Shanghai

Monday, Nov. 10   After two days at sea, we are well-rested and well-fed and very much anticipating our visit to Shanghai, the city where Aunt Helen an Uncle Ben met, fell in love, and married.  We booked the most indepth tour available so we could see as much as possible.  We got up at 6 am, called Ben to tell him we were in Shanghai, ate breakfast at 6:30, and were out the door at 7 so we could meet our group at the Princess Theatre to leave at 7:10.  Before we got there, the captain made the announcement that due to fog, the Shanghai port was closed, and the ship had to wait.  Once we were cleared, it would take at least 4 hours to dock and be cleared by the authorities.    We were finally put on a bus at 2 pm.  Our first stop was the Jade Buddha Temple.  It was built in 1882, and has roughly 100 monks that live here.  Interesting, but not what we came to Shanghai to see!  The next stop was the Yu Garden, built in the 16th century by a Ming Dynasty official for his father.  It was very beautiful, but after only 15 minutes here, the lightning and thunder started, then the downpour.  (I know John will laugh at this, but we were the only ones in our group of 40 that had an umbrella!)  After returning to the bus, the guide told us that with all the traffic and rain, we only had time for dinner and an acrobat show.  The Chinese acrobats were totally amazing, so was the lighting and special effects.   So, really this stop was very anticlimactic, but we are grateful that we did at least get to step foot in Shanghai.