Cassy had her book club out at a fancy restaurant this week, the girls breaking from their usual routine of dining at different houses. They do this a couple of times a year, usually around high stress times like end of semester/report writing etc. Cass has been over to Dazhi/Neihu multiple times in the past few weeks, with a baby shower for one of the newer book club members, a dinner at said member's apartment, and now this meal out at Osteria

Appropriately, considering we'll be in Italy in a week or two, the whole experience was very authentic. Chefs and many of the staff are Italian and the fusion cuisine was apparently near perfect. With our world certified Pizz Oggi and now this place, we'll barely need to visit Italy, for the food at least! She caught up with all sorts of interesting gossip which is not for these public pages (!), and they had a relaxing and convivial experience.

I'll neatly segue to another convivial experience that I attended on Friday, that of the lower school Chrsitmas party. Upon arrival, one of my friends was struggling with the two mini-kegs of craft beer that had been ordered. I put my extensive bar experience to good use and manned one of the kegs, constantly adjusting the gas levels to keep the beer, and not the foam, flowing crisply. It was a bit of a juggling act, but things went smoothly and it gave me the chance to have a brief interaction with heaps of people without getting too caught up in minutia!  It was a pretty fun party in the end: the division certainly has a more relaxed and inclusive vibe these days.

We'd heard tell of yet another custom burger experience in a nearby suburb lately, so we did a little explore on Saturday evening. Just a couple of stops downtown on the MRT found us at Shilin, a pulsing little hub of restaurants of all cuisines sandwiched in between cute shops selling umbrellas, all manner of cat-branded goods, second hand books or even sad, hot noodles! (see photo above)

Burger Ray was a great find a short stroll from the northern exit of the station. It has a signature draw-card of a gourmet foie gras and truffle burger, but neither Cass nor I are too enamoured of foie gras for all sorts of reasons so we chose differently. Cass ended up with the veggie version which she declared "best ever"...high praise from an aficionado of the form! Mine was right up there with the same status. The set-up is simple and clever. You order the base burger of your choice from a street-front window then select "extras" that you want. After that, you go inside, sit and wait and serve yourself drinks. When the burgers arrive you go to the salad hub and load up your burger with whatever quantity of other extras and sauces that you want. It truly is a signature meal in the end....great stuff!

We thought we'd wander along to 1Bite2Go to get a couple of pieces of their melt-in-your-mouth sour cream cheese cake to eat at home later on. On the way, we marveled again at the changes we've seen in the city and how just everything is almost literally at our doorstep. I suppose to emphasize this, we realized we were just a few steps away from the big yellow tech barn of 3C, so we went in to buy a new wi-fi router as ours has been on the blink necessitating a re-start every hour or so. A pack of blank DVDs and we signed up for a membership whereupon we needed to select "free" gift, so a new toaster in hand(along with DVDs and router), we went to get our cake then wander back to the MRT and home.

We'll be madly preparing for our trip next Saturday as we make our way through this last week of semester. Cats to be organized, clothes and tickets and info to be selected and secreted and then we'll be off. The blog will shut down for a few weeks, I'm anticipating resuming regular service on January 11th.

Just to remind us again that we're living in a Taiwanese neighburhood, the local temple went right off on Thursday night. I missed a lot of the firecracker action but made it for the "tongue lashing giant god's dance" practice. Hilarious! Photos: temple antics, beer wrangling, Burger Ray, sad noodles, sun cat and a couple of shots from the top of the stairs on Sunday. Cass is reading A Little Life and I'm enjoying some violent pulp Jack Reacher with Persuader.

Taipei is an evolving, organic entity and has been constantly morphing since the moment we arrived here 14 plus years ago. The two photos above fascinated me from that perspective and while not exactly in our time frame, they both show dramatic changes in a short period of time for a big city. The top photo featuring Taipei 101, for a few years the world's tallest building and still the number two, shows a counter shot taken about 1970. Despite the obvious differences in the foreground Hsin Yi district, the most amazing are the views to afar, with the burgeoning sprawl suburbs across the river of Sanchong heading all the way to Wugu just a twinkle in a developer's eye at that stage. The photos both appear to have been taken from the popular hiking spot of Xiangshan (Elephant Mountain).

