April 1, 2019 A day in Seoul, Korea

Today we are going on  a Highlights of Seoul tour. 

We will visit the Gyeongbokgung Palace, have a Korean style BBQ lunch and then walk through a traditional Korean neighborhood.


http://www.royalpalace.go.kr:8080/html/eng_gbg/data/data_01.jsp

Incheon skyline

Seoul skyline

 Our ride to the Palace took about 30 mins and we got there in time to enter the complex and then walk to the entrance to get ready to see the traditional changing of the guard.

It was impressive to see the soldiers change their positions with the music and drums.

Once it was over we were taken to see the many buildings in the castle

 

 While walking we observed groups and pairs of women and girls wearing traditional Korean dress. Some men dressed in traditional dress too.  Later we saw a store that rented the clothing for the day.

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Some of our group posed with the women for a photo and we decided to do so too. We asked one group and they were more than happy to let up take a photo with them.


Next stop was the downtown where we got off the bus and walked to our restaurant. The custom was to take off our shoes and put them in the shoe rack and then enter.
We were seated at tables of 4 with the grill in the center of the table. Since we were a large group two tables were pushed together.
The meal was pork with rice and other side dishes. One person at a time could grill their meat. 

The food was very tastyand the experience was great.

Afterwards we had some free time to walk the pedestrian mall and shop before gathering to go to our last stop.



We drove for about 5 mins to another part of the downtown and got off the bus. Our guide led us up a narrow road (large enough for one car to pass) to show us the older tradition style homes of Korea. The homes were very nice. When we went down another road to go back to the bus we saw the dress rental shop.

Back to the ship in time for tea/coffee and rest before dinner.
It was a very nice day.

At sea on the Celebrity Millennium March 30-31, 2019

We were told that the Millennium was being refreshed/updated but did not know what to expect.

We were really surprised on how nice the ship is after the remodel. The biggest change was the new cabins. Totally redone- new cabinets, beds, bedding, bath.

We were glad to have a sea day after such a  busy tour of Shanghai and Shanghai Disneyland. We enjoyed Shanghai!

Now we will take our sea day to explore the ship, unpack, have some good food and enjoy the evening show.

We booked several shore excursions in order to guarantee we could go on tour- sometimes we delay and the tours are full.

Tomorrow we go to Incheon (Seoul) Korea.  We arrive at 7am and leave at 7pm.

Leaving Shanghai for our cruise March 30, 2019 and our thoughts on Shanghai

March 30, 2019

Reflecting on our stay at the Radisson I can say we had a great stay at this hotel. Not only was  the location very convenient, the service and food very good.
There were even several Starbucks nearby and a bank ATM.

The breakfast buffet was expansive featuring all types of cuisine. We had our choice of American coffee or espresso drinks daily.

Across from the hotel was a nice park where the locals would meet to dance and exercise in groups.

One thing that was expected but not appreciated was the overwhelming smog that we experienced daily. We would check the smog index daily- see sample in photo below.

It was never so bad that we had to wear masks but we could feel the effects of it on us- dry throats, itchy eyes.
Shanghai was a nice newer city at least around the Bund and on Nanjing road. The main streets were wide and very clean. No litter at all.
Starbucks stores were everywhere but ATM's were not easy to find or were stretched out throughout the downtown area.


My only comment was we were not confident to take public transit anywhere as there were no English street signs at all - afraid to depend on Google Maps to lead us to destinations.

All the hotel staff, restaurant staff and starbucks baristas were very friendly. We did not have too much interaction with any one else as most of our time was with a guide who helped us with our needs.

We had arranged for a guide and van to take us to the cruise terminal-25 Km from downtown Shanghai. It turns out Snow was our guide today and we all chatted during the ride to the cruise terminal.

Celebrity instructions warned us not to  arrive earlier than our scheduled time as there were no facilities there.
I gambled and arranged for us to arrive around noon and what a surprise.
The terminal was large and modern.

http://www.baoshancruiseterminal.com/

I had no way nor time to take photos of the terminal so here are two from the internet.

