Whew! We’re both feeling a bit exhausted after riding the Knights home against the Titans this afternoon: what a great win it was, very exciting! It’s a lottery what game we get on a Sunday now as they are sourcing games from both channel nine and Fox these days, but I have a sneaking suspicion that someone in charge of programming really likes the Bulldogs, because I’m we’re getting sick of seeing them.It was another absolutely glorious Friday, Saturday and Sunday here in Taipei, full sun but not at it’s laser cutting worst just yet, with a beautifully cooling breeze to fan you down when you need it. It’s showing all the signs of a burning hot summer however, and although it has come late this year, it’s coming on with a vengeance!
I spent some enjoyable time with Wal down at a beer garden near Shipai, which we had to abandon after one beer because their fridge had blown up: room temp beer with glasses and a bucket of ice was not really what we were after. We zipped across to Orange café and sat on their roof terrace to have a few ales and spend some time before we met Shawn and Lewy at Lewy’s place to watch the Essendon/Hawks AFL match. We had good fun, especially when Lewy started making us have every bet possible under the sun!
Cass and I wandered down to Alleycats mid afternoon on Saturday and we ate at their new upstairs extension. It’s pretty cool and has some light and bright ambiance with a new outdoor deck and its signature red walls inside. As we were the only ones there at that odd hour, we got lots of service and even a few freebies as they were just starting off a new line of Panini and we were the guinea pigs. We wandered back through the soon to be opened massive new Sogo shopping complex to take a shortcut to Carrefour. There we bought a cheap blender that Cass wanted. The reason it is so cheap I think is the colour of it (lime green) and also the fact that it looks like it might come from the Dharma initiative on Lost! It’s a real skill getting an appliance to look like it’s come from the 1950s when it is 2009, I reckon.
For once, I can neatly segue into my next topic. The late 1950s and 1960s are all the rage with us at the moment as we’ve just finished watching the first series of “Mad Men” which we’ve downloaded. We’ve got the second series too, so will have to show a little restraint and try to eke that out a little bit. For Aussie readers, it is on SBS, just a couple of weeks in if you’re interested…it’s brilliant!
On Saturday afternoon when we got home, I went and hit about a million little white balls down at the golf driving range with Wal and alternated between thrilling highs when I managed to smack a few right down the middle and very disappointing lows when I nearly sliced up the people in the spot beside me as one sizzled off all the wrong angles! Cass went round and got Bessie to cut her hair and found out all the latest neighbourhood gossip as well as having Bessie’s adult kids come in at various stages to practice their English.
We had a great day today as well. I went and did another steps run and loved the atmosphere up the mountain today, it was just perfect to be on the trail in dappled sun, shaded just enough from the sun but still well and truly out and escaped from the city on such a wonderful day. Cass wanted to go to Takashimaya and get some smoked salmon sandwiches for lunch as well as a few supplies from Jason’s supermarket. Takashimaya has been closed for a week after a pretty major fire in their basement, so the crowds were out in force making up for lost shopping time apparently. Cass enjoyed the walk, but not all the retail hustle and bustle. We’ve got into this decadent habit of buying these incredibly delicious custard puffs from a Japanese outlet down there: we just have one each, but we reckon we could both eat about 20 if we let ourselves!
Photos: me with Lewy and Cassy’s team colleague, Chris at Sababa. Cassy and me and Cassy at Alleycat’s, one of the lush growth that we can see from our balcony now: the trees have grown, yet there is also a building poking its head up where none existed 6 months ago! Cassy is reading "True History of the Kelly Gang" and David is reading, "Michaelangelo's David: a masterpiece restored."
