Tapeii, Part Two

 The second half of our trip was as busy as the first!  After a brief stop at the hotel to pick up swimsuits and a Taiwanese lunch in a shopping mall, we took the subway to the end of the line.  Destination? Hot springs!!  This was the part of the trip I had looked forward to the most, and it did not disappoint.  After a bit of confusion in speaking with the locals about which hot springs baths were naked versus clothed...obvously we were wanting one of the clothed ones!!

There was a "bit" of a hike straight uphill to get to the Springs and after 20 minutes of this (keep in mind Alli is pregnant and it was 98 degrees and humid!!) a nice resort van driver pulled over and gave us a lift to the resort we had decided upon. As you can see by the sign there were many to choose from and it was so nice of him!

We finally made it and paid the admission for an afternoon of hot springs and a fun buffet dinner.  There were 9 different springs to choose from, ranging in temperature from cold to very hot with jets, bubbles, spouts, showers, and plain old pools.  It was very relaxing and it felt very strange to not have to be chasing a kid around or worrying about one drowning!! I almost fell asleep on the hot stone area, it felt great after having walked all over the city for two days!

After we showered and got dressed at the resort we headed to dinner.  It was a buffet with tons of great food - a little bit of everything - some Taiwanese food, some seafood, BBQ vegetable and meat skewers, salad bar and dessert bar.  Pure yumminess and again weird to be able to sit and chew my food and not have to cut food up into tiny bites for little ones.

The next morning we had another fantastic breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the weekend "Holiday" Jade and Flower Market.  It was just a few blocks from the hotel in an enormous room with tables upon tables of the Jade and pearls that Taiwan is famous for. 

I also found this awesome round glass clock from 1892 that I bought for Tommy.  He usually buys a watch or some sort of timepiece from whatever country he travels to.  It is a little smaller than a tennis ball and very old. It sits on a piece of wood that keeps it upright on your desk or wherever.  He thought it was neat and took it to his office at work.  There was lots of other things too and reasonable prices so we all shopped and spent nearly our last penny!  Got a few Christmas gifts knocked off the list so that was great!

After that we went on a wild goose-chase trying to find another shopping district. We found it eventually but ended up having to leave right away to get back to the hotel to check out and catch our flight home.  Definitely another memory made, though!  Last but not least we ate the best lunch I've had in about 3 years... Kung Pao Pizza and Tiramisu at the airport and it was out of this world!  I have to figure out how to replicate it.  It was AMAZING.  A fantastic ending to a fantastic trip.  I am very thankful to have been able to go and travel while we are here - another once in a lifetime opportunity!

Tantalizing Taipei!

Taiwan is not someplace that was on my list of places to go - in fact, I hadn't even considered it! - but it fit the bill for an awesome girls' weekend away.  Only an hour and a half plane ride away, Taipei is clean, very affordable, and not overpopulated at only 2.3 million people! 


The buildings were so spread out compared to Hong Kong - I almost couldn't believe it!  People were polite, formed lines for the subway, I felt very safe, and many spoke English and there were signs posted in Taiwanese, Chinese, and English.  How awesome is that?!? 

Everyone here rides these scooters.  It is hilarious!  I love them because it means there is virtually no traffic; even at rush hour the traffic was still moving.  Everywhere there are rows and rows of these scooters...it is crazy! 

I was traveling with my friends Laura and Allison.  Alli's husband drove us to the airport on Friday morning while Jeff & Tommy took the boys to preschool.  Their first day of preschool I might add - pictures to follow on another post!  The flight to Taipei was quick & easy and after checking into our hotel our first stop was STARBUCKS!  You all know I am a Starbucks junkie so I was pretty happy about this but we also needed to sit down and plan out our day.

 We decided to go to Taipei 101 first, which is the tallest building in Taipei, the 2nd tallest in the world at 101 floors (thus the name) and an architectural wonder.  It is pretty amazing.  It also has the fastest elevator - it took us only 40 seconds to get to the top!!  It is mostly a financial hub but also has many floors of top-of-the-line shopping like Louie Vuitton and Prada and other names I do not recognize because I'm not really into that.  But trust me when I say it is amazing!

We didn't want to pay $10 for the tourist trap picture of us so we took a picture of the picture on the monitor :)  Frugal, no? :)

I love this view of Taipei.  There are lots of mountains here and it really is beautiful.  A combination of green mountains, skyscrapers, and friendly people.

This whole parking lot is just full of scooters.  We assume it is for people who work/visit the Taipei 101 Center...it is pretty much amazing.  Scooters, scooters, everywhere!!

After Taipei 101 we took the subway to a night market.  There were tons of food vendors, some carnival-type games, but only a few shops.

Allison and I tried these yummy and beautiful potato chips on a stick.  I felt like I was at the Iowa State Fair, what with it being on a stick and all!  Loved it!  We were disappointed with the shopping but apparently we didn't come late enough for when all the remaining shops open.  Still, we were exhausted and wanted to head back to the hotel for a full body massage!

