Rewind to Lynn and Pete's Visit!

We rented a car and took a day trip to Sansia and Yingee. Our first stop was the Ching Shui Tsu Shih Temple which was built in 1769 and destroyed in the 1833 earthquake. It was later rebuilt in 1867. The Ching Shui Tsu Shih Temple is famous for its wood carvings.

After walking the old street in Sansia, our driver convinced us to try a local specialty - the "Bull Horn Croissants."

After Sansia, we visited Yingee but we didn't take many pictures because our hands were full of the wonderful pottery we purchased!  It was a wonderful day.

On Thanksgiving morning, we flew to Hong Kong for a four day visit.  We hit all of the city's highlights including taking the tram to the top of Victoria Peak.  This is the view of the city on this hazy day.

Teddy had a fun time pushing the little mini-tram up the mountain!

The next day we were to Hong Kong Disney Land.  We were one of the first people to arrive and we met up with our TAS friends, the Sinclair family!

We even got to meet Teddy's favorite spaceman, Buzz Lightyear.  He was thrilled and even got to push the buttons on Buzz's spacesuit! 

Of course, we had to go on the It's A Small World ride!

We finished the day at the parade where Teddy got to see tons of Disney characters.

And I bought him a hat with his name sewn into the back...just like my parents did when they took me to Disney when I was eight years old. 

The next day we did some fun shopping and happened upon the Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road.  This was one of the most spectacular temples I have been in because of the circular incense hanging from the ceiling.  So amazing!

That night we took the boat across the water to Kowloon.  Here we are on the boat!

The city at night.

We finished up our visit with a trip to the Botanical Gardens and tea at the Mandarin Oriental.  It was a truly spectacular trip and we couldn't have shared it with better people.  We miss you, Lynn and Pete!

Hong Kong, here we come!

At the airport. Ready to board our flight. So excited for a long weekend in HK.

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Merry Happy Thanks-mas!

On Sunday night we were able to have a real family Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration with Lynn and Pete. We started with chicken and stuffing from Papa Poulet and mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and pie from the TAS kitchen.

After dinner, we called Nanny and Papa and opened Christmas presents with Teddy.  Teddy was totally spoiled - especially since we had so much to open that we only got through the Grannan Christmas presents.  We get to have round two soon!



Lynn & Pete in Taiwan: Part 2

We took the MRT out to the coast on Sunday to visit the town of Danshui. When we arrived we just happened to hear a parade going on so we went to investigate. There were tons of dancers, musicians, and floats moving down the street. What a fun adventure!

I just loved seeing this little dragon on the street.  The little boy inside was thrilled that I wanted to take his picture and he gave me the traditional peace sign!

Although Teddy is quite nervous around parades in Taiwan which often consist of firecrakers and scary dragons, the boys did quite well together and really enjoyed the parade!

We then climbed to the top of Fort San Domingo, originally a Spanish and then Dutch fort.  The fort occupies the top of the hill next to the old British Consulate.  It had a beautiful view of the river and the ocean, and was a suprisingly grassy place in the city to spend an afternoon.

Lynn and Pete in Taiwan: Part 1

We are so thankful to have Lynn and Pete visiting us in Taiwan this fall. They arrived on Tuesday night totally ready to truly experience Taiwan and we haven't stopped moving since! On Saturday morning we went to the Lin An-Tai Old Homestead in Taipei.

The house is a traditional Chinese courtyard house and is one of the few traditional houses preserved in northern Taiwan.  The Lin family came to Taiwan in the 18th century and engaged in trade in northern Taiwan.  The house is over 160 years old and it is the best-preserved and maintained ancient house in Taipei City.

After a quick stop at the Jade and Flower Markets for the girls and lunch for the boys, we met up again at the Confucious Temple.  This temple was built in 1879 (not sure how much of that original structure is still here) and is modelled after the temple in Confucius' native town of Shandong.  Confucius (551-479 BC) is generally acknowledged as China's greatest educator and scholar. In his day, education was exclusive to nobility but Confucius successfully promoted popular education. 

Then we walked across the street to visit the Taipei Baoan Temple.  The temple was built in 1804 and after many years of neglect, in 1995, the temple was the focus of repairs and renovations. In 2003, the temple was inducted into the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.

We all agreed that this was one of the most beautiful temples that we have seen in Taipei.  Even Teddy gave it his stamp of approval by looking in each alcove and even lighting some incense (with help from Mommy) to pray.

After a wonderful day out, we went to the Grand Hotel for dinner!  What a fun day!

Scottish Ball

Michael and I had a wonderful time at the Scottish Ball last weekend. Our friend, Nancy Gorneau, organized three tables of TAS faculty members to attend this event and the preceeding Scottish dance lessons. What a magical evening!

All of the men who attended. Don't they all look great!

And, of course, the beautiful group of women!

The Scottish band who came all the way from Hong Kong to entertain us!

Michael and I danced the entire evening away and I was so happy to have brought my Converse sneakers to swap in for my three-inch fancy heels.


It was a truly memorable evening and I thank Michael for pushing me to go and for making me dance all night! I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night.

Teddy watching basketball practice

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