SUZHOU -- SHANGHAI

October 13, 2014

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We left our hotel in Suzhou around 9 a.m. to drive back into Shanghai. Upon arrival, we visited the cashmere factory. The softest article in the place was a Pashmere scarf. Pashmere is a combination of cashmere and silk. Some people bought either pashmere or silk before we headed downstairs to the embroide4ry factory. More...



Pieces of silk were hand embroidered with a variety of designs. Weight of the silk threads either filled in or created tiny details. My favourite "PAINTINGS" were of the animals but honestly, they were all beautiful pictures. I wish I could have bought some thread to take home for my embroidery but no such item was available... I asked. I did buy a small stitching of Koi fish.
Lunch was in the same complex. Mongolian stir fry! Yummy! After lunch, we went on a river cruise. As you travelled down the river, you gained different perspectives on the same buildings because from one location something could be hidden but from another, you could catch sight of it. Most interesting? The design of the various high rises and catching sight of some window washers on one of the humungous skyscrapers. You couldn't pay ME enough to do that. There were also parks and walking paths on SOME portions of the riverbank. The different barges were interesting because you could see that people lived on them... pets and hanging laundry let us know this. Finally, although we didn't know it at the time, we caught sight of restaurants (at the riverside) that we'd eat in during our stay in Shanghai.
After our boat ride, we went to Nanjing Street, a local shopping area. Not much tome to shop but enough time to see a variety of international stores (Nike, Apple, Fila, etc). Roger, Kathy and I went to MacDonalds for fries. For dinner, there was a birthday cake for Cliff. When we went back outside it was dark and the buildings were all lit up. To finish our busy day, we went to see the Chinese Acrobats. Amazing skills including balancing acts, gymnastic skills, with a little comedy thrown in for fun. Reminded me of what going to the circus USED to be like!