Cinco de Mayo

I love living in an international community, because of the opportunity of learning about different cultures and celebrations all around the world. So this weekend has been a good one for us, as Friday (1st May) was Labour Day here, coinciding with May Day in the UK. Being a public holiday, was particularly lovely as it meant Mike had a three day weekend.

To make the most of the extra weekend day, we took the plunge and got ourselves organised and out of the house. For some reason, it actually takes us longer to get out of the house when Mike is home and technically available to help organise the kids, than it does when I'm on my own... I am not sure why. Anyway, our big excursion was to the Yuyuan Gardens - somewhere so pretty I was keen to see it in spring, and also have been pushing for Mike to go there!! We got the train to Lujiazui, then walked down to the ferry terminal (not really close) and got the open ferry across the Huangpu River, then walked through some alleys and past another park before we reached the Yuyuan Gardens.

I'd like to explain about the open ferry - there are two ferries which cross the river, one is airconditioned and only carries passengers and costs 2RMB (40c) per trip, it drops you quite close to the Bund, the big tourist attraction of Shanghai, and the other one is open air (it has a roof, but no sides) and carries passengers and their bikes (motor, pedal or electric powered) and cost 5 jiao (10c) for a passenger only. Kids under 1.2m are free, so the four of us crossed the river with our pram for 1RMB - what a bargain. Personally I preferred the fresh air and the real feeling of being on a boat, and our double decker pram caused a reasonable level of commotion, but I was a bit concerned that someone's scooter would fall on our pram and cause damage to those travelling within.

The open ferry drops you off a bit further away from the tourist area, but it was technically closer to where we were heading. We then meandered through a number of streets where the stores were overflowing onto the footpaths, and along an alley, reminiscent of the Hutongs in Beijing for their community feel. Mike and I had a little snack of some dumplings on the way - we really have become addicted to dumplings, but although tasty, these ones didn't rate in the best ever comp.

As we got closer and closer to the Yuyuan Gardens the sense that China was on holidays got stronger and stronger. There were people everywhere! We went into the Gardens and it was beautiful. The azaleas were blooming, and compared to my visit in February the garden was alive, as opposed to just waking from winter. I think having the sun shining, and warmth in the air made a difference too.



Ellie was attracted to a little girl in the garden because she had a heart on her T-shirt. The two of them were standing, and dancing, and playing on a pedestal that one of the temples is built on, and subsequently the two of them were photographed by more than 50 onlookers. It really was very cute, and lots of curious people came over to look at our pram, which is quite different to the standard prams available here, only to be blown away by "didi" (little brother) hiding in the back.

We meandered back to the river and headed home, this time crossing the river in air conditioned comfort! We met some friends for dinner at Latina, a Brazillian restaurant inside our nearest fake market. It was here that we had an early margarita to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (a Mexican holiday commemorating the Mexican army's defeat of the French Army which had been undefeated for >50 years at the Battle of Puebla in 1862). This holiday celebration has crossed the borders into the States, with the number of Mexicans who have moved, and subsequently my American friends have introduced me to this too!

I'm not sure what the greeting is officially, if indeed there is one. So hope the following causes no offence:
¡Salud! - Cinco De Mayo!!