Being Artsy-Fartsy on Taiking Lu

Recently, we have joined forces with a fun group of people. They are showing us the in's and out's of Shanghai and seem to know all of the really cool spots.

First lesson: Eating Duck. Wonderful...love it.

Second lesson: Brunch is a weekend must.

So our first brunch to join them, they took us to Taiking Lu (Lu means street). From the main street...this place looks very shady. However, once you get into the alleys it is amazing! It is a crazy combination of old and new. The bottom floors of the old homes have been converted to cafes, art gallery's, photography studios, boutiques...you get the idea. The upper floors are still homes. VERY COOL.

View of some cafes.

Here are some pics of the new group! Bohemia was our brunch spot. Yummy.

After brunch we wandered the area and got some pretty "different" pictures. I seemed to have taken more pictures of the strange stuff...and not so much the whole idea (or new, normal stuff) of the place. But as I've already explained, we are not the best tourists.

Love the lanterns.



Random arched alley way.



Birds in the upper window!

Laundry hanging above all of the alleys amongst cafes and art galleries. Strange...I told you!

Loving the birdies!

A larger view. See the mixture!

Pantie Chandelier!

Last but not least...........


Chicken anyone? Need I say more?

I'll leave you with that. Another day in the life of China.

Yuyuan Garden

WARNING: This place is really cool but we are horrible "tourists". So we didn't really take any pictures of important things. You'll see what I mean.




Today we went to Yuyuan Garden to take a look around. This big tourist spot is the place always shown on the Travel Channel when they visit Shanghai.


First stop,



Starbucks.

One of the neatest things about Yuyuan Garden is the architecture. This is how I always pictured China. Ironically, in Shanghai, this is the only area like it and it is a bit crazy to see skyscraper's standing tall around this 5-acre area in the middle of the city. If you want to read more about it here is the wikipedia link: Yuyuan Garden.



Like most things we've seen so far, this too is centered around yummy food and shopping!


This lady is making steamed dumplings. They are one of our favorite.


A dumpling for lunch! Through the straw in the middle, you sip out warm soup. Then devour the dumpling. (Excuse the remains of my last manicure.)

A bit of shopping in the markets.


Steve, this one is for you! Add this one to memory: 218 Anren Jie, Huangup District, Shanghai, China.

So apparently, other people have gotten much better pictures. If you would like to see more pictures taken by people who know what they are doing click here: Yuyuan Garden Photos.