A Day in Taipei

Today, Steven and I decided we would be good proper tourists and take pictures of everything and anything that caught our fancy. I even broke out my poor Lomo from its long Australian hibernation to get some exercise! It's a nice refreshing break from the digital world to go back to a film camera. But this does mean we have no idea if the photos even turn out until after we finish the whole roll!! Fun!

As the weather appeared to hold out, Steven and I explored the iconic Taipei 101. Hordes of tourists flock here for the pretty pictures and well, because it is a big tall tower. I was surprised at the quality of the free audio tour and displays on the observation deck. Considering the 500NT ticket, you actually do get some good interesting information on the history of Taipei, nearby attractions and of course the construction of the tower itself.

There was also some sort of exhibit that featured monthly Taiwanese cultural activities, like swimming across Sun Moon Lake next month (done that!), or the pole-climbing festivals around New year's. It was cool because after living here for so many years, these activities were actually familiar to me! Makes me feel local even though I so SO am not!

After wandering the really cool Eslite bookstore (which is really misleading since it is not only a bookstore but also full of little nick nack shops and designer furniture and stuff), we went for dinner at a place near and dear to my heart, Jolly.

This is a microbrewery and an excellent Thai food restaurant. After having been away for 2 years, I was glad to see it still bustling and brewing! The beers were exactly to my taste: sweet and girly. However, now that I am a vegetarian, I basically have to break the rules in order to eat there at all! I had a Green curry (made with shrimp paste) with veggies only and some stir-fried greens. Oh, and beer! Lots of beer!

V-day in the Haus

So it turns out my boyfriend doesn't just sit around, eat fried chicken, and scratch his armpit hairs, eh? 

Because isn't that what men do on Valentine's Day?

Not mine! He got me a bag of coffee.

A pack of Caramel Tim Tams (by far the best version).

And a scrunched up face of joy.

The best part may have been the water bottle EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE I LEFT IN CANADA.

No wait, the best part may have been this:

Unfortunately, these turned out nowhere as good as Prairie Girl Bakery back in Toronto. Why is it so hard to find really good fresh cupcakes in Sydney? And can someone ship me a Prairie Girl to bake me some awesomely soft and fresh red velvet with cream cheese frosting please? Or ship me this girl. That's cool too.

Anyway, I got Steven a couple of ties because all the moving had ruined one of his nicer ones.

Not sure if he likes them...seeing as how they're kind of hard to match with shirts. Who knew that ties would be that hard to buy?

Steven wrote me a wonderful card: 

"Dearest Sandy, 

Roses are red & violets are blue

These are the givens that we take to be true

But not our relationship,that I don't take for granted

Just like a strong tree, it's not enough to be planted

It must be cared for and nourished and given plenty of food

So on this Valentine's,

If you're keen we'll go for some curry, possibly green

Be my date and you'll be in for a treat

Desserts are a-plenty if they survive this heat."

And then we went out for curry. 

And it was green.

How was your Valentine's Day?