Now this massage will go down in infamy as one of the most embarrasing and hilarious moments of my life.  I cannot list details here but lets just say Taiwan gives new meaning to the term "full body massage." The three of us girls (one of whom is pregnant and the other of whom is lactating) all had the same experience and it was both embarrassing and downright hilarious at the same time.  A true bonding experience for us if there ever was one!!!

Let's move on to Saturday :)  So Saturday dawns and we grab a delicious breakfast before heading out for our 1/2 day sightseeing tour.  The tour was fabulous.  We were on a bus with about 10 others and while I normally hate this type of thing, this was definitely the way to do it to see a ton of stuff in very little time.

First stop was one of the oldest buddhist temples in Taiwan.  I just love the architecture here!  It is amazing. I am intrigued by the buddhist principles after having visited the Big Buddha and monestary in Hong Kong and now Taipei.  They are such a calm and peaceful people.

The garden was beautiful - it was right smack dab in the middle of the city, which was sort of odd, but once inside it was calm and serene.  There was a monk outside watering the flowers, doing yard work.  This is a picture of the 3 statues of Gods that they worship.

A shot of the inside of the temple.  The intricate design is amazing.  Everything is simple somehow but everything contains meaning from its color or shape to texture.  You can make out the monks inside chanting and praying. We could hear them chanting as the tour guide told us about the temple.

 Next up was the Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial.  Our tour guide told us that he came to Taiwan from China after having lost a war and was renowned throughout Taiwan for bringing democracy to the land.  He ruled until his death in 1975 and then his son took over for another 20 years until his death in 1995. 


I say "ruled" because even though he was supposedly bringing a democratic and free society to Taiwan, anyone who disagreed with his leadership style or the government immediately "disappeared!"  How ironic, I thought...but then they built a memorial to him and that confuses me even more!


Regardless, it is beautiful and the architecture is particularly stunning here, with views of many of the government buildings.

These two guys in the navy blue uniform stand there to "guard" the memorial and the statue of Chiang Kai-Shek.  They can't move and everyone stands there and takes pictures of them.  They have to be a certain height and weight to do the job.

Our third stop was the Handicraft Center, where they prepared Chinese Tea for us and then we were able to shop for a few minutes.  I purchased two Chinese puppets for the kids - one was a Chinese dragon with a porcelain face for your hand and then flowing fabric that fits over your elbow, and the other was a sorceress for Olivia.  The kids love them and they remind me of the marionettes we used to get when my parents went to Mexico.


This is the entrance to the Martyr's Shrine and honestly, I do not remember much about this place except that it is a shrine affiliated with the Taiwan military.  Oops, my bad.  I was getting hot and tired by this point!!

We were able to see the "changing of the guard" ceremony for the two military men who were guarding the entrance...again with the not being able to move and people taking pictures of them thing.  The four military branches take turns guarding it and rotating through, I believe this was the Taiwan Navy?.  These are the guys coming in to relieve the guys standing post.  They did the drill where they handle their weapons and it was pretty impressive. I filmed most of it but managed to get this picture in between.

This is the actual shrine behind us. You can go in and look around there.  Everything is very intricate and detailed.  These super nice mom/daughter duo from the Phillipines took many pictures of the three of us with our cameras!


Our last stop was the Taiwan National Museum, and the big attraction there was this cabbage made out of Jade.  Yes you read that correctly!  Taiwan is known for its Jade jewelry and carvings and apparently this cabbage is a BIG DEAL.  A guy from China on our tour told us people come in droves just to see this cabbage made out of Jade that dates back many centuries.  It is very intricate and nice but personally I do not share the fascination!! :)  The above photo of us is the only picture we were allowed to take at the museum.  We also got to see artwork, pottery, and ivory carvings. The ivory was my favorite!

Whew!  I'm tired just typing all of this and it was only 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.  I will save the second half of our trip for another post, but let me just say that I was SO IMPRESSED with Taipei and so glad I had the opportunity to go! A girls' weekend with great friends is just what I needed before Tommy ships out of here!

Okinawa Prefectural Museum

Labor Day weekend was filled with lots of fun - Okinapa, birthday parties, and lots of relaxation!  On Sunday afternoon we needed to get the kids out of the house because we've been in the house a lot because of the heat and humidity.  We were tired of the usual options of indoor playgrounds and beaches, and I ran across an article on the museum online.  We were skeptical, but it was an indoor air conditioned place, so we decided to give it a try.  I am so glad we did - what a gem of a find!

The Museum has two sides - the history side and the art side.  We opted just for the history side and it was really interesting, with enough hands-on stuff to entertain the kids!  First there was the "hands on" room that was made for little hands and learning.


They had the shanshin which is an Okinawan instrument, that kids could play.  The staff working there taught the kids how to strum it.  They also had drums, which both the kids loved to beat on!

There was this box of herbs with really strong smells.  Olivia had a ball smelling them and then twisting the caps on and off, then finding a hole to put them in in the wooden carrier!

