Another Clark in Taiwan

Grandad George just left today. You know how some visits seem to pass by in the blink of an eye and you wonder where the time went... well, I feel like this was a well-balanced visit that seemed to pass at a reasonable pace with plenty of site-seeing as well as kicking back at home. We had a loose itinerary planned so that we could maximize the opportunities to show-off our beloved home for the past 3+ years which included most of our favorite spots. Of course, now that we've got the kids, we have to be a bit more flexible and some of our ideas we just let go of due to weather or exhaustion. We really appreciated dad's effort to come see us in our world here and we have many memories to share in the future. Here are just a few other highlights...

We took him to Costco for a glimpse into American consumer culture (plus we needed some cereal) and saw this... can you get any more convenient?!? We see several of these little cars buzzing around our city. They're not much longer than a scooter, really... but you can see why someone would drive something like this when you hear other people complain about parking in town.

A must-see for most is the National Palace Museum, so Tony took dad for a blitz through the treasure chest.

Daan District

There are a few places that you simply must take first-time visitors and the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall is one of them (the fact that it's sheltered from the rain is a bonus at this time of the year), so we packed up the pram and headed out for another exhilarating MRT ride.

The recently re-painted National Concert Hall and National Theatre really look good.


With burgers chosen as the target lunch food, Burger King became the default choice in the Shi Da market area since our first choice- Evan's Burger- was too crowded and the next option- Kiwi Gourmet Burger- was a bit further down the road and 3x the price. Heck, you gotta eat, eh? PARENT TIP: Notice Hunter's criss-crossed straps? Tony's started crossing them over to keep him firmly in place - works like a dream!!!

Our walk through drizzly Daan Park and the flower expo was cut short due to shortage in diapers... thankfully I had a cloth 'burp rag' we were able to use on Hunter til we got home... poor guy - his run through the park we kept bribing him with got cut off all too soon!!!

Taiwan Storyland

The rain sent us looking for a fun indoor place and we found this - Taiwan Storyland. It's a re-creation of Taiwan in the 'old days' with cool old storefronts, nostalgic products and old vehicles. It was an interesting place with plenty to look at - just not as much to touch...

Hunter would've made a great street vendor.

Danshui

One of Tony's favorites is Danshui, so we sent dad with him for an afternoon of exploration while the kids and I stayed back for a bit of a nap catch-up. Of course, Tony introduced dad to all sorts of culinary delights while they were there.

But surprisingly, this trip to Danshui wasn't only about the food - there was a bit of culture and history involved in their 3 site tours!