After just a few cleansing ales on the verandah on Friday afternoon, I farewelled Gurecki and Dave M to greet Cass arriving back from a late stay at school, where she had been getting things in order for the coming week. We decided to go down early to sample the sensational authentic Italian pizzas at Pizzeria Oggi, trying to sneak in without a reservation before the Friday night hordes descended. We managed to snare the last two spots at the end of the bar and enjoyed our pizzas and salads washed down with some bottomless glasses of San Pellegrino sparkling. After we got back home, we were both hit with a wave of fatigue so strong that we went to bed possibly at the earliest hour ever! A long, hard working week for Cass had caught up with her as her teaching partner, Kristin, was in the United States for the week at a conference and she had been doing double duty, tending to the substitute teacher’s needs as well as looking after her own affairs. I had no such excellent excuse….I was just tired!
A huge paintball skirmish was planned for the Saturday afternoon, but a dreary drumming of rain just wouldn’t relent all morning until a critical point was reached and the day reluctantly called off. As a stack of guys had made arrangements to be free in the afternoon, alternative events were proposed, including a visit to Hooters downtown (!), but none came to fruition in the end. Wal and I arranged to meet up with Dave at the Soo Who bar in the evening as we were keen to head downtown to the “Roxy Rocker”, a bar Dave had heard about from his wife’s work colleagues. We had a couple of drinks in Tienmu and watched some ice hockey on TV before getting a cab down to this hidden little gem.
A non-descript shop front and some grubby stairs leading down to the basement level of the building on Heping East Road, did nothing to prepare us for the music heaven we encountered inside. The bar had a huge motif of Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy album cover across one wall, dimmed down lights and comfy seats, all with a DJs station surrounded by thousands of compact discs in racks. The music was pumping and the vibe was cool, but just behind the bar was the real treasure. A soundproof room held lounges and chairs, coffee tables and computers for free internet and a bohemian looking girl working a double record playing setup. Two walls of the room were dedicated to the bar’s collection of over 10,000 vinyl LPs! They are randomly sorted so it is just a question of how long you wish to search. You simply find an album and track, hand it to the girl and she’ll spin you up some sweet memories. The largely 70s and 80s albums are complemented by some from the 60s and 90s as well, but it was just like finding a little Nirvana. We lapped up the atmosphere and made plans to investigate the possibility of a future Book Club meeting here in this back room: fantastic prospect!
Dave’s Canadian friends who we met at Rocker were keen to move on after a while, so we reluctantly tore ourselves away to head to another newish establishment not too far away and in the shadow of the iconic Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. The tiny bar of “Revolver” had an altogether different, but no less cool vibe, with a busy bar downstairs and a feverish DJ working the tiny room upstairs. It was a great little find as well and we hadn’t seen so many foreigners crowded into the one venue in quite some time.
Cass and I caught the MRT down to Taipei Main Station today and ate at the Breeze Center’s Teppanyaki restaurant. The flashing spatulas of the chefs always provide some dinner entertainment, zinging metallic pings as the meat and vegetables are flipped, seared and sizzled: the food was so mouth-wateringly delicious!
The rain continued its steady beat, so we stayed cocooned in the underground and made our way a few blocks up the road through the underground shopping malls of Chungshan station. We emerged to dash just a half block to the Museum of Contemporary Art, where we were keen to catch the latest exhibition, this time by some young Taiwanese photographers. As always, it was quirky, thought provoking and most of all, great fun! It was a pretty small show, but there were some really different works on show here (see photos above). Another interesting touch was the scrawled descriptions and signing of the artist below the photos, directly on the wall: some graffiti inspired layout that worked well.
Photos: I took the kids to the aboriginal museum midweek, the kindergarten next door was built like a fairytale castle....wouldn't the kids love going to this school?! Also pizza, Roxy Rocker albums, teppanyaki, Museum of Contemporary Art quirkiness!