She left Ohio Thursday morning bright and stinkin' early and landed in Taipei Friday evening a little after 6pm Taiwan time (I'll do the math for you...24 hours of flying and 36 hours lost with time change included!) on Friday, April 29. We grabbed some quick food in the airport and headed back for my home in Hsinchu to prepare for sports day Saturday morning. (Funny thing about schools here in Taiwan...they don't mind making you work an occasional Saturday, but you're always compensated for the day...so we got Monday off instead...whatever makes you happy!)
Sports day on Saturday included many waves from the students for my mom and many MANY stares from parents at the 2 lone white people that some didn't even know existed in the town {I'd blow their minds if I told them there was a white guy teaching at the Junior High as well! haha} Guys, I promise I'm not exaggerating this stuff! I had a mother of a first grader follow me around for a good 45 minutes taking numerous pictures of me and telling me over and over again in Chinese how beautiful I was and that she loved my nose...I've said it before...but I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried! After sports day (early release at 1...heck yes!) we headed home, quickly packed our bags, and hopped on the Train for Taipei {mom avoided a scooter ride here and I allowed her to breathe more easily on the local bus!}
We arrived to Taipei a little after 4pm, checked into our hotel, and Tour Guide Tracy got right to work on the extensive list I had been given to accomplish in Taipei {I'll brag for a second and say we covered everything on the list my mom gave me and then some...and we both lived to tell about it!}
First Stop...Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
{previous visits HERE & HERE}...with sightings of 101!
Next up...Longshan Temple
{previous visits HERE & HERE}...a must see temple in Taipei!
And finish the night off with...Shillin Night Market
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Sunday brought along a whole new set of adventures and exhaustion (I can't lie though I love traveling so, it can be quite tiring at times as well!) We slept in a little bit to help cope with our long day the day before {and possibly a previous 24 hour flight around the world!} and then headed out for our day's first adventure...and one that my mom was madly in love with!
First stop of the day...Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
{previous visits HERE}...mom was quite smitten with the architecture of the buildings in this area AND that she got her first ever jumping picture in front of the Memorial Hall {it's truly the little things in life!}
After we were starving and caved for a late super late lunch, Hello...Din Tai Fung!
{previous visits HERE & HERE}...I can't lie, I think this restaurant is wonderfully delicious and I will miss it something fierce when I finally leave my island home. Needless to say...mom was also a fan, it's hard not to be!
We finished lunch and headed to...Ximen District...to walk off our food babies & see what we could find!
{previous visit HERE}...I can't say this is a must see in Taipei, but if you are in the area for several days and are wanting to see a different vibe of the city, this up & coming district is the place to be and a great way to spend an afternoon or evening, or in our case, a little of both as the nightlife here proved to be unique in its own right as well!
Last up for the night...Taipei 101 sighting at night!
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Monday was our last official day to gallivant through Taipei, remember thanks to sports day...no school Monday! And we started off with a bang and ended again way late; tired, but with full bellies and happy smiles!
First up, breakfast...Traditional Taiwanese Cold Peanut Noodles!
These can be bought just about anywhere, but I have been introduced to a popular street-side shop and knew she would love it!
Afterwards, the Taipei must see...Taipei 101!
{previous visits HERE, HERE, & HERE}...You just CAN'T go to Taipei and NOT go into Taipei 101! The building is beautiful, the dampener inside is legendary, the elevator is one of the fastest in the world, and the views are incredible! We spent a good 2 hours checking out the inside of the tower and lucked out when the outside observatory was open for visitors as well! Afterwards we took our grumbly tummies down to the first floor food court and found some delicious noodles for lunch!
There was ONE more item on her to do list...National Palace Museum!
{previous visit HERE}...This museum is incredibly beautiful both inside and out! It is interesting enough the largest (or one of the largest depending on your sources!) collections of ancient imperial Chinese artworks & artifacts in the world and constantly rotating its collections for an ever changing museum display. Needless to say we spent several hours exploring the museum ending with their borrowed exhibit from the Vatican.
The end of the museum sadly also signaled the end of our long weekend in Taipei as we headed back to Hsinchu to prepare for school the following day.
Looks like your having a wonderful time Lupe - Enjoy Safe Travels
ReplyDeleteWe did indeed!
DeleteThe previous message was from me- Carol B. :) how you doing with the chop sticks
ReplyDeleteMy chopstick skills are great! Sometimes I look down while I'm eating and have to laugh at the fact that I don't have to think about using them anymore, it's just second nature...not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing lol
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