We began the week with two days still in the bank of holidays allocated for the “ten ten” weekend. Monday was full-on shopping with a visit to Takashimaya in a futile attempt to find someone to fix the lock on Cassy’s briefcase that she bought in Nimes years ago. It is still perfect, except for that lock! She got some shoes re-heeled and despite some valiant attempts by the cobbler, he just couldn’t fix that lock. While we were waiting, we had salmon spaghetti for lunch at a jazzy new Italian café outside Jason’s, and then in we went to get a few “essentials” (like pies!). We zipped up to the 11th floor looking for towels, but Cassy was very disappointed in the selection, so we left that for another day. We dumped some stuff home, and then headed down to brave the night market. Lots had changed and still more had stayed the same since our last visit, but we bought some suspiciously cheap Chanel and Dior perfume, which indicated that the rogue traders are still dealing! I had to get my good watch fixed after pulling the winding mechanism clean out of its hole a while back. The little jeweler fastidiously tended to the task for a good 10 minutes before steadfastly refusing any payment whatsoever…you’ve got to love the Taiwanese! On the way home, to make sure we were just about to drop from the shop, we stopped at B&Q for a beach umbrella. It cost $8, so we aren’t expecting any great longevity!
On Tuesday, I checked the web site of the Contemporary Art Gallery and found a fascinating looking exhibition which we duly visited, this time on the scooter, late morning. There was an amazing array of art works, each more dramatic, thought provoking or zany than the last! After having our fill of out-there art, we had quite a hunger, so zipped east again to find the area of cool little eateries in the banking section near the Sheraton hotel. We looked down a few alleyways and were interested in a Tapas restaurant until we made the amazing discovery of “Doner Kebab”. The restaurant name said a bit, but apart from doners, it also had a selection of home made rolls and flat breads and deliciously roasted shish kebabs and vegetables. Cass and I declared that the food was better than any Turkish restaurant in Newcastle, a superb find that I told the Aussie/Kiwi connection about at school: some of them have already made the trip downtown!
I drove down to the 101 building and the Trade Centre next door on Thursday evening accompanied by Wal and Josh. We picked up our new boards from Alex and they looked fantastic. I was very disappointed to find a vicious ding in the deck of my board when I unwrapped it from the bubble wrap the next day: my own fault, I should have checked it at the shop. Check a picture of the boards here. We’re still enjoying some great waves: the pointyhat site has been working overtime keeping up with all the latest adventures. The link to the whole site can always be found at the top left of this page.
On Friday, we ate dinner at the famous Café India in Ker Qiang Rd, just around the corner and enjoyed some wonderful flavours and stuffed ourselves silly…we were hungry and ordered entrees, meals and various accompaniments. This was after crying off a meal at Wendel’s: we pulled up on the scooter to the sight of Oktoberfest celebrations in full swing, and we weren’t quite ready for all that festivity! I spent some time yesterday putting some gorilla grip on the board and putting the fins in along with Josh in the basement garage at school. We had a really lazy day just reading and watching a few videos and ended up taking the MRT to Beitou to visit the Royal Host restaurant. It’s a chain restaurant from Japan and has some excellent steaks and set menus. We also love to go to Beitou, about 6 stops up towards Damshui, because it negates the slightest possibility of seeing anyone from school!
Today, I went surfing and had a great time (see pointyhat)and Cassy spent lots of quality time with the “girls” who continue to live the most decadent and spoilt lifestyle(half their luck!).