The first weekend in April, we had two days off of work. Yay! A much needed break was taken advantage of. The holidays were Children's Day and Taiwanese Memorial Day. Tessa and I spent the weekend in Taipei. This was my second trip up to the capital city and I loved every minute of it again! Using the MRT or metro/subway is the easiest and best thing ever. The city is huge, there is plenty to do. The only downside was that it rained the WHOLE weekend so we did not get to do everything we wanted to which involved a lot of outdoor things. It literally was sunny on Sunday, the day we left. We still found plenty of other things to do that were mostly indoors.
We actually started our weekend Wednesday night after school let out. One of Tessa's students and her parents took the four of us out to dinner. We went to Tastee, the nicest restaurant in Changhua. It is a 6 or 7 course meal and it was amazing! We started with a little appetizer, i had a jello thing and some lettuce-i don't know what it was, then another one, i had a mushroom bake, then a salad, then a soup, then a palate cleanser, then the main course. I had a steak and vegetables it was so delicious. They also had duck, I tried a little bit, my first time eating duck. It was delicious! After the main course was dessert, I had a bag of chocolate that you crack over ice cream and then you can eat the bag part which was like a fried wanton shell. After dessert was after dinner drink- I had an orange lemon herbal ice tea. Everything was so good! I would go back for sure. That night was when it started pouring and we got soaked riding home in the rain. It was a fun experience, but one I never want to have again. Being splashed by cars and the bike in front of you, and your own bike going through puddles and the rain from the sky.. It was pretty bad, worse than the mist we rode through in Kenting.
A Few of the many courses from Tastee
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| All Ready for the Rain |
So Thursday we woke up and packed and Tessa and I left for Taipei. We took the High Speed Rail up there, so a three hour drive/ train ride turns into a 50 minute ride. Its a little pricey but worth the experience. This train goes a top speed of 186 mph! Things fly by! It was an awesome experience. The HSR station was like an airport and made me home sick, because it felt like I was traveling somewhere.. but I wasn't leaving the island. It tricked me! Anyways, we got to Taipei and checked into our hostel. This guest house is owned by the nicest woman ever! It was clean and the bed was more comfortable than my bed in my apartment. Oh Ikea furniture! Travel Talk - if anyone goes to Taipei! That is what it is called. So we dropped off our stuff and then took off in search of food. We went to TGIFriday's for dinner. This was our weekend to splurge and feel like we were at home. And we did. After dinner we went to Taipei 101, and walked around the mall there. It is also connected to other shops with skywalks so we walked around that part of the city a little bit. It was nice. Taiwan really likes their upscale stores. It seems like when a new mall opens up, instead of a store moving to a new location, a new store will open. So we passed like 4 or 5 Cartiers, Tiffanys, two Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior, like 8 Coach stores. So many nice places. After shopping around a bit, (a lot of window shopping) we went to the hostel exhausted and fell asleep.
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| Tessa with a stone man on the street |
Friday we slept in a little bit and got ready to go. We first went to a mexican place we had heard about called Macho Taco. OH MY GOSH. I have missed mexican food and this place was amazing. It was almost like a Chipotle. We got burritos, California style with Fries and Nacho Cheese inside. It was the best thing I have had on this island. After that we took off to the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial, which Tessa has never seen, and where we could be inside in the rain. The memorial was just as awe inspiring and beautiful the second time. This time we went up to the staue, last time they were working on the stairs and I couldn't go up. We watched the changing of the guard. Then we looked at the historical museum of Chiang. It was really interesting. After that we went back to the Taipei 101 area and watched a movie, and then ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. So good!! Then we went back and went to sleep.
