There is always a plethora of strange and/or interesting sights in our travels around the city. Cassy's book club on Wednesday provided me with an opportunity to travel the neighbourhood in search of food, which in turn, led to an entirely more complicated adventure.

Eat Burger was my destination, but finding it chock-a-block I decided to catch the MRT down to KGB. I found a similar hectic crowd at KGB, but managed to squeeze in at the end of a long table and enjoy my "Kiwi Mate" (see pic 1). On the way back to the station I snapped a quick shot of another of Taipei's ubiquitous roast chicken restaurants. As you can see, the whole bird is presented in the window and consumed at the tables!

The recent re-configuration of the metro lines saw me getting on the wrong train home! I felt like a real tourist when I had to go many stops out of my way to change to a line going back to the central Taipei station. From there I had to navigate through again to the Tamsui line: a 20 minute trip turned into nearly an hour!

Wol and I had a few of the interestingly named "White Beer"s on Friday night. Nelson Mandela's death has been a huge topic on the news this week and we couldn't help wondering what the great man might make of this branding.

Cass needed to visit her "bag man" downtown on the weekend, so we MRTed down to Chungshan station and wandered the backstreets to the shop. Order firmly placed, we contemplated sourcing some dinner downtown (stumbling upon the strangely named "Fatty Burger") before deciding to get off in Shilin and visit the elegant "Toro's", where we ordered the 6 course set with the ribeye steak....mouthwatering! We caught yet another train to stop off at Wendel's to get some bread before wandering home in the twinkling hustle of Saturday night in the big city.

Photos: Last day with my kids,KGB menu, strung-up chickens,sexual harassment on the trains, white beer and the less than enticing "Fatty Burger"!

I'm off to Nagasaki to see my old mate Gurecki next week while Cassy will visit Paris, Reims, Lille and Strasbourg with her Mum.....have a great holiday break one and all!

The sun leaked vapidly into the "girls' room" on the weekend, so different from the lavish flooding spills which usually heat and lighten the spot in winter. The sun's different winter angle has encouraged Cass to place Eugene's old basket in just the right spot to catch all the warmth, and Virg'nMary have absolutely lapped it up. When the insipid rays meekly filtered in on Saturday, Virgil came out to see Cass, led her into the room jumping, rubbing and meowing till she flopped into the basket, rolled around cutely and looked longingly at the window and Cassy in turns. The message was pretty plain: "Can you turn the sun on, please?" I decided that the cat was pretty stupid, but Cassy disagreed, now elevating her to one of the great cat intellects of our time... I'm yet to be convinced!

Memories of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader flooded back on the weekend when we went downtown to celebrate Shaun's birthday. Wal had decided to surprise him with a light sabre (of Star War's fame) of his very own. I'd been privy to the whole saga in the lead-up to the presentation. Each sabre is hand-made by some self-styled Star Wars' guru who lives in a tiny black hole of an apartment in the eastern Nangang districts of the city. He insisted that Wal pick it up in person, but only after he'd successfully answered a survey of questions on the franchise, which would deem him to be a worthy recipient of the sabre or not! Suffice to say, he passed the tests and the sabre is really something to behold. It makes all the requisite buzzes and hums, responding to movement and touch. The monastic Jabba the Hut wannabe even has mock battles using the sabres with his band of nerdy disciples on the weekends......I can imagine we'll all relent and get one soon!

Shaun has had some trouble lately, which I won't go into detail here, but suffice to say, he and his family have had an awkward and annoying time and I think they're pretty much "over it", so the party was really quite a welcome treat. We ended up having a really enjoyable time. The W Hotel was the venue, the Kitchen Table the restaurant and bar. It had a sleek, contempoarary presentation and the acid yellow colour scheme extended right through to the stylish individual bathrooms! The food was buffet style but of the most exquisite quality and freshness. Roast meats, French casseroles and grilled vegetables nestled alongside Asian cooked specialities, fresh seafood of bursting freshness, and melt-in-your-mouth sashimi and sushi. The desserts and accompaniements were of similar quality and although it was expensive, considering the quality of the food and the decor, not outrageous.

