Early Saturday morning after my REM sleep and their naps, Paula and I walked on the famous Shanghai Bund to see if we could photograph some Tai Chi. We saw kite flying, dancing, and of course the traditional Tai Chi. We met Maria for a nice breakfast in the hotel with a great view of the river and started our tour of Shanghai with Marco at 9. First stop was the Childrens’ Palace. It is a school where artistically gifted children attend in the afternoons and on the weekends. We were impressed with their talent, especially the cute girls in their pink leotards. A lot of the parents and grandparents were watching from the sidelines or outside by the windows looking in. Maria really left an impression at the school (she stepped into some wet cement). Next stop was Yu Garden (Yuyuan) where Maria kept looking around saying –“ doesn’t this look like Epcot”. Here Marco taught us about how the windows and doors frame the scenery and how to tell the difference between the male lion and the female lion (male- pointy ears, hand on ball, female lion– head down, ears down, hand on baby). There were lots of dragons on the rooftops. President Clinton and Mrs Clinton ate in this park. Paula has decided that all presidents should be world travelers before they become president. She makes a good point!
