Expo Day 2

My favorite photo of the trip, taken with my sister. This was not at the Expo though, but in Wuxi.

Anyway, the on day 2 of our visit to the Expo we decided to concentrate on the European pavilions.

Belgium
Tempted by the free chocolate, we headed for the Belgium-EU joint pavilion where we were welcomed by some European Union stars.

Unfortunately, they ran out of free chocolate, and were giving out free Desobry biscuits instead.

Slightly disappointed, we headed inside the pavilion where our spirits were lifted by potraits of famous Belgium people, including Justine Henin, the former world number one female tennis player, and Aldophe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone.

We were also introduced to the cities of Belgium, including Brussels, its capital.

We learnt that the Smurfs, a popular animated series in the 1980s, began as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo. Tintin (one of my favorite comics) was also a creation of a Belgian cartoonist, Georges Rami.

Near the end of the exhibition was a demonstration on the making of Belgium chocolate.

Spain

The Spanish pavilion was another popular destination. The outside comprised thousands of individually woven wicker panels. Inside the first chamber, we were welcomed by a lively flamenco dance as well as a images of bullfighting, Roger Federer and basketball, directed by the famed Spanish director, Bigas Luna.

A giant projection screen room in the second chamber presented the best of Spanish culture and fashion.
A giant baby by director Isal Coixet fills the last chamber.

Poland

The only knowledge I have of Poland is that it is famous for papercraft and that it was the first country invaded by Hitler in the second world war. Orchestral music by Chopin beckoned us as we approached the entrance and found, to our horror, that the queue stretched all the way around the entire pavilion.

Inside, we were greeted by an image of a three-dimensional interactive papercraft dragon. This was followed by a 3D animated movie on the history of Poland - from the formation of the Polish-Lithuanan commonwealth, the partitioning of Poland, the Second Republic, World War II, the People's Republic of Poland under the USSR, to the current Third Republic.

France

From the outside the pavilion was a simple cuboidal building wrapped up in a huge white wire mesh composed of a new type of concrete material.

I liked the French pavilion for its greenery and openness. A fast moving queue quickly brought us to the interior where a French-styled garden awaited, featuring fountains and a giant rat.
We took an escalator to the rooftop where a French cafe was sited.

From then on we went on a tour around the inside. The theme of the exhibition was "La Ville Sensuelle", encompassing French food, fashion and art.
Seven famous works of art were imported from France to Shanghai for the expo. Two of the exhibits, "The Angelus" by Millet, and "The Age of Bronze" by Rodin had been featured in the previous world expos.

Netherlands
As our last day at the expo drew to an end, we wanted to find a scenic spot to take photos and rest. We chose the Netherlands pavilion, which had a fast moving queue, across the road from the France pavilion. It is said to be modelled as a miniature Dutch city, with an open concept and little rooms showing off various exhibits.

One of the room showcased some paintings and a strand of hair said to be that of the Dutch artist, Vincent Van Gogh's.