Our Summer In Taiwan

Maokong Gondola I could definitely get use to the rhythm of this life.  Each day starts out with a hotel breakfast with Ben. We both walk out of the hotel lobby at about 8am. He walks straight to get in the taxi for work and I turn left towards the MRT station which is only a 2 minute walk down the street.  Eventually I might try and make myself a schedule...workout, call friends/family, read, blog, sightsee, clean the apartment...But I told Ben this week doesn't count. I told him this is my vacation week :) I have no set plans and I won't feel bad if I don't workout, I only eat fried foods, and I don't crack open any of my summer reading books.    My only plan this week: Explore Taiwan Today I took the Maokong Gondola to the top of a Mountain for some loose leaf tea.   There was no one in this tea shop except me. The waitress came and showed me how to make it and then used google translate to tell me I could use the lea...

Taipei Confucius Temple  They love their cutsie little (sometimes big) figurines ________________________  Baoan temple taipei __________________ Lin An Tai Homestead ____________ I had a private tour of the botanical gardens  _______ The service here was so nice!  Often the servers or owners watch me take a bite and ask how I like what they made. It is really fun to tell them how much I like it. They look really happy.  Pinneapple Lemon Milk Tea with 30% sweetness (You choose your level of sweet here!) Sushi that from a street vendor (that I was not brave enough to try). But how pretty is it?  By far the strangest tasting thing yet which surprised me - a club sandwhich. I do really like that tea is served everywhere (sometimes in replacement of water at a restaurant). 

Day 2 Starting the Day Off Right Getting a foot massage was pretty much on the top of my list of priorities for the day. One half hour for $12 is not a bad deal if you ask me... This may have to happen more than once before we fly home. 228 Memorial Park   I realized the massage place was right near a park that was listed on many of the touristy websites. Later that night I kept telling our friends that I went to 228 Memorial Park. I kept getting, "but why?!" and "how did you decide to go there?" Ben said that he too got odd remarks when he told people at work that I spent most of the afternoon there. Apparently the park is known to be a dangerous place at night. Honestly I didn't get any weird vibes while there and saw a handful of tourists (which was the first I had seen of any foreigners). History Lesson: February 28th is a special holiday in Taiwan. It is called "Peace Memorial Day" and is ...