Sunday 08/10
Isabelle goes to St Ignatius Cathedral, by bike; nice ride through the French Concession. The cathedral is unfortunately closed, for renovation. It’s strange to see this gothic building among modern towers in this new district. After a tour in the park nearby, she goes to the ‘Carrefour’ supermarket where she’s impressed by the “wet” (fish) section – see pictures.
I stay at the apartment with Florence and Jules.
Upon Isabelle’s return, we go together, by Ofo bikes (of course!), to M50, an art complex where galleries have set up in disused factories and cotton mills, utilizing the vast space to showcase contemporary Chinese emerging and established artists. It’s an enjoyable and interesting place with also nice shops and cafés. We eat at the ‘Traveled Coffee & Tea’. The kids are rather tired today and they go back to the apartment by metro, by themselves like yesterday (Shanghai is such a safe city!).
Isabelle and I continue by bike to ‘1933’, which is an Art Deco industrial building; it was once a prolific slaughterhouse. Art Deco is Shanghai’s signature style; it defined the city skyline between the late 1920s and 1940s, and permeated virtually all design, industrial buildings (such as this abattoir) included. The imposing stone exterior of the building suggested indeed a Bund-front municipal office, bank or cultural centre, rather than a meat-processing plant. Built in 1933, it was reopened in 2007 (after falling into disrepair) as a ‘creative lifestyle hub’.
We go back to the apartment. We take the kids and then go to Pudong, by metro. We have a family evening out tonight: we go to a chic restaurant all together, which doesn’t happen very often.
We have an appointment with Ludivine (who spent the weekend with her friend Katie) at 6pm in the centre of Pudong. We first go for a drink at the Ritz Carlton, in the IFC Tower. The kids are unfortunately not allowed into the ‘Flair’ bar, on the 58th floor. Hence, we take a drink at the bar one floor below. The view of the Bund, at sunset, is beautiful. After the drink, we go rapidly to have a look at the outdoor terrace of the Flair, which is one of Shanghai’s best nocturnal visuals; we feel so close to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower.
We go quickly to the Grand Hyatt, in the Jinmao Tower, to show the impressive inside view to the family (that’s where I went with Claire a week ago).
We take Ofo bikes to the ferry terminal and we cross the Huangpu for the last time. The view of Pudong at night is really amazing; I cannot get enough! We go and eat at the Jean-George’s Mercato restaurant, on the Bund. I booked seats at the pizza lounge (with a wood burning oven). Pizzas are excellent.
We go back to the apartment, by metro, around 10pm. It was a very nice last evening in Shanghai.
