Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Yehliu last weekend.
We had Paul for a whole weekend. I went to a yoga workshop for 2.5 hours, Jessi put her bike upright and stopped and started - no training wheels. Paul says she went 30 feet on her own, but we aren't sure she wants to know that yet! Sam HAULED around the track on his fancy shmancy new bike, and oh... Paul and I went to Abba fever! It was fun. The expat women were dancing to the right of the stage and some man we don't know was dancing to the stage left. Best part: Louise and I opted not to dance but to giggle from the sidelines and hang out with the crowd. The woman next to me was a hoot, as she just kept giggling and dancing and then checking herself like she shouldn't be having that much fun. ANYWAY... the band asked for volunteers to sing on stage. One of the expat gang volunteered her group. So, before the masses of taiwanese, our friends got on stage with the solid-gold-dancers (not really, but it brought back memories - and I DID miss Lenore horribly through the whole show) and they sang. And it really was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don't know if I'm glad I wasn't up there, or if I wish I were. They were great, and I'm really excited for them.
ANYWAY, on Sunday we got up and drove to the Northeast coast with the goal of reaching Yehliu. (Yea-lee-o). We've been told it is otherworldly. The shot to the left is elephant rock. Oh, and it is really cool. Sam just wanted to jump everwhere. It was sandstone, I think. And the wind was blowing, the waves were crashing, and the crowds were small. We saw the princesses slipper and queen Nefertiti. Can you see her in the center below? 
Waves crashed through holes that didn't 
seem to be there. Sam loved the nasty sea foam, and Jessi just enjoyed being out.
And then we ate. We've been told that the seafood is great. A woman told us that her restaurant (tsanting) had Yingwen men-u. It is amazing how many people everywhere we go speak some english! We didn't feel like sitting down and picking out the fish to be killed. Can't get our heads around that yet. So, we had pretzels and told them we could go to the market. So we had the juice from this fruit...(don't know what it isbut the fruit holding it is Paul :-).
And Jessi picked out a squid to be barbqued - 
see the tentacled things on the lower trays to the right - they barbque and add sesame and a bit o'some sauce! Sam sampled every dried whatsit in the market (including the deep fried seaweed), and only Paul felt a little queezy at the end of the trip.
We drove back over Yangmingshan (YangMing Mountain). It was SO lush and green. Calla Lily festival has begun, so we will try to get up there this weekend.
It was a GREAT weekend, whic made school difficult for all of us on Monday!
Love, Steph
We had Paul for a whole weekend. I went to a yoga workshop for 2.5 hours, Jessi put her bike upright and stopped and started - no training wheels. Paul says she went 30 feet on her own, but we aren't sure she wants to know that yet! Sam HAULED around the track on his fancy shmancy new bike, and oh... Paul and I went to Abba fever! It was fun. The expat women were dancing to the right of the stage and some man we don't know was dancing to the stage left. Best part: Louise and I opted not to dance but to giggle from the sidelines and hang out with the crowd. The woman next to me was a hoot, as she just kept giggling and dancing and then checking herself like she shouldn't be having that much fun. ANYWAY... the band asked for volunteers to sing on stage. One of the expat gang volunteered her group. So, before the masses of taiwanese, our friends got on stage with the solid-gold-dancers (not really, but it brought back memories - and I DID miss Lenore horribly through the whole show) and they sang. And it really was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don't know if I'm glad I wasn't up there, or if I wish I were. They were great, and I'm really excited for them.
ANYWAY, on Sunday we got up and drove to the Northeast coast with the goal of reaching Yehliu. (Yea-lee-o). We've been told it is otherworldly. The shot to the left is elephant rock. Oh, and it is really cool. Sam just wanted to jump everwhere. It was sandstone, I think. And the wind was blowing, the waves were crashing, and the crowds were small. We saw the princesses slipper and queen Nefertiti. Can you see her in the center below? 
Waves crashed through holes that didn't 
seem to be there. Sam loved the nasty sea foam, and Jessi just enjoyed being out.And then we ate. We've been told that the seafood is great. A woman told us that her restaurant (tsanting) had Yingwen men-u. It is amazing how many people everywhere we go speak some english! We didn't feel like sitting down and picking out the fish to be killed. Can't get our heads around that yet. So, we had pretzels and told them we could go to the market. So we had the juice from this fruit...(don't know what it isbut the fruit holding it is Paul :-).
