Day 3: Shanghai
:gps:Rm 1229 at the Courtyard Xujiahui::31.194447::121.430044:gps:
Well, here I am. Just stopping for a breather and a bit of breakfast... well, second breakfast. First breakfast was something akin to a giant potsticker I got off a street vendor who probably thought I was a retard.
Since I didn't already know what they were and couldn't read the Chinese sign, all I could do was point and say "I want one of those," merely shrugging and smiling at her questions in response.
It was worth it. I ended up going back and grunting some more for another one. All told, it was about 75 cents, and I spent fifteen minutes at dawn munching while I watched some tai chi students practicing sword-work in the shadow of a huge Catholic cathedral.
Incidentally, the beggars in front of the cathedral are the only ones yet who've spotted me straight off as an outsider.
Anyway, now I'm at Boonna Cafe just off Huaihai Rd, having an espresso and croissant with French jazz playing overhead.
Today will be a random walk through Shanghai; I really only have one place I need to hit, and that's a stall just off Nanjing Rd that apparently has the most kickass dumplings in town.
Pictures would have been forthcoming, but for some reason my card reader isn't working. Ugh.