Shanghai New Years.

It wasn't until the day before New Years Eve that we decided to jump on a train and spend New Years Eve in Shanghai. We haven't been anywhere since November so I was itching for a little trip. We went to Shanghai a few months ago but didn't see nearly enough of it. The day started out pretty entertaining. Tori and I took the slow train while Britton and Chris took the high-speed train so they could do some stuff for their internship. I was actually pretty excited about being on my own just to prove to myself that I could get around China if I needed too. I guess its the independent woman in me:) We were the only foreigners on the train so we got a lot of attention. The majority of our time was spent having conversations with locals via iPhone translators. As you can imagine, it took quite awhile to get a conversation going and I still don't know exactly what we were talking about....my favorite translator mishaps were.....

"The girl are pretty"

"Is China consumer good?"

"I think something is wrong. Translation not quite right"

It was fun though and we were able to get to downtown Shanghai without any trouble. Once we got there, it was a trip full of amazing food and shopping. I've been craving Paradise Bakery for a least a month now so my goal was to find a similar place and I found it! It was great. We ate there twice. The weather was awesome too. In Nanjing, I hate going outside when its low 20's during the day but I think it was high 30's, which has sadly turned into good weather for me. That night, we headed to the Bund riverside for the New Year's Eve festivities. There were many Chinese people lighting lanterns and sending them into the sky with their resolutions and goals written on them. We found a great spot right on the edge of the river to have front row access to the laser show and fireworks. Although warmer than Nanjing, the wind was constantly hitting us making it colder than usual. We, of course, improvised and used scarves to warm our faces. Just before midnight, the laser light show started and it was somewhat disappointing from where we were. Afterwards, the firework show began but to our dismay, billows of firework smoke shortly followed in our path. We didn't let that get us down and still enjoyed the fireworks. The next day was spent shopping (Britton was excited to find his other love: The Apple store) and eating some more. In the end, I would say our Shanghai trip was a success and a much needed escape from China.