My Shanghai: Our Local Park

When I was about 10 years old, I uttered the phrase "I hate nature".  And do you think my family have ever forgotten this most ridiculous of sweeping statements?  Ah no. I have been reminded it of it at every opportunity.  "Look Mary, it's a beautiful view. Oh, but you hate nature. Never mind."

I think I made my nature-hating statement when asked to go on a 10km bushwalk in a national park on a Sunday morning. As if.  I had mixtapes to make, music videos to watch, movies to dissect, newspapers to read. What pop culture-loving 10-year-old would choose nature over that?

A decade later, I left Australia and moved to London in the tail end of winter. Hmm. I'd grown up in a Queenslander house with a big back garden. Now I was living in an apartment surrounded by concrete and grey skies. But then summer arrived and I fell in love with public parks. Regents Park and Primrose Hill to be exact. I used to go walking every morning and evening. On weekends I would sit on a parkbench for hours, read a newspaper under a tree or have picnics with friends. At lunchtimes, I would escape the office and sit in a deck chair and soak up the rays.

I've never lost this love for public parks. In fact, it's essential when living in urban environments. In Singapore, I had the Botanic Gardens. In Sydney, I lived across from Centennial Parklands. I love the freedom that living in an apartment brings but I do love being surrounded by greenery. When it's absent, I really miss it.

And so, when we found our apartment in the French Concession, I thought we'd sacrificed access to a park in favour of a more central location. In my immediate area, I could only see private gardens behind brick walls of consulates and in bigger residential compounds.  Surely there had to be a park closer to me?  Duh. There is. It's called Xujiahui Park. And it's gorgeous. And only a 15 minute walk from my front door.

Check out the shoes on the dog!

Another find: a wonderful restaurant with a sun-soaked courtyard