After the food debacle, we found ourselves in the Expo gift store looking for postcards. Or, Ann found herself in the Expo gift store looking for postcards. Mike found himself sitting on a bench outside, drinking the remainder of the water rations, wondering which pavilion to visit next, before following Ann into the Hai Bao purchasing fray. The gift store (Shanghai is filled with Expo-licensed gift shops selling authentic Expo souvenirs, and the Expo itself is no exception to this rule) had some pretty interesting things. For one, we discovered that Hai Bao is not just limited to posters and plush toys. You can also find him on useful, everyday items. I must say that I (Ann!) was sorely tempted, but Mike managed to pull me away before I gave in and purchased some great nail clippers. So many choices!
Thinking more clearly, we headed towards the China Pavilion. We took the elevated walkway (So much dedicated Expo construction: it's a mile of cement walkway, thirty feet wide and forty feet off the ground!) and managed to simultaneously avoid a lot of other foot traffic, and see the view from above. It was great! The walk was long, with plenty of distraction along the way. Predictably, we were completely waylaid by the Scandinavian Pavilions. Sweden had some great horses that became the inspiration for Ann's Swedish Pose. Denmark had a series of ramps that we saw people riding bicycles down. Norway (or Finland, there is some debate) was large, white and egg shaped, surrounded by a broad, shallow moat. It was also strangely mesmerizing and we took lots of pictures in front of it (few of which turned out).
After Scandinavia, we continued our journey towards the China Pavilion hoping to at least catch a glimpse and maybe get inside. The crowd strangely sparse - we'd heard stories comparing the expo with that traffic jam outside of Beijing that took 9 days to clear - so we had hopes that we could accomplish the impossible.
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