I guess it's no surprise that the view from our eyrie was exactly the same when we awoke this morning.
Our first visit this morning was to a silk emporium so a few shots of construction sites on the way.
The silk factory was actually very interesting, although as with every other place of its kind the main focus is to sell us stuff.
These are the various stages of a silk worm.
And live worms feeding on mulberry leaves. We weren't told this but apparently if they're hungry they'll also eat elm, lettuce and dandelion leaves.
The cocoons are first soaked in water.
Before being stretched over a frame.
Apparently it's a dying art but these ladies have very gentle hands and are very experienced.
Some of our group feeling just how light the quilt is and how warm.
Some of the cocoons are turned into threads on this machine.
Apparently the way to test for real silk is to try and set fire to it - synthetic silk will burn whereas real silk won't. Luckily we had a retired doctor in the background should the demonstration go wrong.
For the life of me I can't remember when or where I took these lovely pandas - maybe they were in the silk shop.
Another couple of examples of the lovely planting all around.
Then on to the Shanghai Museum which was designed to resemble a Chinese "Ding" vessel (basically a cauldron on legs) and houses a comprehensive collection of ancient Chinese art.
It sprawls over 5 floors and has a rather wonderful staircase/escalator system.
Unfortunately very few of the exhibits were identified in English so we didn't have a clue what we were looking at most of the time.
I'd love to have asked these girls if they enjoyed their museum visit.
Our little Ninja Raymond who must have taken the same shot a thousand times but he brings a different lens with him just to play around.
These buildings are in the Pudong District which is just the other side of the Huangpo River. Originally an underdeveloped farming area, Pudong underwent mass expansion in the early 1990s to become the financial hub of China. These are just a small number of buildings which make the district one of the most recognisable skylines in the world - no doubt we will see many more before we leave.
Directly opposite the museum is Shanghai City Hall.
And just a short walk away from the square these doves were being fed.
This little chap started off being very gentle with the birds but then began to pull their tail feathers - I told him off rather sharply and complained to the parents who also told him off (unlike in England where they probably would have just punched me in the face).
I just wish I was agile enough to strike poses like this when taking photos.
I am a complete sucker for water and music displays ever since we saw the Bellagio Fountains and stood for hours whilst Time to say Goodbye played. The music wasn't quite to my liking but I enjoyed the spectacle and took 100s of photos.
Even Ian was transfixed.
Maybe I should have just switched to video instead of taking stills, that'd have been far more effective.
Do you see this little boy on the left and the security guard in high viz on the right.
The little boy was entranced by the water spurts and exceptionally well behaved. Sadly he only had to step a mm close to the water and the security guard loudly berated him - I felt so sorry for him.
Actually it turns out I had taken a short video!
I don't know why but I love fire hydrants.
And reflections.
Very chic.
I only took this photo because it reminded me of a 21st century version of Vienna's Albertina Museum - obviously without Durex written on the risers!
