Monday, July 19, 2010

Monday, 7/5/10 11:15 p.m. Sheraton Shanghai Hotel, Pudong, Rm 2957

Uneventful night on the train.  We couldn't find the ticket windows at the Shanghai train station when we arrived this morning so we headed to the Sheraton where we checked into a very civilized room on the 29th floor.  Suzannah and I were able to get soft sleeper tickets to Beijing on the overnight train on Thursday but Susie is having trouble getting transport back to Jinan.  Suzannah and I booked another night here so we'll leave here to go straight to the Raffles Hotel in Beijing.

After breakfast at the Costa Coffee down the street, we headed to the Expo.  It was overcast and steamy when we got there at almost noon but it cooled off and rained so was tolerable.  The Expo site is quite impressive and we went into more pavilions than I can list right now (I'll have to check my photos).  The best was far and away the UK pavilion, the Seed Cathedral (see photo above), but we paid for it with an almost 2 hour wait in line (see photo below).  

We had Italian food for lunch at a Bricco Cafe and Indonesian food for dinner at the Ekna Cafe.  The lights at the Expo after dark were spectacular and the China Pavilion is almost perfect, marred only by a too large wall around its base.

After yet another sketchy cab ride, we're back in our plush digs.  

Tomorrow, Susie chases down a bus ticket, Suzannah and I seek out the Maglev train and then, heat permitting, we head back to the Expo.  Plans tomorrow evening include a nice dinner out.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Seed Cathedral photo with the silhouette is great.