Our first visitors!

The day finally arrived that we all had been waiting for... Our first visitors!!! And it was my sister Valerie and my dad. We were so excited to finally be able to share what our life here is like with someone. We all had a fantastic week with them and are so grateful that they came all the way over here to visit :)

Here's a daily recap, as I promised it to them since I knew they wouldn't remember everything..

Sunday (23rd) - Arrived 8:30pm. Visited a bit then off to bed.. Dad with Brady - Val rooming with Rilynn.

Monday- Woke up to a rainy day. Started out on a shopping day at the Taobao Fake Market on Nanjing Road. They got a kick out of the ponchos made for the scooters in the rain and also the crazy traffic here on the way over. I practiced my bargaining skills and was able to help them get some great deals on some great fakes :) Went over to the Nanjing Walkway to eat lunch at Papa John's and also to pick up some Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for breakfast.. MMMMMM... Then off to the Fabric Market to see if they had wanted anything custom made. Val ended up ordering a silk tank top and dad had a custom cashmere coat made. Had to head home to pick the kids up and then off to swimming. For dinner went to the Shanghai World Financial Center and had some burgers at Blue Frog.

Tuesday - Since Val and dad were up at the crack of dawn everyday we all took the kids to the bus stop every morning at 7:15. It was a clear day so we ventured up to the 100th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center. It's such an amazing view and helps put it into perspective as to how really big Shanghai is.. Had our pic taken as a nice souveneir.. Some the window washers up on the 94th floor.. No thank you!!

Dad and Val standing outside the construction site of the Shanghai Towers. It will be completed in 2014 and will be the 2nd tallest building in the world at 128 floors 2073ft tall!

SWFC

We went ALL the way to the top :)

Val with the glass floors

Jin Mao Tower and the Pearl Tower

Jin Mao Tower

Off to YuYuan Gardens to see some traditional Chinese architecture and more souvenir shopping. Plus some good ol' McDonalds for lunch :)

Walked along the Bund.

 Famous Peace Hotel

 Our apartment complex far off, our building is on the far right..

We've heard that there is a cruise ship that comes down the river, but had never seen it. Sure enough we were able to see it docked that day..

Quick pit stop at City Shop, one of the best import stores we have here. Was able to show them the CRAZY prices we have to pay to get a taste of home :) Quick back home in time for Brady's swim lessons. Dad has a friend, Zdenko, from Plymouth who does a lot of business in China. Well as luck had it he came to Shanghai that day so we were able to hook up with him and all ate dinner at 1221, my new favorite Chinese restaurant. As close to Pei Wei as I'll get :)

Wednesday- I've started a cupcake/cake pop business here, called Sweet Bites. I donated some cupcakes for a breast cancer event at the Kerry Hotel, so we first had to drop those off. Val and dad wanted more shopping so we headed over to Science & Technology (AP Plaza) Fake Market. After all shopped out drove over to Taikang Lu (Tiazifang). Walked around and shopped at the unique boutique stores in the alleys amongst some local housing and then had some ginormous burgers at New York Steak & Burger. Rilynn and Brady have soccer and gymnastics at school on Wednesdays, so Val and dad were able to come and see their school and meet their teachers at YCIS. Plus they also were able to see them play their sports. Decided to order in from Sherpa's and had some pasta from Waga's for dinner. After dinner Val and I headed off to meet up with a bunch of girlfriends for an evening of BINGO!!! Yes, I'm slightly addicted to it here :) LOL.. This being my 3rd month of going I finally got my first BINGO and won 6 bottles of vodka! Ha. That'll last me for a long time.. Val was having a hard time keeping her eyes open towards the end of the night, but still a good time!

Thursday- Pulled the kids from school Thursday and Friday to be able to spend some time with them during their visit. We all went to Fuxing Park to play. Val and dad were able to see the locals having their fun at the park, from ballroom dancing, practicing tai chi, singing karokee, or just playing a game of cards. The local parks in the mornings are busy and full of life! It's a site to see :) Then of course since we had the kids we went to the 'amusement park' and went on 2 rides. Walked over to have lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. Decided to skip nap and walked around old town. I came here for my photography class to get a glimpse of the locals. I love coming here as you never know what you'll see! Wanted to visit a temple so we get to check out the Jing'An Temple. This was my first time there and it was pretty cool. A lot of statues, people, and incense. We have a traditional chinese garden in our compound and Val wanted to go check it out, so we all went over there for some photo ops :) Then back home after a long day and stayed in eating our leftovers from 1221 for dinner..

 Water painting

Jing'An Temple

 Chinese garden in our compound

Friday- Wanted to given them a glimpse of our grocery store here, Carrefour. So we started our day off there. There were even able to see the hairy crabs that are in season right now :) Chad met up with us at the checkout and we all went out for lunch at Peter's Tex Mex for some chimichangas. Off to Honqiao Pearl Market to finish up some shopping. Chad and kids went home, while myself, dad, and Valerie went off to the spa. Val and I had an hour foot massage while dad opted for the body massage. Next it was off to get our hair washed and blow dryed, which takes an hour! Dad was brave and even got his haircut there :) Time for night out- off to Morten's for some martini's and free streak sandwiches. Walked around the Pearl Tower at night and made our way over to the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. Took the psychedelic ride under the river over to the Bund to check out the amazing view at night. Hopped in a taxi over to the Cool Docks for a drink. Stumbled upon a great rooftop bar at Stiller's with an awesome view! Took the ferry across the river with the scooters and finished the night at Max's, our local bar by our apartment.

Saturday- Went to People's Park in People's Square to check out the marriage market. Walked around the park checking out the locals. Off to the fabric market to pick up the custom clothing they had made. Valerie had a silk tank top made and Dad went for the cashmere coat. Headed off to the Super Brand Mall for lunch some xiaolong bao, or soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung. Home for the day for some rest. Kids went down for nap while dad and Val got adventurous and walked around the streets by our compound. Chad made a great meal and then we carved pumpkins.

Sunday- Left at 7:10am to head out to the airport for their 10:10am flight back to the US. Was sad to see them leave. Rilynn had a harder time sending her roomie back :(

Had a very busy week, but we are so thankful that they came halfway across the world to come visit and see what our lives have been like for the last year. It really meant a lot and we welcome anyone else who would like to visit :)

See you in December!!!