Just in time for our 1 month anniversary (already!), I hopped on a plane on Thursday to go visit the Hubs in Shanghai. Leaving on a Thursday, spending 14 hours on a plane, and arriving on Friday at 6 pm is a little bit disconcerting. But the great thing about leaving on a random Thursday is that the plane was fairly empty! I had 3 seats to myself!
This time I flew on United. The thing I like about United is that (1) flight attendants speak English, (2) seats are wider than China Eastern (to make seating accessible to the obese Americans), and (3) the flight attendants speak English. The things I dislike extremely about United is that (1) the average age of flight attendants is 65, (2) flight attendants who are 65 are extremely rude, (3) food sucks, and (4) 65-year-old flight attendants are really racist. For example, while I was boarding, the family in front of me were Chinese with the last name Rong. So the 65-year-old flight attendant looks at their tickets and says, "2 Rongs make a right! HAHAHA!! Get it??" I kid you not. SO freaking RACIST. I really wanted to say something. But considering I would be on a flight for 14 hours at racist stewardess' mercy, I decided to hold my tongue. But it was hard. Very hard.
Another thing I don't like about flying to China, which might be totally racist so I apologize in advance and like to state for the record that I love my Chinese husband very much, is that Chinese natives are extremely in a rush. To clarify, my racist statements only applies to people who are born, raised, and currently residing in China. In China, no one stands in line, everyone angles for an advantage, and there's a whole lot of pushing going on. I get it. But, must they do that on a plane?? The plane doesn't go any faster by pushing. It drives me nuts!! There's never quiet sitting or patiently waiting in line. It's always push push push SHOVE! Arg!! For instance, while I was in the aisle waiting to get to my seat, the lady behind me was pushing her LV luggage into my knees. I turned around to glare at her, but she kept shoving! Nevermind that there were 50 people in front of me, who were all not moving! She just kept shoving and shoving! Keep your pants on, woman! Grrrr....anyways.....
It was great to see the Hubs after a month-long separation. Because we only had 2.5 days, we didn't get to do many things, but just spending time together was really nice.
One of my favorite things about Shanghai is that they have sorted trash bins, which are also clearly labeled. How great is it that you have regular trash, recyclables, and dog poop? Totally efficient!
Because Malcolm is now General Manager of the bakeries, we did a lot of market research. Just to clarify, market research = eating lots of pastries at many different bakeries. We found this adorable French cafe nearby his mom's house that is run by French people and totally packed with French tourists. Laurent, the server who helped us, spoke Mandarin, French and English! Funnily enough, Laurent grew up in France, and went to high school in Rancho Cucamonga. He said after traveling all over the world after college, his last stop was a 1 week trip in Shanghai, and he never left! The boulangerie, aptly named Boulangerie, had delicious pastries and the best cafe au lait I've had in a really long time. Bon appetite!
Malcolm ordered the vanilla eclair, made from vanilla beans imported from Madagascar. Mmmm! I had the Napoleon. Both very delicious!
Because sharing is caring:
And then we went to Ikea! Nothing but the best for me! =) Actually, I've been wanting to go to Ikea in Shanghai for awhile because of an article I read about Ikea Beijing. Apparently, mall shopping is still relatively new for the Chinese, and furniture stores are a whole other worldly experience. The article mentioned that many Chinese take trips to Ikea for the purpose of relaxing...kind of like a resort experience. So to see if that article was accurate, we went to check it out.
There were sooooo many people inside! It felt like that herding of masses when there's a fire drill and everyone is being herded out of the building. I felt like a cow. Just massive wall of bodies.
That article was dead on. People lounged on the couches like it was their living room. As you can see, people were reading books on the couches
for hours.
Malcolm and I trying to fit in with the locals.
A mother feeding her child in the dining room section of Ikea. And she was definitely not the only mother to be doing this. There was a family who were eating meals on the tables.
It was a short trip but a good one. Happy I went. I miss my husband.
