After quite a few delays in San Francisco due to Typhoon Lekima, we finally made it to Taipei and our hotel. It was a long day - 29 hours of traveling. We pretty much missed a whole Friday! It was worth it to see Luci! We talked for a bit but tiredness caught up with us and off to bed we went. Merry and I woke up early and went out in search of breakfast. We found a corner restaurant and, not being able to read the menu, pointed to what we wanted and took the server's advice and had a delicious scallion pancake, a pork bun and a soy milk beverage, all for $2.
We then walked a bit further and found a coffee shop and had our morning caffeine. On our walk we saw a small storefront manned by a stooped old lady with a nice line in front of it. We took note to come back later. We returned to the hotel, woke up the kids and went out for 2nd breakfast (for me, anyways). We went back to the old lady's storefront and had her specialty. It was pork floss (dried shredded pork) along with some other things that I didn't recognize all wrapped in a ball of rice. Three of these and two soy milk drinks set us back $3.50.
Did I mention that Taipei is REALLY HOT!!
We walk around a bit and went to the Lungshan Temple. Luci said that Lungshan means Dragon Mountain. There were many people praying and leaving offerings. I am not sure which deities were represented other than Guan Yin. It was a very colorful temple with a lot of carvings. I like how this traditional piece of Chinese architecture is in the middle of this very modern city.
Did I mention that Taipei is hot? After walking a bit more we returned to the hotel to cool off.... and research lunch. We decided on a beef noodle soup place - Taipei is famous for it's beef noodle soup - and a few hours later set off to find the restaurant. The soup was good; a dark rich broth full of long thin noodles, definitely flavors that you don't get in the US. I'm not sure what cut of beef we ate (the less I know, probably the better). Like everyone we have interacted with, the owner was very friendly. After a round of bubble tea and perusing some of the local stores, we returned to the hotel to rest up for our next adventure: the Night Market.
Thanks for reading!