Flower Market

Sunday morning and wandering along Wuding, Wuming and Huanhungde Lu (yes that is pronounced one-hung-de-lu) on my way to the flower, bird and fish market to stock up on some plants.  The market is hidden away behind a busy intersection, behind some commercial buildings, but a lovely surprise when you find it and wander through one of the entrances. Shanghai's answer to Covent Garden, a wholesale market full of everything a plantaholic could want, even if she only has a balcony at the moment!

So many stalls, I need a truck, I want everything!

Flowers, trees, tropical foliage, blossom,  herbs, lavenders, grasses, cactii and my favourite architectural succulents..

Buckets and containers full of lillies, roses, orchids, some wrapped and ready to go..

Some lovely bouquets

some are slightly more unusual

Fabulous displays for shop openings and weddings..

Then towards the back is the fishy section..

Tanks of tropicals and bowls and bowls of terrapins, turtles, frogs and tadpoles..

The birds, not so great for me, not sure if half this stuff is legal after watching programmes on endangered species I do question it all..

And the small birds, some gold finches in tiny cages, isnt a good life and the stall holders weren't happy about me taking photos..

Back in the lovely flower bit I settled on some lavender and rosemary for the balcony, wanted basil but doesn't seem to be in season yet..an excuse for another trip in a few weeks..

And succumbed to another orchid, green and pink..only 80 kwai (£8) for 5 stems. The ayi will kill it no doubt, as she will forget that she's not allowed to water the plants (3 have already bitten the dust) but I live in hope!!!

post script:thursday-2 visits from the ayi and the flowers are drooping...

Walk to Work (1)

I thought I would take advantage of the lovely late spring weather, before it  turns into boil-in-the-bag steamy Shanghai summer, and start walking to work. An excuse to avoid the daily white knuckle taxi ride,(when there is  at least 4 near misses and potentially a few less chinese pedestrians on the road) enjoy the spring blossom (and the pollution) and grab a brief respite to see what interesting sights I might see in the 40 minute window before the daily grind begins!

Monday

One Park Avenue Apartments-the ladies are out for their Tai Chi/dance/keep fit  under the cherry blossoms-in new matching spring outfits

The parasol trees in leaf now on Beijing Lu

Maybe I should have cycled..

A new model for Beg Bikes??

                                                             http://www.begbicycles.com/

Hanging the washing out

Now breakfast!

A quick snack in the park

how do you like your eggs?

One dumpling or 2?

or 3 or 4?

Easter Bunnies!

hopefully bunnies are not just for easter....

Walked of my toast and marmite so a few bananas and sugar cane to keep me going...

not bad for 40minutes!

F1 The First One

Shanghai Gran Prix. Had to be done really! Not something I'm normally into but I thought I'd go along with Maria and see what its all about. And had a great time!  2-day pass, so Saturday spent freezing and wondering what on earth was going on . Great view from the centre of the grandstand so great people watching and looking straight into the pits. Nothing prepared me for the noise, and the speed..sooo fast Went deaf and hoarse

 Need those headphones.......

 Qualifying laps and Mark Webber not happy in 18th, but  Hamilton & Button in 2 and 3 boding well for sunday

So nursing hangovers the next day (we accidently over did it a MInt-don't we ever learn?) and after a 2 mile walk,as cars weren't allowed anywhere near the stadium, we were ready for the race.

So we got our tee-shirts...

Lewis for Maria

Jensen for me

wave the flag

Red hot Ferrari boys........

Hop on the bus Gus.....

A bit of a parade.......

 Bring on the dancing girls...

Slight panic when Hamilton's car had a leak or something so only came out of the pit with a few seconds to spare..and then they started rebuilding the car on the track!

And then they're off.....

The deafening noise again........unbelievable

My favourite pastime was watching the quick change tyres pit stops-the co-ordination is incredible-split second timing..

And they're very colourful, and so many...

And it was an exciting race -once I'd worked out how many laps and who was where-long range binoculars essential. Lots of overtaking and 56 laps actually went really quickly. And then a great finish from our boy..And that Mark Webber did well too...

And the winner is.....

Man Market

Sadly not a market full of eligible men, but cycling through sunny shanghai on sunday afternoon I spotted some crowds in one of the small parks. A throng of men.  I wondered what was occuring as it seemed to be 99% male!

the man throng

A cross between a car boot and a table top sale. I pushed my way through the dark suited males to get a good look! Predominantly birds, of the feathered, caged variety in bamboo lattice work cages.

Lots of bird accessories, cuttle fish, bird food-sacks of dried seeds and moving, squirming mealy worms.
even a basket of pupas-cicadas maybe for racing maybe??

half a pound of mealy worms??

Then there were blokey things, like spanners and screwdrivers, shoes and leather belts. Snake viagra and other dodgy cure-alls!

And teeth. Yes a table full of teeth.

'just popping out for some teeth'

Qing Ming and the Cole Flower Fields

Qing Ming festival, tomb sweeping, a 3 day holiday to celebrate the ancestors. So as China goes back to the countryside with their families and to be part of the great outdoors and to reconnect with nature, seems like a good time to leave the urban city life and head out-to Xianju with 39 others on a bus trip into the spring countryside, and see the fields of Cole flowers in bloom.

Sunday morning at 7am and the weather is tipping it down, so not looking too promising, and as we cross the world's longest bridge across Hangzhou bay the visibility is minimal....Traffic delays as the rush to get out of Shanghai increases, means we dont arrive at our destination for lunch until late afternoon! Starving and some great local food.  Then its a visit to the ancient town of Gaoqian. Looked very moody in the rain and some great photo opportunities.

rainy day in Gaoqiao

nothing much to do apart from play mahjong

cole flower honey hives

Then its a short stop for some more photos in the rain amongst the sea of yellow fields, with umbrellas.

The campfire is postponed this eve due to the inclement weather but beers and whisky/gin and chinese sprite gets the group mixing.

Next day and the skies have cleared and the sun is shining. so its mountains and rivers, caves and rope bridges, chains and swings (oh the boys love that )

boys will be boys
just before he fell in...

..Gentle trek to the top with many photos being taken by the Bengali posse! Then after a local cafe lunch a vast mountain, climbing high on a narrow twisting road with hair pin bends( I couldn't look down as the bus swung around) and arriving at the base to find a lift! Only in China! Not only a lift, but an amusement park and a slide back down to the car park! Still the views were stunning, across the valley of blossoms and amazing rock formations.

yes it has a lift!!!!!

The afternoon finished with a gently punt on bamboo rafts a long a wide turquoise river. Peaceful but still the odd food pit stop and some bridal photos along the way. Unfortuantely we left later than planned  and it was very dark (no torches) when we arrived at the destination, all frozen!
Still the campfire warmed us up and the mixed culture group had a very interesting game of truth or dare! Felt like I was on an 18-30 holiday and there's not much I dont know about the sex lives of my various continental travel mates now!


Monday and another glorious spring day. Another mountain to climb. This one with many, many steps that seemed to be never ending. Jelly legs!

up and up and up

But I still cant get over the locals in high heels suits and totally inappropriate clothing, usually carrying bags and bags of food!

poseurs...

Then the final stop on the trip at the cole flower fields (rape to you and I). Never seen so many fields and terraces of yellow, magical. A country fayre type event, with hawkers and food of every imaginable type being cooked, scewered, boiled and fried. And baskets of sweet, juicy fresh strawberries, delicious! Straw sculptures (like corn dollies) everywhere in the fields, like a lemon maze, with banners and red lanterns. An absolute colour fest! I could have stayed for ages with the sun beating down, watching, snacking and taking photos!