By Kari Ann

Day 8

After a late night out on Thursday, we took the opportunity to sleep in a bit on Friday morning.  We spent some time updating our blog and reading the paper over coffee at our neighborhood Wagas.

Lunchtime soon rolled around so we picked Sichuan Citizen off the extensive list of restaurants that Jason (one of Bryan’s colleagues from W+K) put together for us.  Bryan tried a pork belly dish and I tried the fish – both had the infamous Sichuan kick.  After our lips were numb and tingling from an array of spices, we hailed a cab and headed to Moganshan Lu.

The main event of the day was to scope out the art galleries on Moganshan Lu.  Although a smaller version of 798 in Beijing, the art left a lasting impression.  I was particularly drawn to the avant garde print making.  After a late afternoon coffee break, we headed back to the former French Concession to meet up with some friends for dinner and drinks.

I met Judy Huan in New York at Ernst & Young.  I worked with the Tax Rotator International Program and she was one of the international rotators. Only a few months prior to our visit to China, Judy got married.  So this was a great time to catch up over some Japanese food and to meet her husband.  After dinner we headed to Constellation 2, a loungy bar in a former mansion with leather, dark woods and victorian details.  This was right up our ally.

Our last adventure of the day was a trip to the “DVD Store.”  Yes, as far as we can tell, it is actually called DVD store.  The small store was packed floor to ceiling with knock offs of every and any title you could imagine.  These were no New York style knock offs, they were meticulously crafted to be exact replicas.  We decided not to buy anything, but it was quite an experience.

Day 9

Our last day in Shanghai.  Sigh.

It’s always a strange feeling as travels come to a close.  Your senses, your body, your nerves, and your patience are worn out.  Yet somehow, you’re not quite ready to go home.  What else can you do but soak in the remaining hours.  In our case, we quite literally soaked it all in.

First stop, 11:00 am, Yang’s Soup Dumplings.  Another round of our favorite food on this culinary journey – just as good, if not better, the second time around.

Second and final stop, the Park Hyatt Shanghai.  We spent our last day enjoying the spa, the fine dining, and stylish bars at the hotel.  From the highest building in Shanghai (the one that looks like a bottle opener), we saw the lay of the land that we had been exploring on foot.  The feeling was similar to when you hike up a mountain.  You look at the trees, the streams, the animals along the trail and when you finally reach the top you look back and see the full perspective of your journey.  Our room overlooked the Bund riverfront – it was a beautiful way to say goodnight and goodbye to one of our new favorite cities, Shanghai.