The outdoor bar area was our destination after dinner and although it was stunning and luxurious, with wet edge lap pools, day beds and lounges, neon lit chairs and table accents, it was quite cool in a literal sense! While the outdoor space heaters fought valiantly to ward off the chill, the breeze whipped through at regular intervals with Cassy declaring me quite gallant for draping my jacket around her as she stood shivering! The drinks came at a King's ransom, so it definitely won't be a regular destination. However, as we enjoyed the 10th floor facilities high above the madding hordes of this bustling Asian metropolis, gazing up to the 33rd floor bar soaring above and out to the Chrysler building copy and Taipei 101 beyond, we marveled at how slick and trendy our city was becoming. The evolution which started as a trickle ten or more years back has become a dizzying avalanche as the citizenry demand more and better and slicker and brighter as they keep up with the advancing Asian economic juggernaut.

We were far more mundane during the weekend days as we enjoyed the reemergence of a menacing Mitchell Johnson and his capable Australian team mates as they demolished the English squad once again to go two nil up in the current Ashes cricket series. What joy it is to revel in the Englishmen's collective pain!

Photos: Virg n Mary put up with a wilting sunlight and shots from the night out at the W Hotel (including the newly engaged Wal and Annie!)

We're always quite willing to affiliate ourselves with the Americans when special holidays roll around. This long weekend was no exception, and although we didn't immerse ourselves in any gluttonous turkey/pumpkin pie fests this year, we certainly basked in the time off allocated to those who work for American companies round the world.

In some ways, a four day weekend is a bit of a momentum killer and although we loved the time off, it was difficult to get back into our daily work routine today. As the days become shorter and the temperatures fall away, our daily pattern becomes just that little harder. Due to our very early start at school (we start teaching the kiddies at 7.45) we're up at 5.30 each day. It's dark for quite some considerable time in the morning these days and if we stay on for a meeting we're often walking home in the dark as well. As I mentioned last week, our daily walking commute is mostly enjoyable, but occasionally as the wind whips around us on a grey morning or dusky evening, it's less so!

Taipei continues to astound and delight us! We can now catch a Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) train from our local stop all the way through to Taipei 101 without changing! The city has been working steadily and furiously for some years underground to burrow through some of the most densely populated areas of the city to re-configure the MRT system. Through some logistical ballet of the most intricate kind, they have managed to seamlessly integrate this new line opening without the slightest hiccup, glitch or delay to normal transport in the city. It really is an engineering and planning miracle. Now, Taipei's largest city park, Daan, the Anhe road restaurant district as well as the 101 shopping precinct are all just 30 minutes away. The new line has also cleverly linked a number of others meaning some of our other popular destinations now involve just one change instead of two.

Suffice to say, we visited 101 and wandered the glittering hallways en route to Page One bookshop. Cass didn't get her book club book she was after, but we got some Tim Winton volumes for both Gurecki and friend from school, Jaami, who kindly lent us his carpark when Cass was wheelchair-bound. We then decided to get some Youbikes and have a little ride round the area. They were as easy to hire as I've previously described and we rode around for a bit before parking the bikes in the park outside and lunching at Longtable in the Xinyi district. We Youbiked back to the 101 station before heading home.

We spent the rest of the weekend doing all sorts of other interesting things, including excursions out to the movies, lots of eating out, either lunches or dinners and taking advantage of the beautiful late autumn/early winter days strolling round the neighbourhood and beyond. Mercifully, no monkeys were spotted on the 1000 steps and Taipei 101 was appreciated from a different perspective, almost like an inkwash Chinese watercolour style.

Photos: Cass at the local French deli/coffee shop buying some quiche ( the French guy who runs it is an excellent cook!), Astro Boy retains his popularity as Virgil suns herself in a spot by the door. Taipei 101 is now the second tallest building in the world but claims it is, "Mankind's Greatest Engineering Achievment". Cass poses beside a sculpture made from the replaced elevator cables: apparently long enough to reach around the island! The building still inspires awe from ground level, Youbike station and shots from the 1000 steps and Tienmu Gudao trail up top.