The second shot is even more striking as it sums up a lot of the progress we have seen literally evolve before our eyes. The scene is at a major intersection in the heart of the city, but similar scenes have played out here in our "bucolic" northern suburb in the past few years. The shot was taken about 1980 and shows a predominantly mid-rise clog of buildings of no architectural appeal or flair facing a grid of already choked streets. The second shot at the same location shows a few interesting developments. Taxis bloom on the streets like wildflowers after rain, motor-scooters buzz rampant and an MRT suburban rail rises from its subterranean home just for this little section. The most common sight, however, is the steel and glass department store monster on this corner (and every third corner these days). While the restaurants and bars huddle and nest down tiny alleys and lanes to avoid the big street rents, these commercial juggernauts flaunt themselves on all the big city super roads.

We had a quiet weekend again as the burdens of the end of semester weigh heavily. Cass had doorsteps of essays to grade, I was preparing replies for disappointed parents (just a few!) after the results of the semester's study had gone out for students in the ESL program and we recovered after a full week back teaching after our mini break. This week should be slightly easier though we both seem to have meetings and appointments after school for various reasons.

We're visiting Austria, Slovakia and Italy in a couple of weeks time, notably Vienna around Christmas, Milan for the New Year and a little buttering of Bratislava in between! I've booked a few more dream tickets for Cassy including premium seats at the incomparable Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Musikverein in Vienna and we're even seeing the Vienna Boys' Choir on Christmas morning. There are a few other big ticket items as well: one of the most interesting might be our uber slick Italian contemporary apartment in the shadow of The Duomo! We'll report afterwards....

Photos: old and new Taipei, the ever-improving master potter Wal and his wares, Cassy has discovered a chocolaty heaven and a couple of exquisitely hand carved local dragon dogs!

We took advantage of some spectacular late autumn weather and loads of free time on the Thanksgiving break to do some drinking, dining and driving alongside some sleeping, viewing and relaxing! It was a decadent, fun long weekend that ended all too soon, and after a hectic day back at work, it is quickly fading to a pleasant memory!

Wal and I attended the Thanksgiving turkey feast provided by school on Wednesday afternoon, although Cassy decided to give it a miss. I question my attendance each time: after catching up with a few people we rarely see, it becomes a bit boring, especially when the queue for the food stretches from the courtyard back into the building! The beers, while good quality, seemed to be designed to run out earlier and earlier each year and while the wine flows, it isn't top notch by any stretch of the imagination. As the beers dwindled and a questionably talented 'flash mob" did a dance, it was time for us to exit stage left! We had a much better time at some of our usual haunts later into the evening.

While many of our colleagues were flying off for quick jaunts in nearby Asian countries, or within Taiwan itself, we'd decided to settle in at home and have a very easy break: why, we're off to Europe in three weeks time and I reckon we can wait that long, don't you? We waited till 1Bite2Go opened on Thursday mid-morning before scootering over to enjoy a stacked breakfast in their cavernous space which we had all to ourselves: fun!

The first day/night cricket test from Adelaide with the new pink ball promised some entertainment and it didn't disappoint. We spent lots of time in the next few days catching sessions of the cricket and it was very exciting. We struggled out to the shops and restaurants again on Friday night and wandered the streets down near FuGuo Road to try out a newly spied (by Cass on a bus!) Japanese curry restaurant, Sukiya. When we got down there, a blustery breeze bustling and hurrying us along the road, we discovered a line out the front and a packed house. It was worse than the catering line at school! Promising to re-visit when the novelty has worn off somewhat, we instead backtracked to one of our favourite Thai restaurants on the top floor of the Sogo building. We were lucky to sneak in without a booking and it was as tasty and as fresh as usual.

The expressway beckoned us on Saturday and I packed up the car with gear and surfboards in anticipation of a few waves out on the northernmost tip of the island at Fulong. We tracked a similar path as we'd taken to the cat village last month, but kept on driving all the way to the coast where we motored round the seaside highway among the most spectacular scenic vistas. We often forget what jaw-dropping scenery is on this island until we venture back to places we haven't visited for a while. The mountains do vertical leaps from the ocean, all vertiginous slabs of granite and igneous rock, the road slicing a ruler edge through the middle of the cliffs. The highway monkey-grips the stone walls and curves and folds round the mountain edges, sometimes dipping under cavernous landslide tunnels and sometimes skipping out beyond the cliffs as if suspended in space momentarily before clawing back to grasp the side of the towering slopes.

