{ Taipei } Day 1

I planned a side trip to Taipei to meet up with some friends and attend their engagement party. The last time I was in Taiwan, I was traveling by myself and super sick, so although I got to see some awesome sights, I didn’t really get to enjoy the food as much. So this time it was all about food and friends!

The search for good food started early in the morning, with breakfast at a street corner right outside RJ’s grandparents’ house (where we were staying).

Radish cake (蘿蔔糕) and 饭团＋油条＋肉松＋煎蛋 << this roughly translates into rice ball with lots of deliciousness inside.

Lunch was served at Three Coins, Chinese banquet style to celebrate Carlos and Susan’s engagement!

Chinese banquet yumminess, with sea cucumber, marinated meat, shark fin soup, and crab filled sticky rice.

Look how ginormous the plate is (that’s the size for all the plates, btw)!

After lunch, it was time for some exercise (to digest all that food!). Good thing the 228 Peace Memorial Park was right next to the restaurant for me to stroll through!

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and a great time to people watch at the park. There were performers (apparently there was a festival going on).

And wanna be performers.

There were artists.

And martial artists.

These people probably just came from the pride parade (which I sadly did not realize was happening that day).

And this old man seems to be enjoying the company of the fishies.

There were also some very cute non-humans who were just hanging out.

After the park, I met up with my friend Sharon and headed to Freedom Plaza for more people watching.

Then it was time to ride the train to Tamsui!

Tamsui is a small city at the very northern end of Taipei. It’s known for its beautiful scenery, including this “Lover’s Bridge” that’s lit up in all kinds of gorgeous colors at night.