Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Last days in Taiwan
Wow, 2 weeks went by really fast!
We've spent the last few days in Taipei just hanging out, eating, and shopping. We went to a nice mall where we got to look like a super hero. :).
We went to a night market which was great. I think on this trip I have bought 5 pairs of shoes, more than I've bought for the last few years. We also keep trying new food... These are some plums covered in sugary syrup. Yes, my mouth is full of one on this picture.
We also went to the Makong Gondola which was a great scenic ride up over the lush forests of Taiwan.
And last night was awesome
Too! I rode on a scooter to the dollar store. It was fun - and Rob and I took and adventure and went to the grocery store all by ourselves. We finished the night with some delicious papaya milk and banana milk. Yumm! There are some foods I will miss in the USA.
In a little over 24 hours I'll be home. It's been a good trip and neither Rob nor I got sick! Overall it was an awesome experience made possible by some VERY thoughtful friends and hosts! I'll have to post more pictures when I get them off my camera.
Bye-bye!
We've spent the last few days in Taipei just hanging out, eating, and shopping. We went to a nice mall where we got to look like a super hero. :).
We went to a night market which was great. I think on this trip I have bought 5 pairs of shoes, more than I've bought for the last few years. We also keep trying new food... These are some plums covered in sugary syrup. Yes, my mouth is full of one on this picture.
We also went to the Makong Gondola which was a great scenic ride up over the lush forests of Taiwan.
And last night was awesome
Too! I rode on a scooter to the dollar store. It was fun - and Rob and I took and adventure and went to the grocery store all by ourselves. We finished the night with some delicious papaya milk and banana milk. Yumm! There are some foods I will miss in the USA.
In a little over 24 hours I'll be home. It's been a good trip and neither Rob nor I got sick! Overall it was an awesome experience made possible by some VERY thoughtful friends and hosts! I'll have to post more pictures when I get them off my camera.
Bye-bye!
Back in Taipei
We made it back from China safely ( as you can tell since blogging is forbidden and blocked in China )
We did a few mire scenic stops in Taipei, including the Sun Yat Sen memorial.
We've had great weather mist of the trip, but this day was raining. But with the rain it made for a beautiful scene of the Taipei 101 which we visited the first day.
We did a few mire scenic stops in Taipei, including the Sun Yat Sen memorial.
We've had great weather mist of the trip, but this day was raining. But with the rain it made for a beautiful scene of the Taipei 101 which we visited the first day.
Beijing
Today we visited the site of the 2008 summer Olympics. We got to go into the Water Cube where all the swimming events took place. We also got to go into the Birds Nest where the track and field events took place.
Then We headed to the Summer Garden which is this HUGE garden area with many beautiful buildings. It also has the longest painting gallery in the world with 14000 paintings in this very long hall.
There is also a huge manmade lake built for the emperess a long time ago.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Then We headed to the Summer Garden which is this HUGE garden area with many beautiful buildings. It also has the longest painting gallery in the world with 14000 paintings in this very long hall.
There is also a huge manmade lake built for the emperess a long time ago.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, June 9, 2011
China
We're in China!!
Yesterday we went to the Great Wall which was awesome!!! It was just like I envisioned it would be. But we forgot to take pictures on the iPhone, so they will come later.
We rode the Subway, and that was an experience. It was wall to wall people. We walked like cattle for about 10 minutes.
We also ate Peking duck, which was delicious. We tried all parts of the duck... Some were better than others. :). It was certainly adventurous!
Today we are off to the Forbidden City! It has been great having Jimmy to show us around and having time to catch up with him.
Yesterday we went to the Great Wall which was awesome!!! It was just like I envisioned it would be. But we forgot to take pictures on the iPhone, so they will come later.
We rode the Subway, and that was an experience. It was wall to wall people. We walked like cattle for about 10 minutes.
We also ate Peking duck, which was delicious. We tried all parts of the duck... Some were better than others. :). It was certainly adventurous!
Today we are off to the Forbidden City! It has been great having Jimmy to show us around and having time to catch up with him.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Off to China!
