Hao Kan

We have done so much since the last time that I wrote that I'm not sure where to begin! First of all, Taiwan is beautiful and Taipei is just amazing! I think it is one of the most unique cities I've ever been to. It's very metropolitan but then there are mountains and streams randomly dispersed everywhere. It's really green and pretty here. They are definitely in spring right now - flowers are blooming everywhere and everything is luscious and you know, gorgeous!

Monday - A Drive up the Coast

Danielle's boss' wife Bev (remember her name because I'll talk about her a lot!) took us on a drive up to the Northern Coast. It was AMAZING! Now I can say I've seen the Pacific Ocean from both sides - crazy! It was a rainy day so the water was really choppy and the waves were huge! We were kind of on a cliff, so we looked down a couple hundred feet to the water (I think, I'm not a good judge of distance).

Then we went to this little village called Jiu Fen which was so quaint and fun! It reminded us of Europe. There were cobblestone streets and tiny little roads with shops all along - that is one thing that I have not had a hard time finding here - shopping! It's everywhere! I've had to try to contain myself b/c I could go pretty crazy very easily! Especially when the money I have feels like play money and I don't have a good sense of how much everything is in American dollars. (For instance I accidentally ordered $6 gelato the other day - that is ridiculous in any country, but oh well, I'm on vacation!)

We had lunch at this little restaurant with an awesome view of the coast! This was also my favorite Chinese meal so far - I got pepper beef and it tasted like pot roast. Pretty wonderful! Then we drove back to Taipei, which took about an hour and a half. We were pretty wiped out by this point because we had been busy for three solid days, plus I was still recovering from jet lag. So, we had dinner at this cute little pizza place by Danielle's apt. called Mary Jane's then stayed in that night.

Tuesday - An American Day in Taipei

Danielle went into work on Tuesday morning and I took a while getting ready. Then, Bev came and picked me up to go get a haircut. I was a little nervous about getting my haircut in Taiwan, because I was afraid I would turn out looking Asian, haha. But Danielle said it was so much fun that I just had to try. The whole experience took an hour and half - including a hand, neck and shoulders massage with scented oils, calming tea and a great head massage! It was so relaxing and a great way to get refreshed! Danielle met us there and got her hair cut too. Then we headed to the National History Museum to see the Van Gogh exhibit that was on display.

I didn't realized it before I went, but I have seen a lot of Van Gogh in my life - in Paris, London, Chicago, New York. I've seen a lot of his really famous works too, so I wasn't really that impressed with this exhibit, but it was fun to see it with Danielle and impart a little bit of my knowledge of impressionism on her. She was enlightened, of this I am sure. Haha. The painting that I liked the most was called "Flowers in a Blue Vase." We even got to ride on a Van Gogh bus to the exhibit. It reminded me of the Sound of Music tour bus we rode on in Salzburg, so it was fun!

That night was went with Danielle's sweet co-workers, Ken and Sharyl, to Ximen which is a super fun area that reminds me of Times Square in New York. They have the big video screens, tons of American stores and lights everywhere. It was a lot of fun. We had dinner at T.G.I.Friday's and then walked around. I said this was my American day, because it felts like things we would do in the states. (that's what they call the US here)