One of the world's Youtube "5 minutes of fame" sensations was recruited to spend a week with our kiddies this week gone. John J has had a fleeting burst of "fame" as the double dream hands man, and has appeared on all the fluffy American shows like Ellen and America's Got Talent( where he was buzzed out rapidly in ignominious fashion!). I must say he was pretty good; even though he acted like a total goose throughout his short tenure, the kids were eating out of his hands. Anyone who can get a full auditorium of primary school kids hopping and a-bopping like he did has a rare talent. I took a few videos of the fun, starting with this and ending with this one. There are even more on Taipei Life's Youtube channel which is here.

Well, we're in a euphoric haze after the Aussies slaughtered the Poms in the return Ashes series first test in Brisbane. We were glued to the action for most of the weekend and only strayed away when there was a break in play or stumps were declared (3 pm our time). This meant a very subdued weekend in regard to daily excursions, but we did manage a hop, skip and jump across to Eat Burger and SOGO on Saturday afternoon/evening.

Even though we enjoyed a rare weekend of slouching around home and telly gazing, it's rare for us and I usually feel the need to get out and do something active or interesting on at least one of the days of the weekend. Feeling a little slovenly, I took stock of our activity meter and realized that we probably do pretty well most of the time. I do approximately 500 push-ups each and every week, get myself up the 1000 steps at irregular intervals and across to the coast to hit the surf occasionally. Cass pumps some iron on alternate days for her shoulders, biceps and triceps and does a massive cardio/anaerobic workout every Saturday by lugging all our shopping back from the supermarket through the park, across the bridge and through another park home (and before you say anything, I offer to help ALL the time, but the offer is politely refused!) Added to that are our Youbike adventures and our great long walks when we go downtown. The most constant and valuable exercise of all however, is our 40 minute walking commute each day. It's no chore: we rev up for the day ahead in the morning, debrief on the way home and never fail to spot some uniquely Taiwanese quirkiness or two daily!

Just because of this most magnificent healthy living we went down to Eat Burger on Saturday night to dilute some of our hard work! Wow, this burger is great....the freshness of the ingredients, the flavours etc. keep us coming back. The restaurant itself, as well as the nearby SOGO, have all their Christmas lights and trees going full on, despite the fact it is so far away and they have absolutely no cultural or religious link to this celebration at all: it is however, I suppose, yet another way to try and prise money from the consumer wallet. They got a few of our loose coins for dinner as well as for a Heat Tech scarf I bought at Uniqlo for my Christmas trip.

Where are we off to at Christmas break? Cass is making her fifth trip to France, this time reprising for the third time her TGV touring trip of three different French regions with her Mum. They will visit Paris, Lille, Strasbourg and Rheims this time. I suggested that she must have covered all areas of the country by now, but Cass begs to differ! Cass has all her fast train tickets bought and they have been delivered to us here. She'll meet Valerie in Hong Kong and they'll fly together to Paris. I've recently decided to go and see my old mate Gurecki in Nagasaki and check out his brand new school and home. I'll arrive in Fukuoka, spend a little time there and travel to Nagasaki. On my arrival home (mid-afternoon Christmas day) I plan to do a little east coast surfing tour here in Taiwan if I get motivated. The Boxing Day test, however, might tempt me to spend a little time at home though!

Photos: kid's party at school, road crossing, park renovations, kids in my room hard at work, SOGO and Eatburger Christmas and John J. I also included a map of the new and proposed MRT lines in the city: a new line linking our line all the way through to Xin Yi and Taipei 101 (no changes) just opened on Sunday....we'll check it out soon!

Sorry to my adoring readership of multitudes (!) that I didn't get this post out as expected yesterday. I was ensconsed in what might actually gain the title of most boring, day-long meeting of the year if such an award were being handed out. Suffice to say I had no spare time and by the time we got home I was "mentally drained"! This late posting will be severely truncated as I just have a very small window in which to write.

We ate at Din Tai Feng during the week and the dumplings and xia long bao were as exquisite as ever. The intricacy and uniformity of each one beggars belief and the perfect temperature at which they arrive is also part of a military precision. To remove the bamboo lids from the steaming serve at the table, knowing that the soup contained in each xia long bao will be at a perfect temperature, piping hot but not scolding, is a neat trick. The last bun can be lifted from the cotton mat just before it cools and sticks which would allow the soup to burst forth: also an amazing timing feat. We love this place!

