Hangzhou (杭州)

After a week in Shanghai we went on a three day trip to Hangzhou with the family of Ji's brother and her mother. With the new high speed train line it is only about an hour from Shanghai and an very interesting city.
Scenic West Lake is one of the main attractions and was our first stop

 A boat took us to one of the islands

 Mia tried out one of the costumes and posed for pictures

 She also got some flowers

We really enjoyed the sunset]

 After a nice breakfast in the hotel with a nice view we checked out some temples

ZhaoJiaLou (召稼楼)

Sunday morning we spend in ZhaoJiaLou (召稼楼), an ancient water town at the outskirts of Shanghai with lots of things to see - and to eat.
Unfortunately there was some light drizzle

 For lunch we had some dumplings

 Then we too had a little boat ride

Jinjiang Action Park

Across the street from Ji's parents apartment is a big amusement park that we always wanted to check out. Of course it was more fun with Mia's cousin.
 

 The first stop was the carousel that had two levels

Then there was a ride on a bike powered cart

Mia also wanted to try the huge Ferris wheel. The ride was only included in the ticket price for children so Mia and her cousin rode by themselves

 Then we had a little boat ride

 Mia didn't enjoy the last ride too much - it was a bit too rough for Mia

After all this it was time for ice cream

Wild Animal Park

The mother of Mia's cousin suggested a trip to a wild animal park at the outskirts of Shanghai. It turned out to be an interetsing mix of animal park and circus.
First the statues at the entrance had to be explored

Then we went on a bus tour through an area with tiger, bears, lions and other large animals

A very good professional circus show was part of the program as well. At the end the magician turned to girls in a plexiglas container into a tiger

 After the show Mia and her cousin could ride some circus animals

 Then we explored the rest of the park. They had some panda bears there as well

Having Fun in Shanghai

Our hotel in Shanghai was just across Xujiahui park close to stores and all kind of public transportataion.

 Mia's cousin took a day of from school to explore some parks and playgrounds with her

Mia's grandfather also joined for some time

 Mia;s cousin also brought a soccer ball

Time for some ice cream

There were also some rides in the park

In the evening everyone was hungry

A weekend with the Cousins

This weekend Yilei invited us over to stay with her from Saturday to Sunday. After lunch with Yilei's mother we checked out Ben flag football practice. After a nap together for Mia and Ella the three had enough energy for the rest of the day.. SI
Sunday after a breakfast at Wegmann's the three went to a playground.
Since they didn't like the music on the radio they had to sing themselfes

 Mia helped Ella with the shoes for the plaground

It was the warmest day of the year so far

The we checked out Bunnyland at Butler's Orchard