Day 36: 3rd Visit to the Yuyuan Garden

Day 36: Because we weren't able to buy anything yesterday, we had to visit the Yuyuan again today. Today, especially since we went during the day, was significantly hotter, but at least it wasn't raining, right? Before leaving for Yuyuan, we decided to eat lunch first to save us time once getting to the Yuyuan, so we decided to stop at the McDonald's near our host university. Walking past by McDonald's often, I really had wanted to go in to see how it looked (because the restaurant was in the basement, so I couldn't see it), and I also wanted one of the Olympic cups that they were handing out, so we went! Let me say, McDonald's in Shanghai was the best food I had, and the atmosphere of the fast food restaurant was completely different than how it was in the States, and I loved it. Because it was so busy, I quickly just ordered the first thing I saw, which ended up being basically a chicken sandwich with a pinkish orange bun. However, when my roommate was ordering her food, I saw the green Angry Birds burger (that I saw in a commercial in the hotel) that I really, really wanted, so my awesome roommate bought the green burger and switched with me! I love her so much. The first two pictures are of the pinkish orange sandwich although it's a little hard to see the color. The other pictures are of my green burger and the insanely cute box that the sandwich was put into. The burger itself was really good; it tasted like an enlarged breakfast sandwich, and it had green spicy mayo in it, which I really liked. I definitely want to make sure I go back to get the sandwich again.

 

  

The McDonald's also had a McCafe in it, and wow, it was really fancy. It had a dessert display with macaroons, cheesecake, roll cake, and so many more fancy-looking desserts. The drinks that they offered like Mango Chunk Smoothie and Green Tea Latte all sounded really good, too. This area is also some place that I will plan to come back to!

  

The walls of McDonald's were also like Asian cafes back in the States where people left messages, so my roommate left our GT mark on the walls, too. I hope you can find it in the pictures. Another reason for you and me to come back to Shanghai! If you visit the McDonald's, and you see the picture and writing, take a picture, and make sure to show me, too!

 

Going back to the main purpose for today, we headed back to the Yuyuan, and man, it was really hot outside. However, luckily, the handmade stalls were open when we arrived, so we headed to them first. There were so many cool stalls, where my favorite was the snuff bottle stall because the man was really nice, we got to see him actually paint on the snuff bottle, and the snuff bottles were all really, really pretty. I honestly wanted to buy one, but I couldn't think of a good reason to buy one with each being very expensive, but my roommate bought one, so I guess I can visit her whenever, I want to see it! I also got to see other crafts like grass weaving, kite making, these creepy scent bags (creepy because the bags weren't bags; they were actually weird looking models of real people with scents stuffed in), copper art, and finger painting. Finger painting sounds like something we do in Kindergarten, but this man's finger painting was amazing. He solely used the side of his hand (near his pinky finger) to draw elaborate pictures, where I even bought two pictures! While continuing to shop, I bought a complex Chinese puzzle for my brother, a key chain for a friend, and fans for some other friends. My roommate also bought a lot of things, where she bought 10 pocket watches because they are very important and famous souvenirs in Shanghai. Again, although it was hot today, I had a great time, and to be honest, the Yuyuan was just as beautiful during the day (probably because it wasn't raining). However, my roommate and I were so tired that we collapsed and fell asleep right after coming back!