Originally from England and Australia, Nick and Olivia Marchand moved to Shanghai in 2014 with their children Freyja and Elvy due to Nick’s job at the British Council of Australia. Having lived in Shanghai a decade ago, Olivia, who’s also a freelance filmmaker, knew it would be a great place for the family to relocate to. Although it took the kids time to adjust to their new home, the Marchands love Shanghai and are getting to enjoy all the art and culture available here. Over brunch at Egg, they told us about their favorite things in the city.
Our Favorite…
Spot for brunch
Definitely Egg, because we’ve all got different tastes and it caters to everyone. Two of us are healthier, vegetarian types and two are meat eaters and have a sweet tooth, so it’s good for all of us. It’s a great café, and even though it is run by an American, it actually has an Australian feel to it and gives us a taste of home.
Date Night
When we do get the chance, we enjoy going to Ginger. But honestly, we usually go get massages on date nights, and we like Zen Massage best. Nick has never been into massages until he got one he realized how relaxing it is. It’s one of the highlights of living in Shanghai – getting an incredible massage that is affordable.
Activities
We love cycling. For all four of us, it’s become our thing in Shanghai and made the transition easier in the beginning when things were a little rough. The streets in the former French Concession are amazing to cycle on. Freyja has her own bike now so it’s really fun to watch her ride on her own. The kids also get roller skating classes from an amazing teacher who comes to our compound. They do this every week and it has become our most popular and successful activity with the kids.
Spot for culture
This is an incredible time to be in China in terms of theater and art. What is so nice is that there are a lot of different kinds of experiences that are happening within the arts scene in Shanghai, so it’s not just the more formal presentations. We loved taking kids to the Rockbund Museum to see a clown exhibition there. The Rooms Project at the Long Museum was also very interactive and was a nice way for the girls to experience art. The music festival experience we would repeat over and over again was Concrete and Grass, which was done really well and so great for families. The Shanghai Children Arts Theatre, the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center and A.S.K. (art space for kids) are wonderful for the kids to experience theater.
Place to travel inside China
Yangshuo was a fantastic family destination that we visited, and our favorite. We stayed in this little Danish hotel that was lovely and there was one day where we cycled across the countryside and hopped on a boat with our tandem bicycles.
Place to travel outside China
Thailand has probably become the most regular destination for our family, but most of Asia is good for kids. Bali was really great for families because the food is amazing and they also have good beaches and the temperature is comfortable. We actually got married in Bali as well and took Frejya there (she was 2 at the time).
