Xintiandi, the Shoe Mall, and Shanghai's Sleepiest Cats

I think I found a couple of cats that are sleepier than my cat. One cat was napping right outside its owner's magazine stand. I did a double take because I wasn't sure what I had really seen. This is a supremely relaxed cat.



I walked on to the metro station on my way to Xintiandi. Xintiandi is one of Shanghai's new trendy hotspots. Nice restaurants and little shops. Near Xintiandi is one of World Link clinic's medical facilities. I have an appointment coming up and I wanted to see how close the clinic is to the metro station. As it turns out, not very far at all. I don't really find Xintiandi to be all that exciting. I did take some pictures of the Cisco banners hanging there for Eric.



Not very exciting. I walked on further on Huangpi Road to see what I could see. Getting off the main thoroughfare is always more interesting to me. I bought some fruit, including lychees. I was peeling and eating them as I walked along, periodically tossing handfuls of the skin and seeds in any convenient trash can. On one intersection, I saw people carrying bundles of shoe boxes and then I saw stacks of shoe boxes on the street. I walked into a nearby building and discovered a shoe bonanza. Nothing but shoes. Stacks and stacks of shoe boxes on the street, in the alleys, in doorways, in stair wells, on bicycles, everywhere.



I nabbed a couple of business cards from the shoe stalls inside in case I want to come back. There were 2 buildings, one on either side of the street and both were full of shoes. I have never seen so many shoes in my life.

On the way back to the metro station, I bought a couple of small bonsai. One of them is a ginkgo. I don't know what the the other one is. I'll have to take a picture of them later. At another stall, I saw a white cat wearing a bamboo collar sleeping on a table.



I petted it and then got out my camera to take a picture. The old woman sitting next to the cat tried to coax her cat to wake up a bit for a picture. It obliged briefly before falling back to sleep. We were laughing at the cat. I imagine she was scolding it gently for being so lazy.

Now I'm back home, waiting for our air shipment. We were told that it would be delivered this afternoon around 5:30p. The ocean shipment will likely come on Friday. It seems that we are going from famine to feast. I really don't remember what we all packed. I'm sure we'll have some adjustment before the apartment absorbs everything. I don't think I need to say how much we are looking forward to getting our things.