Where I live…

…is in the French Concession district of Shanghai, China. A very distinct and renowned area of the city that I feel very lucky to now be part of…far nicer than northern Jing’an where I lived last year. Bakeries, restaurants, markets, DVD shops you name it, it is all close by…work a 5-minute cycle down the road…ballet school round the corner. The apartment is newly renovated and on the 7th floor (6th floor in real world terms) of an old style Chinese block down one of the lanes on Julu Lu. There is no lift…all stairs. I haven’t counted how many stairs (yet) as I fear this will make me count them every time I come home, which won’t be a good thing. So far I haven’t really noticed the walk up…it’s good exercise right? My legs after ballet class perhaps don’t appreciate it. I live with Todd…a young American/Hong Kong guy who has his own Management Consultancy business here in Shanghai. He works incredibly long hours and is extremely dedicated to his work, often away on business within China and Internationally. He is easy to get on with, and makes great scrambled eggs with yoghurt – it seriously works. For some reason we tend to have chats very late at night as it is the only time our paths cross. I used to have a huge 1990s TV in my room but I asked the landlord to remove it as I have no need for it. My room is slowly coming together…still quite bare but I like the calm simplicity somehow…and the views…great views across the city. It’s hopefully going to be a perfect space to write. I have included some photographs of the buildings and street as there are some very beautiful details…everyday I see something new. At the moment this is where I hang my hat…