Taipei Getaway!

Yesterday I used my remaining sub hours and took off for a weekend adventure with Laura!  We took the bus to Taipei, had dinner at a fantastic restaurant, strolled the city streets, browsed some great gift shops, wandered around the National Theatre before attending a dance performance, slept in soft beds, woke up to a beautiful morning, attended the temple, did a little souvenir shopping, enjoyed delicious Coldstone ice cream, and napped on the way home!  Wonderfully relaxing weekend...check!      

Dinner at DingTaiFeng!

Whitney talked this place up, and we were not disappointed!  Best. Dumplings. EVER.

 

Name that beverage...

Laura and I enjoyed every last bite of our wontons, dumplings, and fried rice...YUM!

They've got this dumpling-making down to an art!  These guys are all behind the big glass window near the entrance.

 

Chaing Kai Shek at night!

 

The National Theatre

 

This building is incredible!  I'm glad we finally got to go inside; they don't let tourists in unless you have tickets for a performance. 

 

This giant painting was beautiful! 

This picture should not have been taken.  I was against it from the start.  However, since Laura still felt the need to break the rules and snap this before the guarding employees rushed over, you get to see the auditorium!  :-)

Coolest wall ever...three stories high, these plants are real!  If you stand close enough to smell the purple orchids,you'll feel water dripping on you. Love it!

 

 

Good Morning Taipei! We stayed at temple housing right across the street, so the first thing we saw when we came outside was the temple against the perfectly blue sky.  I'd be ok waking up to that every morning!

After we went to the temple we walked through the Chiang Kai Shek square again.  We've done this almost every time we've been to Taipei, and I still get a kick out of it!  Amazing Asian buildings, beautiful gardens, wide open space in the middle of the city, and bright blue skies...what's not to love? 

 

me, Laura, Meg

 

There was something going on in the square today with a religious group.  There were TONS of people sitting in these formations, and a giant crane was there for someone to take pictures from above.  No idea what the characters or designs mean, but it sure looked cool!