Its Christmas in Shanghai 2nd December 2014

Woke early had a bath to ease feet checked Internet then went down to breakfast,  as with everywhere else this was very elegant, waitress seated me brought coffee,  then left me to choose from a very extensive buffet so indulged myself gor a change, my excuse was I did not know when would next eat. Afterwards used machine to change money, I do realise exchange rate was most probably poor but was conveniant.

Outside it was cool but sunny, people were in winter clothes,  so just as well I had sufficient appropriate clothing for the trip Across the road was a park so decided to explore, it was a pleasant experience with lots of paths, from there though I could see how poor people were in the nearby flats such a contrast to the hotel and rest of the area. There were people practicing tai chai at various areas and to various skill levels,  there was a range of contrasting plants and occasional structures,  plenty of seating for a rest and a number of seats.  I came across a group of men on motorised electric scooters they looked much more like motorcycles than ours and went much faster. There was a small fair but none of the rides was open, people were quietly chatting to each other, it was an enjoyable way to of passed a couple of hours and I took a series of photos and videos of what I saw.

I went for something to eat then a rest for a couple of hours, my feet were hurting again with the walking,  the maid had done a good job of cleaning the room and replenishing the towels and other items I had used. Aftet a rest I decided to venture out again so headed off to look at some of the large buildings and christmas lights, I was quite surprised at the fact it was so openly christmas, maybe it was for the tourists, it wad amusing when I went into the toilet to hear the song Rudolf the red nosed reindeer playing.  The lig
hts were very impressive but so were all the high rise buildings.

I had decided to go and explore the radio tower which I knew was very high but when I saw it lit up and changing colours it really was something to see.  I paid my money and entered the grounds, the closer I got the larger I could see it was,  initially I had to climb steps to enter then up in a lift,  it is 468 metres high, it was very swift in the lift to reach the upper observation deck.  The views were magnificent across the city and the platform for tourists was huge with large viewing windows,  many of the other buildings were lit up and changed colours as I watched, also on the river some of the ferries were also brightly lit up but there were lots of what must of been cargo ferries in the dark. I took a series of photos and videos but do not think they capture the size and view.  Then down to the next level where there was another viewing platform but with a floor that you could see through down to the ground,  I was not brave enough to stand on it but took more photos, then lastly I descended to 90 metres where there was a further platform with different view of the surrounding area. After that down to ground level and out across the road to explore more of the area. I wrnt into one of the shopping precincts and first saw outside the largest Paddington Bear that had ever seen, so , more photos, but then inside there was another so got Chico to pose with him and other exhibits. 

I had bought a 3 day pass to use on the trains although it could of been used for buses and taxis,  I found it easy to negotiate the stations were large and oddly enougj fairly well signposted in English and on the trains destinations were also announced in english and there were maps to make sure did not get lost. The trains were long but often full to capacity,, most people ignoring each other and on their mobile phones,  few speaking to each other or on the phone rather medsahing or playing games from what I could see.  People generally were not polite rather it was everyone for themselves l noticed people did not give up seats to elderly or others who needed a seat, pretty much as back home, they were air conditioned and very clean and fast with lots of trains every few minutes.

I decided to return to cafe I had used the previous day they had a laminated card with items for us foreigner's to point to, but there seemed a problem, it was just gone 9pm and they stopped serving rice at that time do chose another dish, then afterwards another cake to finish my meal.

It had been a busy but enjoyable day  with a whole range of experiences what a shame though I was on my own with nobody to talk to about it all. I returned to the hotel had another relaxing bath before retiring to bed for the night.

24 December Christmas Eve Exploring Malaga

For some reason had a very good sleep last night, so did not get up to early, others still fast asleep, so decided to have a relaxing bath did this rinsed some clothes through, by then Zorro awake so had breakfast, no sign of Brian for some time. Later discussed plans for day, decided we would go buy some more food and Brian would do Christmas lunch tomorrow.

So off to the shops, was much longer walk than thought, after lots of confusion I think we finally found all the ingredients we needed, not sure quite why but Brian seemed worried that we needed more water, we had agreed that we would buy from local supermarket rather than carry from across town, seemed an even longer walk back, got 2 lots of water so should be ok

After unpacking we had something light to eat, discussed plans for evening meal and decided we would return to cafe from last night.
Oh I forgot to say lock on door behaved itself but son of owner came with spare key which seemed better, I told others was tired so went to bed for a couple of hours, when got up the others were practising their computer skills, we chatted until went out.

It was quite dark so could see the Christmas lights which were pleasant so we spent time taking photos as we walked, all was well until Brian informed us we were lost, retraced our steps, only to find cafe as so many others was closed, owners son had mentioned that they owned a bar so we walked along to there hoping to find somewhere to eat, but without success. Reached bar but was packed out so decided we would try for Burger King on the main street.

Just before this we came across a statue of Hans Christian Anderson so posed for photos, then Zorro noticed, a McDonald's so we went to go in, sob, sob, they had just closed as had Burger King so we decided to return and make a meal back at the apartment.

I volunteered to do us an omelette so back we went.
Well theres nothing worse than when in a strange kitchen having a helpful person such as Brian, so banned him, eventually I worked out how to get everything working and found pans etc, outcome seemed to be suitable for the others but could just of them not wanting to upset me.

After we chatted until gone midnight, then off to bed for me to catch up with blog and e mails and wish friends a happy Christmas, bearing in mind they are an hour behind us here, listened to some music whilst typing
Well readers I suppose this is a good time to wish you all a happy Christmas and that you receive all you are hoping for when you wake in the morning

Happy Christmas to all my Readers

21 December 2006

Well hello all you kind people who have been following my blog over the last couple of months

Happy for me I am off to see my family in Ireland tomorrow, so will then spend the christmas period with my son and his family, as well as new years eve, then return home the following day.

This is of course subject to the fog at Manchester airport lifting before then, although I was suddenly reminded earlier today that this year when the security alert started on that fateful day I travelled to Ireland with only my papers wallet & the clothes I was dressed in. Lets hope that I am lucky again and manage to get there.