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| We were so excited for Mexican! |
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| Macho Taco |
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| Changing of the gaurd |
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| Chiang Kai Shek Memorial |
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| Tess was super excited! |
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| There was a tv on the Bathroom mirror! |
Saturday we woke up late again, rain makes me so sleepy! We went off for lunch to the Barbie Cafe! This place was amazing! All decorated in pink and sparkles with pictures of Barbie everywhere, the cafe was a girl's dream. I felt like I was 5 years old again. It was so fun! The food was ok but tea time with barbie was a dream come true since I was little :) after that we went to the Sun Yat-Sen memorial hall, another historical place in Taipei. Dr, Sun is known as the "founder of our nation" in Taiwan. He helped bring down the Qing dynasty and started democracy in China. After he died was when communism began in China and Chiang moved to Taiwan and split from China. This is what I gathered from the museums. It is always fun for me to walk around museums and everything was written in English also. Saturday was a cold day, so we went home to change into pants. Tessa was a little sick so she stayed in and I went out to a shopping area and bought some souvenirs. Then I went to Macho Taco and picked up dinner for us. We ate in our room and then went right outside out hostel to a foot message place. We had reflexology massages. This was a very painful experience. Very strong men rubbed our feet and we laughed and tried to talk to get over the pain. It hurt so good I like to say. I felt like my feet would be bruised, and my body was clenched so tight that I needed a full body massage after to work out that tension. It did feel good though.
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| Barbie Cafe! |
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| Tessa was pretend whild i snapped the waiters pictures. Pink! |
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| Our high heeled table |
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| The seats we sat in |
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| Taipei 101 from the Sun Yat Sen Memorial |
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| My BFF Sun |
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| Our reflexology message |
Sunday we woke up and went back to Changua. As we sat in the Hostel after turning in our keys, eating some toast the host provides, we heard a story unfold. Two of the guys staying there had gone out drinking the night before. The one sitting near us told the owner that he got separated from his friend and his phone died. He couldn't remember how to get back to the hostel or what it was called so he stayed in a hotel. The owner then tells the guy that his friend came back and threw up everywhere in their room. Then a few minutes later she tells him that he also went into another room and tried to take blankets from someone else. The story and the room got more awkward as time went on. Tessa eyes got bigger as I tried not to laugh. A third guy walked into the common room. He was the one who's blankets got taken. He says how he knows hes a small guy, so it must have not looked like anyone was in the bed. But when he woke up to his blankets being taken by a naked man, he was scared he was going to be raped. At this point Tessa and I are just looking at each other and we want to get out of here! The owner then comes over to us and tells us the story and how the man doesn't want to pay for the mattress he ruined with throw up, how she thinks he took drugs, and just kept talking. This was the most awkward breakfast I have ever experienced, and I was very glad when it was finally at an end. We cracked up as we walked down the street. So awkward!
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| The Beautiful Island! |
But this was such a nice much needed vacation. I wish it had lasted a little longer since on Sunday it stopped raining. There are so many more things to do in Taipei like the zoo and the palace museum and the beach. We planned to do so much but the rain got in the way! I blew a bunch of money but it was worth it. This island truly is the Ihla Formosa, or beautiful island, as the Portuguese named it. On the way back on the HSR I snapped some beautiful photos of the island. I cannot describe how green and incredible it is. I love it on this little island.
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| The way home on the HSR |
Saturday we woke up late again, rain makes me so sleepy! We went off for lunch to the Barbie Cafe! This place was amazing! All decorated in pink and sparkles with pictures of Barbie everywhere, the cafe was a girl's dream. I felt like I was 5 years old again. It was so fun! The food was ok but tea time with barbie was a dream come true since I was little :) after that we went to the Sun Yat-Sen memorial hall, another historical place in Taipei. Dr, Sun is known as the "founder of our nation" in Taiwan. He helped bring down the Qing dynasty and started democracy in China. After he died was when communism began in China and Chiang moved to Taiwan and split from China. This is what I gathered from the museums. It is always fun for me to walk around museums and everything was written in English also. Saturday was a cold day, so we went home to change into pants. Tessa was a little sick so she stayed in and I went out to a shopping area and bought some souvenirs. Then I went to Macho Taco and picked up dinner for us. We ate in our room and then went right outside out hostel to a foot message place. We had reflexology massages. This was a very painful experience. Very strong men rubbed our feet and we laughed and tried to talk to get over the pain. It hurt so good I like to say. I felt like my feet would be bruised, and my body was clenched so tight that I needed a full body massage after to work out that tension. It did feel good though.