And Jessi picked out a squid to be barbqued - 
see the tentacled things on the lower trays to the right - they barbque and add sesame and a bit o'some sauce! Sam sampled every dried whatsit in the market (including the deep fried seaweed), and only Paul felt a little queezy at the end of the trip.We drove back over Yangmingshan (YangMing Mountain). It was SO lush and green. Calla Lily festival has begun, so we will try to get up there this weekend.
It was a GREAT weekend, whic made school difficult for all of us on Monday!
Love, Steph
5 Cent Driftwood House dinner in Neihu
It has been THREE MONTHS. Sorry.
I'll go backwards. Today is Jessi's sixth birthday. SIX. She's almost 50 cm. We measured her today at 49 and a bit under 1/2 inches today. So today was the birthday dinner. We took her friend India
and our friends Louise and Alexander out to dinner with the family to a restaurant called the 5 cent driftwood house (Wu jiao Chwann Ban). It was spectacular. The food was good and the kids were amazed. Jessi has been admiring this building for a little less than a year. Here's my story. We drive by this place on the way to Costco (one of two in taipei!). It is a giant welded steel building with some large twisty shapes on it. To a number of grownups, it looks a bit hideous! On first passing, Jessi's lovely imagination introduced us to the two dancing women - not just giant twisty metal shapes, but women with big skirts and flowing hair. http://www.taiwanfun.com/north/taipei/dining/0608/0608Fivecent.htm for an obvious photo of the women (it is NOT that obvious from the road, really!) So I checked it out Monday and I was a bit teary-eyed, as I was sure she would think it was amazing and would never want to go back to chili's again. We had a great dinner. The band played some mozart. 
The white koi swam in the giant pond next to our table. The 3 year old boys danced hip-hop while the band played more classical tunes, and BOY did I get to practice my mandarin. Did ok! Jessi was smiling the whole time, and enjoyed her birthday, but was ever so Jessi when it comes to celebrating her birthday, as she very peacefully sat and soaked it all in. photos below:
It was taiwanese food. We had spicy chicken with soy beans and peanuts, fried rice with teeny tiny dried shrimps, squid pie (the kids loved it), pork with miso sauce, and a lovely shrimp and veg dish. Ooh, and the cake that Jessi picked out was full of ripe strawberries, whipped cream, and Jelloish pudding. One of the owners is an artist HsiehLi-Shiang. This is not the first of our other-worldly experiences this week. Check out the other entry tonight from Yehliu!
And daddy came too! 
He got to leave work EARLY today!!! Yippee daddy!
It has been THREE MONTHS. Sorry.
I'll go backwards. Today is Jessi's sixth birthday. SIX. She's almost 50 cm. We measured her today at 49 and a bit under 1/2 inches today. So today was the birthday dinner. We took her friend India
and our friends Louise and Alexander out to dinner with the family to a restaurant called the 5 cent driftwood house (Wu jiao Chwann Ban). It was spectacular. The food was good and the kids were amazed. Jessi has been admiring this building for a little less than a year. Here's my story. We drive by this place on the way to Costco (one of two in taipei!). It is a giant welded steel building with some large twisty shapes on it. To a number of grownups, it looks a bit hideous! On first passing, Jessi's lovely imagination introduced us to the two dancing women - not just giant twisty metal shapes, but women with big skirts and flowing hair. http://www.taiwanfun.com/north/taipei/dining/0608/0608Fivecent.htm for an obvious photo of the women (it is NOT that obvious from the road, really!) So I checked it out Monday and I was a bit teary-eyed, as I was sure she would think it was amazing and would never want to go back to chili's again. We had a great dinner. The band played some mozart. 
The white koi swam in the giant pond next to our table. The 3 year old boys danced hip-hop while the band played more classical tunes, and BOY did I get to practice my mandarin. Did ok! Jessi was smiling the whole time, and enjoyed her birthday, but was ever so Jessi when it comes to celebrating her birthday, as she very peacefully sat and soaked it all in. photos below:It was taiwanese food. We had spicy chicken with soy beans and peanuts, fried rice with teeny tiny dried shrimps, squid pie (the kids loved it), pork with miso sauce, and a lovely shrimp and veg dish. Ooh, and the cake that Jessi picked out was full of ripe strawberries, whipped cream, and Jelloish pudding. One of the owners is an artist HsiehLi-Shiang. This is not the first of our other-worldly experiences this week. Check out the other entry tonight from Yehliu!
And daddy came too! 
He got to leave work EARLY today!!! Yippee daddy!