Saturday morning, after attending prelims for the 4X100 medley relay which sent Team USA onto the finals later that night, we went back to the Coughlins hotel off People's Square. I set off separately for some touring while they grabbed cabs for another shopping expedition.
I got on the train at People's Square Metro for the two-stop journey to Jing'An Metro station. I exited to see the back side of Jing'An Temple on one side of the street and Jing'An Park on the other. Walked through the park and sat for a while in the shade (you really learn to appreciate shade when you go out in 37C/100F temperatures with high humidity).
Crossed the street and walked around the exterior of the Jing'An Temple.
From there I walked a few blocks, crossed under a highway, and found myself in the tree-lined French Concession district. Mandatory cold water stop (1.5 yuan, another 24 cents gone) at a convenience store, then continued my walk about past cafes and shops. Lunch stop was at Fresh Element on the 6th floor of an office building. I had macaroni and cheese (parmesan and mozarella blend) for 62 yuan ($10) and iced tea.
Back out to the street and now I was in a heavily trafficked boulevard with shopping malls, though there was a nice park on one side. Another opportunity for someone to sell me a watch and chase after me to see how many times I can say “No” or “no money”.
Found a Metro stop and was back at my hotel enjoying an ice-cold Diet Coke in the lounge at 3pm, then back out the door at 4:40 for Natalie's last night of swimming.
I did find one more photo to share. This is me holding Natalie's rabbit awarded with her gold medal in 4X100 medley relay. She had tossed it up in the stands and it was caught by a boy from London who was sitting with our group (he had to go to the other side of the pool to compete for it). He lent it to me outside the pool for a few minutes for this photo.
After finals we headed back to the Coughlin's hotel off People's Square and got cabs to a Greek restaurant called Fat Olive, about 10 minutes and a 14 yuan (around $2.25). It was on the 6th floor of a building with rooftop seating with a view towards Pudong (you could see my hotel and the World Financial Center- photos didn't look good enough to retain, though). We shared a bottle of Chilean sauvignon blanc to celebrate Natalie's gold medal, and had salads and wraps (chicken or lamb).
Metro had closed by the time I found the closest station around 11:20, so cab across the river for 23 yuan (less than $4).
Today (Sunday) I'm having a cool, leisurely day around the hotel. May pop out for an hour or two to walk around. Off to swimming again at 4:30pm (Natalie not swimming tonight). Poor visibility across the river and I can hear high winds hitting my windows up on the 80th floor. Might be a storm on the way in as it's getting dark outside.
Next report will likely be from Hong Kong on the way home tomorrow (Monday).
New photos start here:
http://tom911.smugmug.com/Travel-Asi...466191_rMfQ2Tf