two things she attempted, and then decided she really wasn't hungry and refused to try anything else. After we told her the they had "hot dogs" inside them, McKenna decided that she loved the dumplings that Mr. Wong had selected and proceeded to eat about 8 of them. We navigated the meal with chopsticks and Chinese soup spoons without too much issue. Kayla is pretty talented with chopsticks, and McKenna finally gave up and used her fingers. As we were heading to the car, Rebecca tried her negotiating skills with one of the local vendors to buy a table cloth for the dining room table. While she successfully halved the price originally offered by the vendor, we walked away pretty sure we had "left money on the table," because we came to an agreement a bit too easily!! There will be a learning curve before we have a feel for market price for different items. Of course, our light hair and lack of Mandarin skills will guarentee that we will never get the "best" price!
We found we were pretty worn out from three days of siteseeing, so the end of the week was a bit quieter. We spent some time getting ourselves ready for the first day of school in China and just enjoying family time. We have been very glad that we brought the Wii with us in our suitcase, as we have spent a LOT of time challenging each other to air hockey, the shooting gallery, racing cows and the tank game (Wii Play). Mom gets beat on a pretty regular basis as she has zippo hand-eye coordination. We also went out to supper a couple of times with other expats, which has been a great way to get to know people and explore the restaurant options here. It was a great week, but by the end of it, we were all getting antsy to get settled into a "normal" schedule. Jeff was anxious to dive into work, and Kayla especially was really looking forward to school. Rebecca was just ready for some peace and quiet!
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