We have not been the greatest at blogging lately. It’s been a crazy busy few weeks! The week we returned from Beijing, Mike had a few business trips so it was just me and the boys. Then Auntie T came to visit on 17th! This is the boys waiting for her on the street corner….they were obviously a little excited. We could have waited in the air conditioned lobby or apartment, but apparently that was not good enough. LOL
We dragged her to all our favorite spots – rain or shine (mostly rain).
The Yu Yuan Gardens are always awesome. Walking the gardens in the rain was worth it because it dramatically reduces the number of tourists in the gardens. We got great shots like this with no random people in the background!!
Another from the Yu Yuan Gardens.
Rooftop bar fun on The Bund!
Mike had a business day trip to Nanjing on Friday, so we all tagged along. We took the train out there. Mike went to his meetings and we had a guide meet us at the station. Bless his heart, but this poor guy knew nothing. Most questions were answered with “I don’t know”. If he did know, it was because he walked over and read the Chinese Tourist Signs and just translated what it said. He could not even help us order at the Chinese restaurant he took us to for lunch! However, it was nice to have a car and driver to take us around, so it was not a total bust. We saw some beautiful and interesting things, like this Buddhist statue rising out of the lake.
We learned about the life of Confucius at the Confucius Temple, but the highlight was banging the drum of course! 
The trip to Nanjing was a funny experience overall, including the miserable moments. T got to experience the frustration that can be living in China- inability to communicate an order in a restaurant, trying to get train tickets, the heat and humidity, and a general lack of understanding of what is going on around you.
T and I managed to sneak away on her last day here. Our planned walk was derailed by my poor navigation and then heavy rains. Luckily, we found a cute cafe in which to wait out the downpour, with wine of course!
It was a great week with Auntie T!