Life at Ambassy Court

You know you're cool when they do fashion shows for hip urban brands like Van Dutch at your complex. I missed the actual show (got back from Hangzhou an hour too late), but the next morning, the Harley Davidsons and the catwalk were still there. By tonight, it should be like we were never hip.

It's a shame, though. I kinda wish they would leave the red carpet. It's the closest I'll ever get...

We're in the middle of a kind of heat wave (although we're about due for the weather to change). So half of Shanghai is walking around with a coat or sweater, the other half is cautiously considering summer. Me, being a gringo, I'm wearing my bold geometric print shirt.

One of the nice things about the new place is that you can see something from the balcony. We're in the middle of a mostly low-rise neighborhood, with some fairly nice houses that clearly have had money put into them recently. The orange one is actually a restaurant, "Cilantro." Feels like I'm back in California!

Spring Has Sprung

It's hot and sunny here in Hangzhou. What a shock! All of a sudden, it's not cold and windy.

Brief Sojourn in Suzhou

On Sunday, we made the trek to Suzhou, which is a quick train ride away from Shanghai. The pleasant thing is that there are very few tall buildings. I would say, however, that the train station is a major obstacle for tourists. They're doing massive construction across the street, so in addition to all the dust and noise, it's not immediately clear where to go to escape the van touts and hopeful tour guides.We made the decision to escape to the Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuo Zheng Yuan), which is a 16th century garden covering many acres. Not always the best choice with a bunch of kids, but it was so nice compared with the train station that it was worthwhile. The weather was excellent, and there is a nice pedestrian street (DongBei Jia) fronting it and the fancy new Suzhou Museum.

The pedicabs, as you can see here, are covered with ads. They seem (as in other places) to be actually used by locals. The good news is that the drivers didn't really seem to be too interested in pestering us to take them. One "no" would suffice...

New Neighborhood

We just moved from right-in-the-middle-of-everything-downtown to out-in-what-in-the-thirties-used-to-be-the-burbs. We're now in Ambassy (sic) Court on Huaihai Zhong Lu. Across the street, the American Consulate. Next to that, the French Consulate. A block away, the German Consulate. And to round it off, around the corner, the Iranian Consulate.

Across the street and down a little is the Shanghai Library, which is huuuge, and quite interesting. Our street, where we are, isn't terribly interesting. But downtown a ways, it's one of the two big shopping streets (Nanjing Xi Lu being the other, in our former neighborhood). South of us, however, is a charming set of sycamore-lined streets with the occasional lovely villa. Also, a few blocks away, Xujiahui Park, which is large, and on a sunny Saturday, full of kids.