Easter weekend and I thought I’d go on a bike tour of my area of the French Concession. I was surprised to come across Normandie Apartments on HuaiHai Lu – I have seen the flat Iron building in New York and this is a similar shape though not quite as beautiful. It was so nice to see something a little different to the soulless concrete apartment blocks in Shanghai. Underneath at ground floor, the covered walkway reminded me of Italy and I expected expensive boutiques and patisseries and ice-cream parlours there but was disappointed only to find hairdressers, a wheelchair distributor and a pharmacy. Like so many things here, it’s almost perfect but not quite.
I had cause to smile a little further down the road when my eye was drawn to an exciting shop which I might try visiting the next time I am looking for a new pair of shoes. It’s such a trial in Shanghai trying to get shoes in western sizes – perhaps this shop further down my road is the answer to all my problems.
