hot for hot springs

Beitou is one of my favorite spots in Taipei--the hot springs are magical, there are cool museums to explore, and the area is quite walkable. I've visited twice in the last few weeks and I hope to be able to spend even more time there over the next several months--there's just so much to discover.

I am especially fond of the Beitou Public Library--so fond of it, in fact, that I selected it as the site for our wedding photos a few weeks ago! It's the first LEED platinum-certified (I think) building in Taiwan and I'd love to go back some day to hang out and browse the stacks. The last time I was there it looked like they had a lovely collection focused on green design and construction and wildlife conservation.

And--oh!--the folk art! Who can get enough folk art? In Beitou, one does not lack for folk art.

Xia x 3!

If you haven't had a chance to visit the town of Sanxia (三峽), get yourself there as fast as your feet will carry you. Its "Minquan Old Street" (民權老街)--painstakingly restored to Japanese colonial era glory--is packed with very cool restaurants, shops, galleries, and antiques malls. Touristy? Perhaps. But I don't care because it's awesome.

who is that handsome man?

Not my husband, of course, but a handsome stranger in the back alleys behind the Tonlin Building. This is where some of my favorite shops and restaurants are. It was so nice to walk around here a few weeks ago with this handsome stranger. I miss him.

pools of blue

My husband and I spent a night at the beautiful Lalu Resort at Sun Moon Lake last week. It was breathtaking. Even the bottom of the pool was beautiful.

I guess the lake wasn't too bad either...

flap your hands and fly

A piece featured in the Southeast Asia section at the Yingge Ceramics Museum.