7.08.2006

Day 2, part 1

Hey there everybody!!!! Still having a great time! Other than missing Luke and being anxious to have Zack, this is an awesome trip!! So, it is lunch time here on Sunday and 10pm on Saturday at home. This morning we got pretty adventurous and walked about a mile through the city to an open air street market. We found a few great treasures for us and Zack and got to practice bartering with the incredibly nice locals. I think we paid more than the locals would have, but things were definately less expensive than in the large stores. It was a very cool experience. We were definately the only Americans there!!




After that we walked to the electronics hub. It was streets and alleys full of tiny shops with roll up doors, and inside all of them would be computers, laptops, flat screen monitors, and plasma televisions. Very interesting juxtaposition. State of the art technology inside of tired, old buildings. It reminded me of a Hive of some sort.



Next....Lunch!!! We had to try McDonalds in Taiwan. Some interesting observations.....


  1. Only 1 menu item with beef, a Big Mac, otherwise Dark meat chicken or fish.
  2. 3 sandwiches were served on rice buns (see photo)
  3. It is a very popular Lunch spot. Busier than any of the local cuisine shops in the area.
  4. The shrimp sandwich on rice bun is freakin good!!!
  5. The french fries taste the same anywhere.
  6. Spicy chicken actualy means SPICEY chicken, how refreshing!!


Shrimp pattie on a Rice bun.

Finally...You may notice that there are not many people in most of the photos. A funny thing about Taipei, nothing really gets going before 11am. Nothing is open before 10am and things start to start opening around 10:30ish. Very different than at home. Somthing like a street market or antique plaza or farmers market would be open by 7 or 7:30 am in California....not here! there is really no point in leaving the Hotel before 9:30. Yesterday we went to the very swanky mall at Taipei 101 with stores like Prada, Gucci, Celine, Tiffany, etc. and they didn't open until 11:00. So, everywhere we go we are outside waiting for it to open. Silly tourists!

Probably wont post again tonight, so this is the last post before Zack!!!! We should be back to our hotel around 6pm our time tomorrow with Zack. I will post as soon after that as possible. So start looking for Zack photo's around 5am on Monday.

Until then....
C & A

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

How exciting! You are very adventurous!! BTW, remember to check the weather forecast in Tainan. I have heard that it's supposed to rain hard in the south today and tomorrow.
Can't wait to see Zack's pictures!

Anonymous said...

It looks like you are having a wonderful time. I can't wait for you to post pictures of Zack in your arms. I can only imagine how excited you are. The time is finally here!!!!!!

Ann said...

so, first off sounds like Taipei is my kinda town, nothing opening til around 11am. Good God I think I've found my new home. think that goes for work too.
:o).
I cannot wait til I see pictures of your first meeting with Zack. I get up at 5am, so I'll be checking to see if you post. Congratulations you two!!!

David and Janalee said...

Well my friend, I hope that your first meeting with your new son is everything you dreamed it to be. I'll be thinking about you all day and hoping that everything goes well.
Thanks for the updates--some of us are living through you right now!
Take care,
Janalee

Anonymous said...

This is so exciting! Thank you for keeping us up to date. I can't wait for Monday's post.

Kristin said...

Bring on the Boy!!

Dim Sum, Bagels, and Crawfish said...

Looks like you are having fun exploring Taipei. I love the photos...reminds me of our own trips to Taipei. Can't wait to read about your first meeting with Zack. You must be so excited!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations and best of luck on your amazing adventure!

Anonymous said...

These are great pictures Amanda... I do photography as a hobby and have done it pro... you have a great eye... and I am getting a feel for where my baby boy is... you are doing an excellent job..lol.. enjoy.