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Monday, October 29, 2012

Nature & Relaxation

Decided it was time for some well-deserved exercise so we trekked across the street to the Beitou Hot Spring Park.

Picturesque mini waterfalls all over the place. 

Filming some sort of drama or commercial of some sort.



Slightly frightening.  Supposedly, the hot spring water is hot enough to boil eggs...definitely wouldn't want to fall in there.

Natural sulfurous hot spring steam.

Force feeding myself vitamin C in as many ways as possible to fend off this impending sickness.

Da Che Lun for bento box takeout. 


Impeccable attention to detail.  Everything was strategically assembled and placed into each bento.


As good as it's gonna get for sushi rolls in Taiwan.  Yen Sushi withdrawals have commenced. 

Unique traditional ice cream flavors.  Both were some types of rice flavor, tasted similar to rice pudding.  

First time at a massage parlor.  Awesome experience--started off a bit nervous and scared of what was coming but ended up being an experience I'll repeat over and over.  Incredibly relaxing! 

Precursory foot soaking and massage + tea time. 


Sanks to Uncle Joe!

Upon walking in after our foot massages.


Tatami style massage beds. 

Post-massage tea time.

Dry noodles and boba while watching TV.  True happiness for a couch potato at heart.

Dentist office in Taiwan--no shoes allowed.  

Kindling in the waiting room with our shoes off. 

Delicious waffle cookie.

Even the bottled water at Mos Burger is adorable. 

I always check to see if this little guy is there as we're walking back home.  He reminds me too much of my baby Coco >_<

Late night hot pot dinner at Suabu.  A+ quality, presentation and taste. 

Closeup of their provided veggies and assorted fish cakes.

Self-serve sauce bar.

Extra green onion & radish per usual.

Delicious food waiting to be devoured.

Premium marbled beef.

Self-serve ice cream in a waffle cone.  Made room for this with the extra compartment in my stomach reserved for desserts only. 

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Taichung day tripping

Innovative!  A cute carrying contraption for the pastas that 7-Eleven heated up for us.


This is going to sound weird but...this 7-Eleven bolognese is THE best spaghetti I've had in my life.  No flaws whatsoever!! Asian spaghetti is da best.  Dare I say better than Italian? 


 McDonalds outside of the Ximen subway station.  So picturesque!  + McD's fried chicken that can only be found in Asia.  

Part 2 of first world anarchists invading Taiwan.

Shabu restaurant about 3 minutes walking distance from home.

All you can drink soda in glass bottles & lemon iced tea.

Grape soda! Fave

Lamb hot pot.  $200NT (~$7USD) for lamb slices, noodles, veggies, & unlimited drinks + ice cream.  

Day trip to Taichung to visit relatives.  
Taking the high speed rail-- a trip to Taichung that normally takes 2+ hours took us 58 minutes on the HSR.

Looks like a roomy airplane!


I finally opened my Kinder egg!! Yummmy + strange toy inside

Arriving at the Taichung HSR station.  Once again looks like an airport.

Lunch at Thai Town with grandparents and other extended relatives.  So delicious!


Fried ramen noodles with veggies and shrimp.  LOVED!

Satay glass noodles with shrimp.

Seems as if I was a bit late in capturing this one.  Missing piece of fried chicken cutlet!

Fried shrimp paste pancake.

Poor delicious fishy.



Green curry chicken.  Amazing and reminiscent of lahksa from Malaysia.

Shaved ice with house-made "rubies" on top.  Wasn't sure of what rubies were so I asked the waiter...and still unsure of what they are after a long description.  BUT they were good!

Frozen lemonade and iced caramel macchiato on top of a piano-themed seating area.

Taiwanese art display.

Taichung night market for the first time!  Actually seemed bigger and more eventful than the well-known Shilin night market in Taipei.  Definitely roomier since there's a lot more land in Taichung than in Taipei.



Followed the long line in front of this stand and now we know why there was.  Soooo amazing this picture doesn't do it justice.  Definitely lived up to the hype, and then 1000x more.

First time seeing a duck wrap stand! 

But it was sadly disappointing :(

Rose lemonade to cool off from the hot and humid Taichung weather.

Pizza in a cone!  Yet another long line.


A parrot eating a waffle cake with its hands.  The things you see.

We took the Aloha bus back to Taipei instead of the HSR.  Opted for the "luxury" package, that was $29NT extra ($1USD!) and so glad we did.  Massage reclining chairs with provided snacks, water, a blanket and an in-chair TV screen.



Late night guilty pleasures.  More 7-Eleven pasta!!