We were jettisoned from yet another new, busy MRT station with a wash of sun-seeking humanity just before the 101 stop at XinYi Anhe, and were suitably impressed by the teams of cleaners scrubbing, disinfecting and polishing everything in sight, including the quirky steel, surfboard inspired seats on the platform. We'd caught the new XinYi line late Saturday morning to get out in the beautiful sunshine and mild temps and soak up a bit of downtown flurry.
Woolloomooloo is not just an inner Sydney harbourside suburb, but a cafe in inner city Taipei that has a very cool Aussie industrial vibe. The open plan downstairs was full, so we were directed to the second floor where double roller doors were fully opened to the street and the sun was spilling in patches onto a balcony bookended by vertical gardens on opposite walls. The walls were a dirty grey and the steel art works with yellow wool mimicked hazard road signs cleverly. Tiny downlights encased in upturned duralex drinking glasses dangled from unadorned leads , and we were ushered to a long, blond wood, communal table. The wait staff were laid back and even had (and understood) the Aussie vernacular, so for a very rare moment, we could fully relax with our ordering and just "let it flow". It's amazing how wonderful it is not to worry about clipping your words or phrases in English, or have to form up some Mandarin phrases: so relaxing!
We ended up whiling away a great chunk of the afternoon there eating delicious pizzas and pastas, sipping red wine and then eventually finishing off with mouthwatering desserts and coffees. Not our preferred seating arrangement, the communal table ended up OK, adding a sense of city to the mix and we had to raise our voices at times to communicate above the general din which had a comforting, exciting hum with a background of Triple J streaming live. The floor to ceiling fridges downstairs were bulging with Aussie wines and beers, the coffees hissed and steamed under gleaming chromed machines as baristas chatted and buzzed : it was really quite a treat! Yet one more thing I can tick off a list of things I miss from back home: the list is dwindling...
I had the address of a furniture store that happened to be tucked away in a back alley not far from Woolloomooloo, so we retrained for a couple of stops before emerging from yet another new station for us. GPS on the phone directed us down a few lanes and alleys before we found the place closed for renovations for a week: what were the chances! We spoke to a girl in the dust cloud, above the whining circular saws, and she confirmed they'd re-open by Wednesday. We'll definitely go back as we want to check out their designer chairs for a possible purchase to replace the four dining chairs we have at home. Our current ones look pretty good, but they're a shoddy design and are uncomfortable.
We'd ordered the bread for the week at Wendel's on the way downtown, so we detrained at Zhishan to pick up the goods before wandering home in the early evening. Much to Cassy's horror, I bought some squid balls and some soft boiled eggs at the 7/11 on the way home to serve as my supper: she thinks I've turned local!
Football season in both codes has started in earnest, so I've been organising the re-start of the footy tipping comps. Personally, I shouldn't have bothered as I am 0/4 in the AFL tipping so far! The Knights turned in an insipid performance on Sunday against the Raiders and we were frustrated as we watched. Apart from that little disappointment, we enjoyed a magic weekend: it's a fillip for the soul to get some rays, and have sunshine and clear days buoy the spirits. Even a return to work this morning did little to dampen our enthusiasm: I'm back walking and hoping not to tear my calf muscle again...baby steps!
Photos: a group of my kids with their set book in the lower school library's comfy seats, teapots on display in the library, cute kids on the MRT, Woolloomooloo, XinYi buildings, subway entrance, and lanterns at our local community hall. Cass is reading The Burgess Boys and I'm reading The Hard Way.