My latest piece of memorabilia arrived back from the framers mid-week as well and I am stoked with it. Louis Armstrong played the Cave Nightclub/Restaurant (Vancouver) back in early 1963 and signed this handbill at that time. I had it framed simply with a wider black mat, simple black frame with a narrow immediate mat of white to offset the aging handbill itself: it looks great!

We had a wonderful day on Sunday. We roused ourselves relatively early to get showered and dressed and out for breakfast. Initially we planned on eating near the cinema then going to see a film, but our chosen destination, JB Diner, had seats only at a common bench. We decided to get across to the cinema, book our tickets for later in the day then scooter downtownish, across the Fulin bridge to the relatively new "1Bite2Go". It is a classic urban reno in very modern style, hinting at modern industrial style with its big black light fittings, exposed steel roof trusses and big open warehouse feel. It's a little like a mini aircraft hanger adorned with quirky and interesting photos on every available wall space and the tables diner style with tomato sauce, mustard, tabasco, salt and pepper all on hand in giant size. The breakfast were sublime and Cassy's french toast with home-made strawberry sauce was melt-in-the-mouth while my big fry up breakfast was just right for the time and place!

We scootered home and did this and that before taking up our appointment at the cinema for "Captain Phillips". It was an extraordinary, tension-filled, hand held camera rush of an experience, with Tom Hanks delivering a stand-out performance I might have guessed was beyond him. It was a thrilling ride and we both highly recommend it!

Photos: our local temple lantern looked pretty in the twilight, Cass catching the first of her mushroom vegetarian dumplings, "beer bites" at Ulis on Friday, 1Bite2Go shots as well as Satchmo's distinct and bold signature from the early 60s.

I've enjoyed a scintillating day today as the bi-annual round of testing for my kids gets underway. We're off class all week to get the tests done, as the majority of them need to be done "one-on-one". I'm brain dead with a throbbing headache after spending all day saying the exact same thing and getting pretty much the same reply in the initial speaking and listening tests. Oh well, just 4 more days to go!

After our house was broken into last July when we were in Australia, we've bolstered security in various ways. We've got a safety deposit box for a cache of Cassy's jewellry and various other ingenious spots around the house where things can be secreted away from prying thieves. We changed the lock on the giant outer steel door to a quadruple lock combination, which, while a pain to lock and unlock, is pretty much impregnable. The last piece in this Houdiniesque parade of steel security was the replacement of the old wooden inner door with a steel security replacement.

If some magician manages to get through the outer door (which would take an oxy-acetylene torch or equivalent) they now have to deal with a solid steel inner door with a steel door frame bolted about a foot into the surrounding walls. We stayed home for about 4 hours for the installation of this superhero of doors on Saturday. It was an amazing operation involving three men, precision fitting the new after mass destruction of the old door and frame. It entailed a whole lot of drilling and bashing before subsequent filling and finessing. The lounge room was an unholy mess as old mate decided that our marble floor was a good spot to make his cement slurry to fill in around the door frame.....ohhh! Cass and I did an industrial cleanup later and got the inner and outer doors and surrounds cleaner than they've probably ever been!

After all that effort, we decided the only reward was a trip downtown to the noteworthy and oft-visited Romano's Macaroni Grill. The exquisite fare at this establishment is always of the same sublime quality, the service outstanding and the quirky house singers always give us some unusual entertainment. Last time a tiny opera singer with a huge voice graced the dining room, while this time it was a honey-throated young man soprano playing a ukelele! Good fun.

The trip down was a bit more than we wanted after our busy day and we got crushed onto the third of three trains. After swaying with the crowd who were packed in like sardines in a tin, we demurred on the return underground trip and lashed out on a taxi door-to-door for the trip home.

Sunday was the last soak of dripping humidity for the season we hope...it was a moist mop of a thing, and we sweltered for most of the day before relenting and switching on the air-conditioner. Today and the rest of the week are supposed to be composed of "sprinkles" or "showers" and lovely autumn temperatures around the mid 20s....at last!

Photos: The escalator between trains two and three on Saturday night (it was only 5.30 p.m.!), Macaroni Grill, some of my kids hard at work last week, and the new "impregnable barricade"!