Mommy, the World Traveler (part 1)

I don't usually travel that much with my job and when I do, it's usually inside the US.  However, recently I had the opportunity to go to China to visit suppliers and go to Sweden to visit the global headquarters.

I flew to Shanghai on a Saturday morning and arrived Sunday night (12+ hour flight and I flew forward in time another 12 hours).  I was met the next day by a Bona colleague from China (he spoke English) and a colleague from Denver, CO.  We visited the plants that make our mops, trigger spray on bottles, and cleaning pads.  We (the guy from Denver and I) also had a few hours to go to the "copy markets" and bargain for some trendy handbags and scarfs.  The last day we took the subway and powerwalked out to the river to see the view before it was time to head back to the airport and everything in between was work with a few good meals scattered in.  Yes, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the food I was served.  They didn't try to shock me as much as my first visit (different company).
Luckily, I had the whole tourist thing under control (my male US travel partner was no help) because my awesome husband made me a Google map of my hotel and nearby attractions, along with downloading a few Shanghai Metro apps on my phone.  A city with 30 million is a bit intimidating.  Even if you see things that remind you of home, it's not the same... i.e. KFC for lunch.

An ally downtown with lots of shops and restaurants.

Shanghai World Financial Center a.k.a world's largest bottle opener.  (This is the "modern" architecture side of the river)

This is view from "modern" side looking to the "old" side, but nothing in this city is really that old.

One night for dinner, we were invited to the Bona Asia Celebration Dinner.  Many Bona customers/distributors were invited to eat a big meal and listen to the "band" -- pretty sure they covered Nirvana, The Eagles, The Beatles, and various other top 40 artists.

Yes, I tried the fish.  All of our meals were served "family style" so the dishes were placed in the center of the table and you could pick and choose what to eat.  It's the best way to get to taste everything and only go back for seconds on the good stuff.  

Bona Shanghai office.

More lunch photos:  Lotus root - sweet and tasty.  I did not try the dish with tentacles.

A booth at a market in Qingdao.

Just to prove that I really did some work, here's a shot of an assembly line.