holiday

Our first weekend was a great chance to explore Taipei. Some of us tried out various stops on the local transit system, called the MRT. We wandered the streets of the city and it's many markets. And some of us (ok, just one of us) finally took his first big bike ride around the fantastic network of bike paths that connect the city.

One highlight was meeting up with some new friends. Vicky, Jakie and Bill, who we connected with through some friends in the states, volunteered to guide us through some awesome experiences including a hot pot meal ("eat to die" or all you can eat!), a 24 hour bookstore, a traditional Taiwanese breakfast and Longshan Temple.

Lastly, they took us to a nearby town directly east of Taipei called Jiufen. We spent about 45 minutes on the bus to get there, and we were enchanted by the old mining town and its narrow winding streets. We spent much of the afternoon drinking tea in a teahouse perched on the side of the mountain. In this picture you can see the balcony where we sat looking out over the view.

Our peaceful experience in Jiufen was a great compliment to the pace of the big city. Now we're back to work, planning away for summer camps. But we're already looking forward to our next holiday adventure!