Past the "Hope" (!) Nuclear power plant number 2 and very soon we were sliding past Cassy's dreaded nemesis, The Longmen Camping Ground, which of course is the site for the dreaded Grade 8 camp each year! Not to worry , we were searching further on and were surprised at the huge queue to get in to the brand new hotel's car-park. Seems like it's the weekend for queuing! We ducked through the railway underpass, parked on grounds of the local community hall, (who were quite enterprisingly charging a premium for the close parks!) and wandered through the hotel grounds to the "combed" beach. A small entrance fee secured us entry to the big bridge and the beach and river entrance beyond, yet I was unable to go back and get the board due to really blown out conditions. We had a bit of fun on the way back when we discovered some really weird advertising hoardings where we hammed it up for the camera, then stopped at the 7/11 for a quick lunch and coffee after the other restaurants in town seemed a little less than salubrious ( see "No. 1 Lunch Box" above!)

We discovered great swathes of the hinterland that we'd never laid eyes on before as we drove along a newly renovated road from the tip before getting lost halfway back. Despite the tiny, country, winding road we got stuck on, which took us miles out of our way, we decided that we had no pressing engagement so we'd just "go with the flow"! We drove through the mountain hamlet of Pingxi, which is famous for its drift lanterns, and we saw a few of the same wafting through and above the village as we drove on by. Eventually arriving back on a link road to the expressway, we got ourselves back home to enjoy a lazy night and then, an even lazier Sunday. What a blissful cameo of a holiday this turned out to be!

Photos: fish on parade, empty 1Bite2Go, Christmas lights at SOGO, Fulong fun and with a final temple finial, do you think this guy could fit anything else on this motorbike?!

I've seen photos of old Taipei with squadrons of working pushbikes groaning under produce, piloted by wiry little men and stoic women straining to navigate them in and around the city. Long ago these scenes disappeared, yet we still see some old "Father Time" (or "Mother Time"), every now and then, hauling great weights of produce around the city streets, all lengthy sinew, earthy tan and furrowed brow.

These days of course, a metamorphosis has arrived in the relentlessly growing cycling monster that is "Youbike". Since a total overhaul, an easy-pay system and an amazing growing network of stations, this cheap public resource has seen a contemporary explosion in cycle use, this time not for commerce on the city's streets but for leisure and fitness on the city's burgeoning grid of dedicated bikeways as well as main roads and highways if you dare! ( I did ride one back from Hsin Yi's 101 building early one New Year's Day!)

It's so convenient, cheap and fun, and the bikes are in such plentiful supply that it is possible to make snap decisions to ride at any time. As the breeze stiffened and the sun peeked from behind clouds on Sunday around noon, we did just that: dropped everything, grabbed a hat and sunblock, quickly checked the bike availability via app's electronic map and headed off to a nearby station. Mingde MRT station had heaps of free bikes so we headed down, waved our passes above the scanners and the bikes whispered from their locks and off we pedalled: rivers and canals here we come!

After a hop, skip and jump through some choked streets, we cruised past the impressive new judge's training centre on the riverside, to drop onto the paths beside the water. After navigating below the 10 lane Wen Lin Road, we hooked right to cut along the tributary of the Damshui River all the way to the Beitou interchange. On the way we investigated the photogenic suspension style bridge in the Beitou hinterland. A cycle path had been built up to it recently, so we rode up to find the road completely deserted. Did they let vehicular traffic up here? After just a few scooters passed through in the next couple of minutes I decided the answer was, "No!". Lying on the roadway, setting up the camera on a tiny tripod, then coaxing Cass out for a quick shot seemed like such fun. It was only after we took the shot that we noticed cars coming up the ramp behind us! Good call, Dave!!

After our little heart-starter we turned north west along another tributary, this time hugging the edges of the Guandu nature reserve. We passed quirky little track-side cafes that had sprung up to cater to the new crowd and coffee drinkers relaxed as the passing parade pedaled on. There were paddies of rice bursting with produce on the one side and mangroves and tidal flats stretched away on the other. We passed couples on tandem hire-bikes and the odd geriatrics plugging away, however were passed in turn by Lycra-sheathed pelotons on gleaming steeds of titanium as they purred past us with nary an effort.