Both the kids loved this very cool exhibit where you open the drawer faces and find people inside.  It is supposed to show the evolution of man but the kids just thought it was fun to play "seek and find."

Wyatt had a great time placing the magnets on the computer. They had a chip inside them so that the computer then was able to tell which magnet it was and tell you about that particular sea animal or shell.

 

The actual museum had a lot of cool stuff too!  The floor walking into the museum had this very cool glass floor that the kids just loved.  They couldn't believe they were actually supposed to walk on it!


Wyatt loved this replica of the pirate ship.  I wish we could have read the Kanji (Japanese).  Although there is a lot of English translation here, the majority of the information is written in Kanji.  There were also real fishing boats, a replica of a traditional Okinawan home (with explanations of the various parts of the home), and many historical displays of the Ryukyu Kingdom and Okinawan history.  All in all, another great adventure!                                               

In the Name of Charity

We have several gift shops on our local military bases.  They fly to different countries and purchase furniture, accessories, dinnerware, you name it on the cheap.  They have it shipped here, mark up the price a little (but not a lot) and donate the proceeds to charity.  The store is mostly run via volunteers of the military spouses on island, and I loooooove shopping at them.  Especially the Navy Fleet Gift Shop here on good ol' Camp Lester!

So this weekend my friend Diana and I needed to shop.  First we checked out a local place out in town that does similar things but is for-profit.  I found an AMAZING Katagami that I can't wait to have framed and hung!  It is a cherry blossom print which originated in Japan, as I am sure you know.  Katagami, as defined by Wikipedia:

Katagami (型紙) or Ise-katagami is the Japanese art of making paper stencils for kimono printing. The art is traditionally centred around the city of Ise in Mie Prefecture. Multiple layers of thin washi paper are bonded with a glue extracted from persimmon, which makes a strong flexible brown coloured paper. The paper is cut with a combination of knives and punches....The designs can be extremely intricate, and consequently fragile. Nowadays the stencils are sometimes sold as artworks, attached to hand fans, or used to decorate screens and doors in Japanese rooms.

Then we ventured on to the Navy Fleet Gift shop, which had just received their China shipment earlier this week.  Last year I purchased my awesome dining room hutch from their China shipment.  And this year, I bought two more beauties!!!  I LOVE THEM!


This awesome desk matches my hutch almost exactly!  I would even venture to say they are from the same "maker."  I have been looking for a desk since almost day one on this island and they are very rare to find here, so I immediately snatched this one up!

Then there is this big blue beast... I had been looking for a tall cabinet like this for awhile now, because I wanted something to hide the kids' craft supples, coloring books, activity and preschool books, puzzles... you get the idea.  But most of you are probably thinking...why would you buy a bright blue cabinet?!?   I, too, was a bit skeptical at first.  But as my friend Diana pointed out, it is definitely functional and fits the bill, and even though it doesn't currently go with my red living room, it's not about here, this house.  It's about later...and later, I most definitely would LOVE a bright blue cabinet from China to adorn my house as a centerpiece!!!  Plus, the price was right.  So we bought it, and I love it.

Of course, the big blue beast did necessitate changing out the red curtains, but I found a great set at the 100Yen store that match our couch and I love how it turned out!  Plus, I feel way more organized now that the kids' stuff is out of sight.  It also helped to move the bookcase upstairs to Livy's room for toy storage.  Perfection!  And all in the name of Charity... :)

Okinapa!

 

Living on Okinawa we don't have a lot of wineries.  We have only one (that I know of), to be exct, but it doesn't seem to call my name, and the selection at the minimart is a little less than desireable.  But twice a year the bases put on a little wine show...they fly in vendors who sell wine and have a huge wine tasting.  You get a sheet with about 200 different wines on it, sample some (it is not wise to sample ALL, lol), take notes on which you liked the best, eat some fantastic food, and purchase bottles of what you liked best.


















The food never disappoints at the Butler O' Club!  The food...oh, the food.  I didn't eat much in preparation for gorging myself that night and I was not disappointed!  There was actual "American" seafood - king crab claws, huge shrimp, and of course sushi... prime rib and other beef cuts, and some pretty amazing pasta dishes.  I need to figure out how they made their mushroom risotta because it was AMAZING!














Tommy and I went to the Air Force's wine fest last March and had an excellent time.  This time we joined a group of friends at one of the Marine bases and also had an excellent time!  It was a beautiful night and they had taken advantage of it by utilizing the outdoor Veranda, which then managed to combine nearly all the elements I love most in this world: sitting outside, drinking a glass of wine, eating fabulous food, a live band, my amazing husband next to me and a table full of friends!

It was Misty's birthday, so we had the band sing Happy Birthday to her before heading back inside to purchase our wine.  They even give a 10% discount when purchasing a case! :)  Not that I would know...

The Many Faces of Livy

Olivia is a total ham for the camera.  Last month she started making this "face" when we take pictures of her and it cracks me up every time. 



She does also sometimes smile for the camera but a lot of this time...it's just this face.  This little face, I just love it!