day #12: our trip to taipei.

we went to taipei and hualien this weekend.  every street i wondered to myself, has john walked down this street?  maybe he bought a papaya milk at this same 7-eleven! the likelihood: very low.  but hey - it was fun to speculate, anyway. 

taipei is a little different from tainan.  it felt a little bit bigger and a little more spread out.  there were also more "homeless" people, or beggars, but that's pretty much irrelevant, because i loved taipei.  

  

first thing we did when we arrived was visit the national palace museum.  there were incredible jade objects, porclean, bronze, ivory, curio boxes, and much much more! the chinese have such an amazing history and these precious artifacts were so breathtaking.  my favorite piece was made of ivory.  it was a carved ball with seventeen ivory balls inside of it that independently rotated.  i have never seen such a beautiful or intricate piece of art in all my life!  and mom, you would have loved the pottery.  

  

this is the street just outside of our hostel. see the apartments above the shops? everyone lives in an apartment above their tiny shop.  and they are so cute!  

speaking of our hostel....

our hostel had leopard everything - wallpaper, carpet, couches, sheets, blankets, etc.  it was epic.

next we saw the martyr's shrine.  this is a military "base" with a changing of the guard that was very interesting to watch.  i was impressed with it, even though i have very little to compare it to.

after seeing the shrine we were starving, so we went to a steak place and ate the most expensive dinner i have had in taiwan so far: about $12 u.s. dollars.  i felt frivilous - spending so much on one meal.  {usually i don't spend that much on food in a day!} it's funny how my perception of how much food should cost has changed since i got here.  

then we went to chiang kai-shek memorial hall.  this was my favorite part of the day. it was dusk and pouring rain and so so gorgeous.  the building is humongous - way larger than i imagined - and it was absolutely beautiful at night.

we went to a night market at the end of the day - and i had my first mango boba drink since being in taiwan.  plus, i shared a hei tang {don't know how it's spelled...} with my friend aubrey.  i love the boba.  

look for more of my trip tomorrow!

xoxo