Inside the terminal was new, clean and large. We were guided to the departure area where we went through passport control to a check in area.
Again I don't know why Celebrity issued instructions and descriptions of the terminal that made it seem old and small- maybe they needed updating.

One thing that was a pleasant surprise is the cruise reps handed us a bag with snacks to take with us.

Boarding the ship the crew directed us to go to the buffet for lunch and wait for the announcement that our cabin was ready.

 Note the grey sky- smog....

views from the ship of the terminal

The ship had a late departure time so we were able to go to the top deck and take photos of the terminal and city skyline.

Return to Shanghai March 28-29, 2019 High Tea at Fairmont Peace Hotel and a day trip to a Chinese Watertown

March 28-29, 2019

We returned from Shanghai Disney to spend a day and a half  in Shanghai before our cruise.

After checking in the hotel we went to lunch to plan our afternoon. We decided to have high tea at one of the hotels on the Bund. The hotel concierge was able to get us reservations at the Fairmont Peace Hotel at 2:30 PM.

We crossed the busy street near our hotel and went to the pedestrian mall where we hopped on the Dangdang sightseeing tram to take us to the other end which was close to the bund.
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/nanjing_road.htm

Little train

After getting off the train we walked several blocks to the Bund and reached the hotel. Since we got there early we went into the Maxim's candy/chocolate  shop and bought some different chocolates to bring home as souvenirs. It was interesting as the shop girls did not speak English so I was using Google Translate to have them  read my questions. They thought it was funny.

Across from Maxim's was a very nice cafe. I was sorry we did not notice it the first time we were in Shanghai as we could have had a lunch there.

The hotel is older and very well preserved. We walked through the lobby to find the restaurant for the tea. The hostess seated us at a nice table near the piano and then took our order. The musicians were scheduled to play in a short while.

The ambiance of the room was one of a quiet calm and peace.

The musicians were a pianist and violinist and played beautiful soothing music.

 The sky was grey from smog and fog. Every day was smoggy in Shanghai.

After experiencing a wonderful relaxing time at the tea we decided to walk a little way down the Bund to visit the Peninsula Hotel. We tried to get a reservation here for tea but there were none available. This is a newer hotel and I guess affiliated with the original hotel in Hong Kong.  The lobby was very elegant and had very luxurious shops.

Afterwards we started back for our hotel for a rest.

Dinner was at the Blue Frog.

Friday March 29 we were scheduled for an all day tour of  a watertown.
After our breakfast we met our tour guide Snow who gave a commentary on the sights we saw on our way to Zhujiajiao. He explained there are several of these watertowns in the Shanghai area and this was a good example of one.

After the driver left us off we walked to a Starbucks- I could never imagine a Starbucks in this small town- for a coffee before starting our tour. The Starbucks was located right on the river.
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/zhujiajiao.htm

Snow led us through the narrow alley with an assortment of shops and restaurants until we reached a well known bridge for photos. Afterwards we crossed the bridge and walked to a small pier. Evidently our tour included a short boat ride on the river so on the boat we went. After our ride we debarked and he said it was time for lunch. When we reached the restaurant we met the guide who brought us from Disneyland the day before.
We chose our lunch from a simple menu and enjoyed the view of the river while we waited for lunch.

Snow led us along a leisurely walk to go back to meet the driver and van for our return to Shanghai.  After getting in the van around 1-1:30 we still had time for another stop. I asked him if he could take us to the French Concession since all the guidebooks said this was a must see place.

The driver dropped us off and we had a quick walk and stops for photos here. Unless he brought us to the wrong place it was not too exciting. There were fashionable shops and restaurants and new condos.

French concession map

Shop in French Concession

The photos I see now of the French Concession on the web show narrow streets with little shops and cafes.

Done with our tour we were dropped off at the hotel around 3.

Dinner was at the Blue Frog again. We had a hard time finding restaurants along the pedestrian mall as all of them were in mall complexes and we did not want go from mall to mall looking for one.

After a friendly greeting from  the restaurant staff who had gotten to know us we were seated. Over cocktails- they had a great happy hour- we asked if we could buy some souvenirs and we got a cocktail glass  and coasters as  gifts.

Back to the hotel to pack and get ready for the next part of our trip- the start of the cruise.