Elephant Mountain

Last weekend was one of the most gorgeous I have yet to experience in Taipei. Clear skies, 80 degrees, pleasant breeze, low humidity...in other words, perfection. To utilize such beautiful weather [and to get off the couch] Jordan and I decided to head out on a day trek across the city to Elephant Mountain, near Taipei 101. It's been awhile since I have hiked despite my determination to do more of it this school year since there are lots of great trails super close to the city.

Our first stop on our way down from Tienmu was, of course, some food. Jordan and I have been wanting to try a new salad place that opened up down in the Daan district, a bit of a trek from our suburb. The place is called Dressed, and it felt like walking into America! Great salads and REAL avocado - a total novelty in Taiwan. It was a great healthy start to an outdoor day!

Massive cobb salad with an almost caterpillar-like pile of avocado. Yum!

Delicious prosciutto sandwich with arugula. Both of which I can't resist!

After our refreshing lunch, we decided to walk over towards 101 and explore the back alleys of Daan. Much to Jordan's chagrin, we happened upon the pet store street, and I had to stop and look at every single kitty and puppy along the windows. A fluffy animal is definitely on my birthday list this year...

Random Taipei street market in the back alleys.

KUNG FU INTERNET!

Pet store street. Le sigh.

Yet another bad Taiwanese store sign. What in the world does the name even mean??

Attack of the koi fish!

The hike ended up being a perfect excursion for those of us who haven't walked up a mountain in a while [cough, cough...me]. The beginning of it was super steep with lots of stairs, but then it leveled out and offered up some pretty incredible views of the city and Taipei 101. We wandered around up on the mountain for about an hour, but there are trails that you could wander down for an entire day if you had the time. Despite the nice weather, there weren't too many people so we totally lucked out. After the hike we treated ourselves to a cold brew at Gordon Biersch...a perfect end to a Taipei city adventure!

Cute elephants to start us out on our hike!

Either that's one giant plant or we're pretty high up!

Artistic view courtesy of Jordan the photographer. 

Yay! We made it to the top!

A perfect treat after a successful hike :)

CNY 2k13 - Philippines!

One of my favorite parts about living in Taiwan is that only a month or so after Christmas break, we have another holiday - Chinese New Year! Because Christmas was a little hectic, Jordan and I decided that what we needed was a relaxing beach vacation rather than a crazy adventure, so we set out for Bantayan Island in the Philippines. I left the planning of this trip up to him, and [per usual] it was perfectly executed. Getting there took a bit of time since the island is off the beaten path, but it was well worth the two flights, 2.5 hour taxi ride, and ferry ride to get there. Not to mention the midnight flight!

The hotel we stayed at was pretty sweet - made entirely out of bamboo! Unfortunately the management was a little disorganized, so we had to bounce around rooms, but we made it work. And when all you're doing is laying on the beach all day, it's not that big of a deal!

6 am arrival in Cebu after leaving Taipei at midnight - I was tired!

Cool bamboo room!

View from our balcony. Hard to believe the color of the water!

Already lounging and perfecting the tan [don't worry Dad - I wore sunscreen!]

Day 2 at Coral Blue Oriental!

The water on our island and the surrounding ones was some of the clearest and bluest I have ever seen. You could see straight down to the bottom! We did one day trip out to Virgin Island, and took about 100 photos because we couldn't get over the colors.

Land ho! After a little shaky boat ride, we spotted Virgin Island.

Unfortunately the snorkel gear they provided was ancient, and also really small...lol.

We made it!

I still can't believe how gorgeous the water was!

And one of my favorite parts of the trip was the fact that the manager of the hotel had an awesome pug named Max. I spent lots of time playing with him...and tried to convince Jordan to steal him for me, but he refused. Sigh.

How cute is he??

Plastic water bottles are always fun to play with, right?

This was my only exercise for the week, but it was fun!

And now it's back to reality. But luckily there are only 6 weeks till Spring Break!!!