I probably won't have Internet for the next few days, as we will be in China!
Today was fun-- we were tourists in Taipei seeing the National Palace Museum and the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. Thank goodness they were air conditioned as it was hot today! It was so crowded at the museum that when we left they had closed the entrance to new visitors!
The museum
For dinner we had all you can eat BBQ which you cook things for yourself at the table over a little BBQ fire. It was very yummy!
Today was fun-- we were tourists in Taipei seeing the National Palace Museum and the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. Thank goodness they were air conditioned as it was hot today! It was so crowded at the museum that when we left they had closed the entrance to new visitors!
The museum
For dinner we had all you can eat BBQ which you cook things for yourself at the table over a little BBQ fire. It was very yummy!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
More food
So the dining adventure continues....
After Sun Moon Lake we went south to the city of Tainan. It has a lot of historical landmarks which I can post later. One of the other 'local' things we did was go to a night market. There was this empty lot and in about 30 minutes it transformed into a crowded market filled with vendors, shoppers, sounds and smells.
This was the mist adventurous food yet. We tried all sorts of things, including one bite of chicken feet, pictured below. We also tried stinky tofu (smells really stinky), oyster omelette tortillas, wheat grass juice, octopus, and more. I think I am all adventured out for now.
On a less adventurous note we've tried some delicious bows (pronounced like boughs). They are delicious dumplings like things.
-
And we ate other sweet things including lots of pearl teas, ice cream in a croissant and ice cream, peanuts, and cilantro in a tortilla.
Alice's relatives also made delicious tamales for the dragon boat festival. See below.
Alice eats a fish cake... I'm done eating seafood for a bit!
And not so adventurous blueberry oreos....
After Sun Moon Lake we went south to the city of Tainan. It has a lot of historical landmarks which I can post later. One of the other 'local' things we did was go to a night market. There was this empty lot and in about 30 minutes it transformed into a crowded market filled with vendors, shoppers, sounds and smells.
This was the mist adventurous food yet. We tried all sorts of things, including one bite of chicken feet, pictured below. We also tried stinky tofu (smells really stinky), oyster omelette tortillas, wheat grass juice, octopus, and more. I think I am all adventured out for now.
On a less adventurous note we've tried some delicious bows (pronounced like boughs). They are delicious dumplings like things.
-
And we ate other sweet things including lots of pearl teas, ice cream in a croissant and ice cream, peanuts, and cilantro in a tortilla.
Alice's relatives also made delicious tamales for the dragon boat festival. See below.
Alice eats a fish cake... I'm done eating seafood for a bit!
And not so adventurous blueberry oreos....
Anniversary!
Wow, it has already been 4 years since Rob and I got married! This vacation is like a giant gift already, but Rob and Andy schemed and surprised me with an awesome night at a fancy hotel. This room was AWESOME! It had its own pool that looked out to the sky, it had a projector with surround sound, a personal steam room, a personal jaccuzzi with a tv and music and automatic dimming lights. And, it had a karaoke system and full automatic massage chair as well! Because it was over here, it was just a fraction of the cost too!
Here's to many more years of marriage and adventures!
Here's to many more years of marriage and adventures!
What's wrong with this picture?
So we've been doing a lot of shopping in the streets and streets of shops. I noticed that a lot of the shirts in English don't make a lot of sense, so I started looking closer.... Looks like they are just random English letters or copied words. Here are some examples:
-
-
Friday, June 3, 2011
Sun Moon Lake
After arriving in Taipei, we spent a few days with Alice's very generous parents, who got a van and drove us down the West coast of Taiwan. We stopped at the biggest lake in Taiwan called Sun Moon Lake. After sleeping in the VIP room we got up for a sunrise hike ( at 4:30 am). It was a beautiful hike.
Morning view of The lake.
A tea plantation on the hillside!
A crazy caterpillar on the path!
Morning view of The lake.
A tea plantation on the hillside!
A crazy caterpillar on the path!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)