New vision of Shanghai

We are true Shanghainese. Today we ventured out on a gorgeous blue skied day to find bikes for further forays into this city. We were told of a bike market near the Shanghai Railway Station. We took the metro up north, got off at the Station - huge - and began looking. It was a real treasure hunt. More clues led us down the street under a bridge, across a square, into an electronics market, out again and to two volunteers on the street wearing red arm bands. They told us that the market contained bikes that were probably stolen and the police would fine us if they found us on one of them. Storey was particularly anxious about not buying stolen bikes. They sent us off in a taxi to a store even further north where new bikes were sold. We zigzagged through a huge outdoor mall and finally found the store we were told about. New bikes! Right there, in the foyer of the store, with hordes of people coming and going and pushing by us, we chose our bikes and the attendant fixed seats, handle bars, pumped tires, put on pedals and baskets. We pulled out our map and tried to figure out where we were and how to get back. It was a wonderful hours ride through the city. Now we know there is really no other way to really see the city and move about. It was so much fun!

A bike lane just for us!A very busy intersection, waiting for the light to change.
A beautiful bridge across Suzhou Creek.
Going by the railway station and looking down on all the tracks.
A lovely muddy creek!
It was a little difficult to take pictures while riding, so that is all I have of the lovely ride. We ended up on busy Nanjing Road and decided to stop at California Pizza Kitchen for dinner since it was 5:30. After our delicious American fare, it was full on nighttime, and we decided to go by Dagu Lu on our way home. The street that houses our favorite movie store. We grabbed more movies than we can watch and headed home for another Pearson film festival!

I had to divert from the journals of our journey to see the Pandas to bring you the latest Shanghai update! Stay tuned for more.