Bruno Mars Road Trip

When it's 70 degrees and sunny in the middle of January, what's better than going on a road trip to the beach? Last weekend I took advantage of the unusually gorgeous winter weather and hopped in the car with Jordan, Evelyn, and Lori to hit up Baishawan Beach. We started out with a delicious brunch at a new restaurant nearby. Hellloooooo Eggs Benedict and fresh squeezed OJ! The only way to start out on a road trip is with a full tummy, right?

Absolutely delish! Perfectly poached eggs, too!

 We rocked out to the sound of Bruno Mars's new album (thanks mom!) and enjoyed cruisin' along with the windows down. We left Evelyn in charge of the driving while I sang along and Jordan snapped pics out the window. Lori was the trusty navigator in the front seat!

Back seat drivers.

Mission complete! We have arrived at Baishawan!

The beach was splendidly empty of people (minus some chubby and entertaining kids who kept rolling down the sand dunes) so we were able to spread out our blanket in the prime spot on the beach. It was a bit breezy, but getting the chance to feel some sun on my skin was priceless! I will take sunny and 70 any day over the typical rainy gloom.

Gorgeous colors!

I spy white man feet...

We were loving our personal photographer!

As I recall, something was rather funny...teehee.

After the beach, we decided to stroll along the nearby boardwalk to snag some eats. We stumbled upon a perfect little pizza place overlooking the ocean. With a few Taiwan beers and yummy snacks, it was a perfect end to a fabulous day!

Lori and Evelyn on the boardwalk.

Look at those sweat pants!

We convinced Jordan that he was feeling the love :)

We were feeling the love, too!

Enjoying beers and snacks on the patio.

 Ahh, the beauty of living on an island in Asia :)

Horsin' Around

After a busy few weeks in October, I'm finally back in the saddle...literally. I have been continuing to ride this year thanks to my friend, Connie, who has a lovely stable and beautiful horses. I'm still trying to get into the dressage "mind frame" i.e. lean back and sit down!! It's not always easy when I'm really only riding once a week or every other week, but getting to be around the horses is what counts. The ultimate stress relief!

Jordan has also been wondering what I'm doing every Saturday afternoon that takes so long, so I finally decided to let him along to watch. Conveniently he is quite a good photographer, which meant that he was designated the official photographer for the day at the barn. He managed to capture some really cool shots of the barn interior and cool lighting in the arena. Too bad his main subject (me) didn't look better on the horse!

Carrot time for the horsies!

How could you resist this face??

Some of the horses got a bit greedy for more carrots...

There's just something about being around horses that makes everything feel special. 

Ready to show my (not so impressive) moves!

The hot weather was making both Lara and me feel tired...hence the slow walk :) 

I spy large man feet...

Trying to follow instructions that are half in English and half in Chinese is not the easiest thing in the world.

Gorgeous day for a walk outside!

Sometimes you just have to scratch that itch!!

Love horsey kisses!

Most content dog in the world.

Connie and her daughter with their new horse!

Hard to beat that view of Taipei!

An Asian Oktoberfest

Last weekend I had the chance to combine some of my favorite things: German beer, bratwurst, lots of friends, and Lederhosen. Every October the local German restaurant, Wendel's, hosts a rather impressive few weeks of traditional Oktoberfest shenanigans. They fly in German waiters and waitresses, German beer, and even a oompah band! This year we did the smart thing and made a reservation for a Saturday night rather than a Tuesday night like last year [let's just say that was a not a fun Wednesday to be teaching], and we managed to gather over 15 people to jump on the band wagon! Our group combined with the other TAS teacher group AND a bunch of TAS parents meant that we pretty much dominated the place! Overall, everyone had a blast and went home with a full tummy...and probably a Sunday headache :) Sometimes it's just worth it thought!

Oh hey giant beer tower...we're gonna finish you!

Giant cheese and meat platter

2nd Oktoberfest together <3 

Lori and me getting ready to delve into the cheese platter!

Two excited men: one in the background shouting about beer and the other in the foreground cheering him on.

Meat anyone? 

A happy group of Oktoberfest revelers :)