Friday 24 June 2016

Flashback Friday - A cheeky weekend in Paris

One of the joys of expat life is the people you meet and 
the friends you make along the way. 
Expat friends become your family away from home and you get 
close much quicker than you would at home.
Once we left Shanghai and lived for two years each in 
England and Germany, most of our visitors were 
friends from our time in Shanghai. 
We caught up with lots of  friends as they came to London, 
English friends who were 'home for the Summer' 
would join me for an adventure or two.
Friends came to stay in Germany to visit us...and a 
Christmas Market ... or two....maybe a visit to the Rhine to 
drink a Riesling...or two!

I received a message from a Shanghai friend who invited my family to join them in 
Champagne to spend the weekend with them and drink Champagne
while they were there. Only a few hours drive from Frankfurt... 
How could I say no??? Well I had to, we were off  
back to England so my elder daughter could go to prom 
with her old school mates that weekend. 
Major bad timing...but, our friends were also going to Paris! 
Maybe we could meet there...
 Took a little juggling, searching for rail tickets 
and a sneaky day off school for my youngest daughter, 
two of us got to go to Paris for the weekend. 
 We got to  have a fabulous weekend, 
We wandered the streets, soaked up the atmosphere and ate some wonderful food.
Best of all got to spend lots of time catching up with our wonderful friends. 
Sometimes these spur of the moment trips are the very best!









Sunday 19 June 2016

Memories of life in Shanghai four years on...

Hard to believe that we left our Shanghai life four years ago this week. 
We lived in Shanghai for four years so we have now been away for longer than we were there. 
So much has changed, we are struggling with repatriation after eight years 
as expats. Two years each in England and Germany after Shanghai. 
The memories remain strong but the life we lived fades into the distance. 
Barely any of our friends remain, the city has moved on, the skyline has changed, 
the markets, shops and restaurants that were familiar are no more,
 replaced with new places to give the next generation of expats
places to discover and explore.

Shanghai will always be special to my little family. 
My husband and I really had a four year long honeymoon! 
The places we went, the adventures we had, the people we met, 
lifelong friends have now slowly dispersed
around this globe of ours. 

We still miss Shanghai every day, such a vibrant, exciting, cultural and fun city...
come on a trip down memory lane with me...

Recycling guy, Shanghai, China

Our friendly local recycling guy!

Brides, Thames Town, Shanghai, China

The brides of Shanghai...having photos taken at "Thames Town"

Shanghai Skyline, Shanghai, China

The ever changing skyline and all the comings and goings of the Bund.

 Zhenru Temple, Shanghai, China

The temples!

Golden Leaves, Yu Garden, Shanghai, China

The beautiful local people, the autumn colour and Yu Garden

Mao, Dongtai Lu Antique Market, Shanghai, China

The now long gone Dongtai Lu antique market.

Street Food, Muslim Market, Shanghai, China

The aromatic and delicious food of the Muslim Market.

Laundry and load in an alley, Shanghai, China

The laundry and the loads.

Birds and Seniors, Shanghai, China

The senior citizens having a chat while 'airing' their birds.


Xujiahui, Shanghai, China

My local stomping grounds, the noise, the smell...the traffic!

Robyn's Shanghai nappers, Shanghai, China

The nappers...how I miss my nappers!

Superman dog, Shanghai, China

The dogs in clothes. 

So much to miss but so many fabulous memories, happy we had the opportunity to 
have such a wonderful experience. 
We wouldn't change a thing!