Brynne is Here! (6/20-24/2011)

Monday, June 20, 2011
We are so excited! Brynne arrived today!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Brynne apparently brought the sun with her. Went to the Shanghai Zoo today. We made a beeline for the giant pandas, in order to catch them awake:

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Hard to get photos through the glass; let's try a video:

Next the lesser pandas (red pandas):

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The lesser pandas are only a little less danger than the giant pandas.
The pandas had large new housing.
Our next exhibit was the Bailing Pet World. It is hard for us to imagine, that a zoo would display valuable purebred dogs...

Here we could complain about the reflective glass and signs blocked by overgrown bushes. (There's a pug and a chihuahua in there.)
They had the newer housing:

But this poor Shetland Sheepdog

had the older, stinky housing...
We didn't realize we had left Pet World, because it was still a dog:

A Raccoon Dog.
A Coypa Rat:

He was muskrat-sized.
Banded Mongoose:

Brynne with the elephant topiary:

Red-billed Hornbill:

Eagle Owl:

He was huge!
This bird was labeled a Grackle...

As in Gracula religiosa (Common Hill Mynah). He had an interesting soft, deep voice.
The Chimpanzee Family:

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Begging:

People actually throw them packaged cream puffs.
Ho humm...

The wee baby:

Heroic sculpture in the zoo:

It was too hot and humid to stay long at the zoo.

Without the sign, you wouldn't think to use this door:

Lunch at Bubba's Texas Bar-B-Q:

Thursday, June 23, 2011
Had a real Chinese lunch at Yuyuan Bazaar at the Nanxiang Restaurant, home of the famous steamed dumplings, as seen in the wooden steamer:

The crabmeat dumplings turned out to contain pork. The thin-skinned yanpi dumplings in the soup seemed to have shrimp or fish paste. The black-seeded "crisp" contained spicy cashew, and the one with white sesame seeds had a spicy meat filling. The crescent-shaped crisp at the bottom was vegetarian. The soft doughy item on the far right contained egg yolk.
Here is the view of the Huxingting Teahouse from the restaurant:

After lunch, we headed across the Zigzag Bridge.
Throwing coins at the downspout-like thing?

Brynne on the bridge:

Water lily planters:

Brynne in front of the teahouse:

Tamiko with the travel purse from Alice R:

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A view of the Nanxiang Restaurant:

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Asian domestic ducks:

Brynne at the popular posing spot in front of the teahouse:

Yuyuan Bazaar's old-fashioned theater:

Friday, June 24, 2011
Another sunny day! Off to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower:

That is all that fits into the picture frame.
So you need to photomerge for this shot:

The Taihu-like lion sculpture:

Taihu/Lake Tai is where they get all those rocks for rockeries.
Al Gore was here:

At the top, in the Space Module at 350 meters:

The two tallest buildings in Shanghai, and in China:

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The Shanghai World Financial Center and Jin Mao Tower.
A parade of barges headed up Suzhou Creek:

Brynne at 263 meters:

Oh, no! She's falling!

Is this a better angle?

Looking straight down:

Space Dome:

Mail box:

Space roller coaster:

The Bund Panorama:

Brynne at 90 meters:

The tallest buildings from 0 meters:

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