Despite being well armed with a note of the name of a major city hospital in Chinese, the taxi driver proved to be one of those rare beasts in Taiwan: a man prepared not to make an effort to understand or at least find out from someone else. I was able to negotiate our destination by saying the name and address of the place as well as a nearby landmark as an alternative and he reluctantly drove us downtown. Even when we got to the street he needed further direction....I think he was just in a grumpy mood or didn't like foreigners sullying his happy Saturday morning (or both)!
We'd discovered that the latest BBL laser light machines were indeed in existence in Taiwan, despite the local clinic declaring they were not. Not only were they available, but they were housed in a delightful private enclave perched on the 12th floor of the Taipei Medical University Hospital, staffed by obliging friendly nurses and knowledgeable, English-speaking doctors...Taipei just continues to impress....and, as a bonus, about a third of the cost of treatments back home.
Cassy will be mortified that I'm relating this publicly, so I'll suffice to say that she had some BBL treatment for a facial skin condition back home, and needed to seek ongoing treatment here. She was most pleased with the level of service and has already booked in her next visit.
Being in the downtown, trendy area, we decided to catch a bus a few stops to disembark in front of the pseudo Aussie industrial chic of Wooloomooloo. Serving all day breakfasts along with pasta and pizza, they also have an impressive and exclusive array of Aussie beers. It's a shame that every time we grace its doors, I've managed to imbibe one or two the night before! We sat at one of the long shared trestle tables and even though the guy next to us was guffawing at an ear splitting decibel level, it was a very pleasant experience as we had a bowl of pasta each and a big bottle of San Pelligrino.
We did some more post typhoon specialty food shopping on the way home in the bowels of the SOGO department store complex as well as purchasing some delicious "Paul" patisserie treats for later. Believe it or not, the city was holding its collective breath as yet another wild typhoon blustered out off the east coast and subsequently sucked all the smog before it, leaving deceptive tranquil and searing blue skies.
Sunday spat with intermittent showers and despite this, I braved the Tienmu Gudao steps to test my fitness levels after a long break from their punishing ascent. I got up in pretty good time and fine fettle, but was totally drenched for my effort! Over the weekend we gorged on the latest Game of Thrones series which we'd been saving up and both blamed it on some fitful nights' sleeps: it's really pushing the boundaries these days!
We're both slowly settling into our routines again and I've already dazzled (!?) the parents at Open House night, met lots of new ones and reacquainted myself with the returning ones. It all went swimmingly well and I hope this mood continues for the remainder of the year. We celebrated Wal's birthday with a few beers on Friday night before watching both codes of football battle it out in some entertaining games.
Photos have a touch of intrigue. My new team this year, some interesting displays and games at the cinema, a friend, Greg, wearing the ukulele sunglasses I bought for him in Australia, my legend 20 year old boots finally crack up and you can have your kitchen and bathroom clad in Hello Kitty tiles! A final oddity....Cassy has used a tiny portion of this pad over the years to write her shopping lists: I think she can get 8 on one sheet. They are from a pad that Dad gave to her over 20 years ago, from a drug company. Thing is, there is only one sheet left, and she was certain that they'd "see her out" of Taiwan! hmmmm
Books: Cassy reading Lila by Marilynne Robinson, David reading Gary Paulsen's motorcycle memoir.