Thursday 3 January 2013

BACK in SHANGHAI

After a wonderful, if exhausting trip to Scotland for the festivities I am now back in Shanghai. As usual we ate to much, drank too much and stayed up way to late, but it was so much fun and just what was expected!

It was great spending time with family, the grandchildren were so excited about us being there, and were able to enjoy lots of hugs and kisses and early morning cuddles in bed. Did I spoil them? Never......



Taking some time to catch up with old friends also made the trip enjoyable. Funny with some people it doesn't matter how long the gap is between get togethers it still feels like old times. A big thanks to everyone who took the time to fit in with our tight schedule. It was a blast.

Of course goodbyes are always difficult, but after 15 solid days of heavy rain, maybe they were a little less traumatic than usual.

We arrived very late in Shanghai on Saturday night,to flurries of snow, and a cold chilly night. Now the cold I can deal with. Lots of warm clothes to keep out the chilly winds. The Chinese take the cold very seriously and wrap up well against it as you can see fro this photo. They are taking no chances.


We tried to get back on track, tried to catch up on sleep but of course hogmanay was but a short 48 hours away. Once again we were out  partying. More eating and drinking, this time there was also singing and dancing. Thanks to our new friends who hosted a small, but wonderful party to herald in 2013. We were a group of 6 Scots, 3 English and 1 American. It was a group who loved to party and did so through until 5-00am. Safe to say we all had a great start to the new year. It was so good to be able to spend this time with new friends and like minded people. 


So now I am struggling to restore sleep pattern, given the double whammy of jet lag and late night partying. I am also trying to compensate for all the delicious food consumed, over what was a very long, and very enjoyable festive season.

So as these were typical Scottish breakfasts.............

      


This is what breakfast for the coming weeks, or months will be looking like......



Have to pay for all the fun, and this really isn't too bad a way to start my day.

So the start of 2013 sees me hoping for a smaller waistline, a larger bank account, and to spend more time keeping old friends close, and to making new connections with new people who hopefully will find a place in the old friend category.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE
or as they say here in Shanghai
XIN NIAN KUAILE






3 comments:

Snowy said...

Glad you had a great time. A very Happy New Year to you.
Have over-indulged too, so need to lose the Christmas chocolates weight!

Nickki said...

Happy new year! That Scottish breakfast is the kind of thing I've been eating far too much of lately, so the latter pic is what I will be eating for breakfast this month!

thecelticcookinshanghai said...

Seems a common problem this time of year! Good luck with withdrawal of all thing delicious lol.