As we neared the usually impressive Guandu temple we realized it was completely covered in scaffolding as restorative works are carried out. The little traditional marina gave a pleasant backdrop for a gulp of water and a massage of our slightly aching rear ends: we'd come a long way! Resolving to press on for Damshui and drop the bikes there if possible, we were able to spy yet further mangrove and riverside reserves, all the while getting blinking cameos from the river beyond, replete with all manner of boat and water craft, including windsurfers and jetskis: what on earth is the world coming to?!

After artfully dodging some crazy bikers stopped mid path or walking three abreast up slight inclines, we witnessed some great architecture (see the photo of the basket weaving house!), saw the trains hurtle past from a different side, then eventually stumbled into the vast Damshui riverside park. After checking the app for a drop-off station, we navigated to one just a few hundred metres away, before congratulating ourselves with a strong coffee and a waffle with pistachio gelato at one of the riverside cafes!

Fortified, relaxed and feeling very worthy, we hopped on the MRT for the (surprising long!) journey back home. We even managed to do a quick shop on the walk back home and managed to get enough supplies to last us for our short week. Yes, the Americans have once again come to the party with their Thanksgiving holiday weekend starting this Thursday.....God Bless America!

Taipei is not exactly a secret wonderland, but it seems that just around every corner is yet another quirky and/or interesting sight, sound or experience. We pinch ourselves some days that we are living life in a great Asian city, working and living and playing with whatever it has to offer. After a decade and a half it might seem possible to find more scenes and experiences if we'd hidden ourselves away, but despite the fact that we've embraced the city, region and country since we've been here, we can still be amazed, sometimes right on our doorstep.

The "urban widlife" here in the city does surprise us most days. All the animlas seem to have adapted to the city encroaching on their natural habitat and have adapted their behaviours to suit their new landscape. The nests of starlings and their young hanging under awnings, on the top of light fittings and precariously balancing on electrical cables, delight us every spring as they emerge all the way up Chung Shan Bei Road. As we watch the hatchlings grow and thrive we know we're only weeks away from our long, summer holiday! The "Moop" is another bird that seems oblivious to its new surrounds. Originally a river shore bird, it now frequents the parks around the city, especially in soggy weather. It walks around with impunity through suburban streets, gyrating its neck and even flying up onto car roofs! We give it its name from the plaintive "moop" cry it makes on still, quiet evenings. Even the domestic dogs and cats are zenned out. While we'd be afraid to approach many of the attack dogs back home, these dogs don't even bark at each other, let alone humans!

I went up "The Steps" on Sunday and decided that I'd keep on venturing onwards and upwards in search of another trail I'd spotted on a map some time back. I ditched the ridge trail and ventured onto the winding switchback road which inexorably snakes its way up to the Chinese Cultural College. I powered up the road, dodging the traffic, passing numerous look-out restaurants. Perched as they are on precipitous slopes, the restaurants and coffee lounges all have a superb view of the entire Taipei basin, some with views all the way to 101 on the eastern side and the Damshui river confluence on the west. They all have interesting names and catchy signage, meant to lure the casual driver in for a pit-stop. After a good 25 minutes walking the curves of the road, I drifted back onto the "new" path and steps. They wound their way through an enchanting little pocket of forest before emerging at the back carpark of the college.

The college itself is an amazing engineering feat which rose from the top of the mountain some time after we arrived on island. Still spectacular, it seems to defy gravity as its bulk thrusts out over the sheer cliffs on the top of the mountain and dwarfs the walkers and cars below. Glittering in the afternoon sun's golden rays, it was an awesome sight! On the way back down the road, I glanced some other urban cowboys of the animal variety as a sizeable troop of macaques swung boldly from tree to tree, almost cartoon like, in the foliage below the college's shadow.

We got down to Eat Burger after discovering that the Italian charms of Pizzeria Oggi were all booked out. It was a great alternative and we had a delicious meal. On our way down, we were confronted by the bold "Moop". From the video above (for a while) and here more permanently, you can see it just cruising the suburban lanes: I just missed it flying up onto a car!

Photos: the girls in the Black Pig, me and Logan (I don't have dirt or tattoos: it was strange shadow trick!), the Moop, various shots from up on the mountain. I've just finished "X" by Sue Grafton after stretching it out as long as possible and Cass is reading Americanah by C.N. Adichie.