20 hours in shanghai

i had another night in shanghai on my way back from xuchang for work, and this time, there was no time for massage, eyelashes or dumplings!!

instead, i met two english speakers as i was checking in at the lobby of my hotel, and out of the blue, one called me for dinner. i suggested jishi restaurant, this wonderful shanghainese spot that i went to last time, but when we arrived (without reservation), they weren't taking any more diners - it was overflowing with patrons and waiting guests!! upon cauvin's (the new lobby friend) recommendation, we ended up at grand gateway mall in xujiahui at a cantonese restaurant (average food, not worth writing about) in their crazy food court maze on the 5th floor!

cauvin's two friends (both shanghai residents, one an actual local) met us, and we decided to try xintiandi for after-dinner cocktails. the raucous crowd at luna (a mix of chinese and western faces) drew us in where there was a chinese cover band playing mostly american songs.

my friend malcolm texted me to meet him at velvet lounge, but instead of finding him in the crowd of non-asian faces, i met a slew of italians!! they were hilarious, welcoming and just a load of fun (two chefs who talked italian cooking to me... mmmm, i do love food, especially italian food), and after a few too many cocktails (evidenced by my pounding headache this morning), i headed back to my hotel around 3:30am. talk about making good use of my few hours here!

this morning, i'm checking out and going for DVDs - i've missed too many talked-about films (ironman, indiana jones), and annually, it's cheaper to buy them here than to continue my netflix subscription!! hopefully i'll also get some dumplings or street food en route!

i miss my massage and i really could've used a manicure AND eyelashes, but shanghai this way was pretty amazing as well.