Hi all,
We finally made it to Shanghai!!!! Our flight to Istanbul was pretty uneventful and we were hoping we would be able to have enough time to go explore the city but because of visas, customs, travel, and other time constraints we decided we wouldn't have enough time. Instead, we spent 8 hours in the Istanbul airport. The good news is that we still got to have a delicious traditional Turkish dinner topped off with the most amazing baklava I have ever had! After that, we found a quiet spot which was not easy to do and took a nap before boarding the next plane to CHINA!!
The plane was more spacious, clean, and updated so it made that leg of the trip very comfortable. I watched a few movies, had dinner around breakfast time and breakfast around dinner time (these time zone changes are killing me!), and got a few hours of sleep.
We arrived to the Shanghai airport 35 min ahead of schedule, made our way through customs without a hitch, grabbed our luggage and were greeted by Jeanette's mom, uncle and cousin. They drove us back to their apartment and we met a few more relatives before the rest of them started showing up for a traditional Shanghai style family dinner. We had lamb, duck, and beef with rice, egg soup, roasted eggplant, and some delicious greens, though we're not exactly sure what type of vegetable they were. I don't speak any Chinese, but Jeanette's family was really concerned I didn't eat enough so they kept telling me through Jeanette to stop being so polite and help myself! By the end of dinner, I was so stuffed and tried to turn down their offers for more but it was to no avail! After dinner we had sesame ice cream and me and Jeanette's 3-yr old cousin taught each other how to count up to 4 and the word for ice cream in our respective languages.
After almost 30 hours of traveling, I was finally able to brush my teeth and take a shower tonight so I am grateful for that! Hopefully, I'm able to sleep well tonight and start exploring the city tomorrow!
With love,
M
