I've written about Chinese New Year for more than a decade and you'd think there is no new slant I could put on it wouldn't you? You're wrong! For the first time in thirteen years we've experienced a week off school for Chinese New Year where the weather was not uniformly dull, dreary, damp, depressing and damned cold! It was, in fact, the exact opposite and one day of brilliant sunshine, cool breezes and cloudless skies was followed by another and another ....you get the picture. We marvelled at the weather forecast at the start of the week, yet didn't think it could possibly eventuate just like that but it did and better.
As you know from last week's entry, we took advantage of the weather at the start of the week to do a bit of Taipei Youbiking out to Chiang Kai Chek's summer residence and gardens. We were somewhat insired by this visual feast of gardens and ponds (even the waterlilies at CKS's place) to visit the exhibition down at Taipei's Natural History Museum. During my week in Taipei without Wonder Girl over Christmas, I had attended this exhibition for a couple of hours, and, as is usual when basking in the radiance of Monet's work, I came away in a state of awe and bliss. I wanted Cass to experience that same serenity in our Taipei setting so we headed downtown to re-aquaint ourselves with these marvels of human craft.
The exhibition "Monet: Landscapes of Mind"is the 4th such masterful display of Monet's works which we have seen here in Taipei. The Taiwanese have a special affinity with the Impressionists and it is evident with the frequency of exhibitions of these artists here in this city. I visited the last one, "Monet's garden", with 38 seminal works no less than 4 times, so this double visit was conservative for me! The Musee Marmottan, our go-to hidden gem in Paris, which we have visited on numerous occasions, had lent 55 works to this traveling exhibition. Although we had seen all the paintings before, and some numerous times, it took nothing away from their majesty or sigh inducing quality.
It's a Ferris Bueller moment to stand in these spaces and drink in the history and sip appreciatively on the divine quality of the rooms upon rooms of paintings, some as big as a hotel bar, others hidden in corners and barely bigger than a cocktail shaker yet all exuding a hypnotic bouquet to dazzle and delight.
We had various other small outings throughout the week, including that second most decadent, the lunch out on a working day (the most decadent being the late breakfast as described last week!). We went to one of our favourite spots, "Wendel's Backerie" where we sat outdoors in the garden and enjoyed a delicious long lunch.
On yet another perfect day, we roused ourselves to visit the paths on the lower reaches of Yangminshan after negotiating the "1000 steps". No monkeys could be prised from their resting spots at this time of the day, much to Cassy's relief, and although the climb was tiring and steep, it's always a great feeling of achievement to mount that last step and breech the mountain path. After that it's just delightful to stroll the ridge line on the dappled path and it was especially enjoyable as the path and steps were nearly deserted. Chinese New Year is the time when families gather to eat "special and delicious" foods, fish and chicken for prosperity, while assorted other mysterious items are also prepared. This means that public places are by and large deserted and the only folk out awandering are the unencumbered foreigners!
We did have our dozen pies delivered by Leo and I tasted all three varieties: a massive problem could develop here as my fat tummy could balloon if I allow myself too many of these very tasty and authentic treats. Of course, Cassy's batch of homemade lemon butter slathered on big doorstep pieces of piping white toast each morning was similarly slimming! We had many a sleep-in, many a late night watching too much TV and too many movies: who would imagine we could watch the whole third season of Homeland in a week?!
Oh, such bliss. Back to work today and the sheen still remains.....it must have been a good holiday!
Photos: "special and delicious" foods (!), Monet and surrounds, up the 1000 steps and Marcus with his bonsai (we enjoyed a few beers on his rooftop before heading further afield on Friday)