Cassy and I are embroiled in grading 100s of Grade 8 final essays on Fahrenheit 451, so apart from the loads of fun involved (!), it's very time consuming as well. Therefore, this blog will tell a thousand words through pictures!

We went out and about in commercial heaven at the huge SOGO department store after having our favourite meal of Din Tai Feng. Christmas gives everyone a great excuse to decorate excessively and advertise in hyperbole and this edifice is no exception. Cass basked under the glow of a thousand fairy lights and posed next to strangely eye-browed creatures!

My kids in homeroom suggested and organised a "Secret Santa" present exchange and I managed to capture some of their reactions. I made up my classroom for yet another configuration, this time, exams. Cassy has swathed the girls in quilts and bewitched them with boxes in preparation for the winter chills. Our local French cafe is always a good source for weekend lunches and the last shot is one which will rankle with most of my Australian readers. Not only are we offered red-hot internet speeds, but they are cheap and without limits. Oh, and I forgot, you get a free HD monitor as well!

We're off to The Netherlands and Belgium next Thursday, so no blog for a couple of weeks. We've got accommodation booked and the first train only......we're winging it!

There was no howling choir as sled dogs railed against the moon, no snowshoes snarled with grit and ice, and no blinding blizzards to befuddle and disorientate. It was deemed however, according to the citizens of Taipei, officially winter. We know this because when we strolled across to the other end of our city suburb on Saturday night we were greeted not only by Europeanesque window furnishings and outdoor displays, but also by hordes of people of all ages who looked like the vanguard for Mawson's ill-fated trek to Antarctica!

We'd been enjoying a quiet day at home, pottering around, before deciding to catch a movie and a meal out on the town like adults occasionally do! Normally, we'd jump astride Blackie for a spot of scootering across to the movie theatre, but we decided it was such a pleasant, if crisp, afternoon, that we'd stroll across instead. We were prepared for a little cold, as the mercury had plummeted in recent days, but the over-reaction from the general public had to be seen to be believed. Little kiddies resembled miniature Goodyear blimps, they were so layered in puffy jackets, scarves and beanies and the adults were similarly puffed up in their own belief that snow was blowing off the hills (which, of course, it wasn't!)

The European flavour is not confined to the fashion: the window displays and stores along Chung Chen Road are always sophisticated, but their seasonal iterations are a notch above the usual. It was great to walk along in the Christmas crowds, a happy buzz in the air, and buttery light leaking onto the footpath from the storefronts and restaurant signs. We'd been entertained before we even got to the movie!

The remake of "Murder on the Orient Express" was crafted quite professionally, yet Cass was more enamoured of it than was I. Kenneth Branagh couldn't quite channel the incomparable David Suchet in the role of Poirot, (especially with his incessant twirling of a ridiculous waxed moustache) nor could the majestic and sumptuous sets, along with modern drone shots of steaming rail engines cutting through gorges and bursting out of tunnels quite jazz up the story to my taste. However, the shivery whitescapes and icy settings certainly evoked further images of "real" winters...

The recently renovated Spice Shop served up hot, hearty fare for us at the conclusion of the movie, in particular a fish dish from the Tandoor which was perfectly cooked and delicious. We ate quite ravenously owing to our tiny lunches and the cooler temperatures, along with the always tasty Indian fare: always a recipe for a good appetite. On the way home we stopped in at Il Mercato's new patisserie and bought some of their banana bread to take home and compare to Wendel's: (it didn't quite stack up, despite a goodly serving of cinnamon which we like)

We're being swept away by exam preparation and various end-of-year protocols and necessities like report writing to fill up our last two weeks. It's hectic, and we haven't given much thought to our next European adventure, this time for real! I suppose when we board the plane on Thursday week we'll be able to catch our breath and think then. We've both finished the disturbing "Road to Jonestown" and now I'm indulging in some comfort reading with "Y is for Yesterday" by Sue Grafton. It's a delight! Cass is reading Elena Ferrante's The Days of Abandonment. Photos: Out and about by night and day.

Strangely, I didn't take one photo this week, so I'm at a loss as to the general theme of this week's post. I'm going to let thoughts percolate for a while before I get back to you....

After a little thought and tidying up the blog links, I realized to my surprise that this blog has just passed its 15 year anniversary! I'm reticent to look back too much, but I did quickly scan the first few entries that decade and a half ago and it struck home to me how much things have changed in this awesome city.

Back then, we seemed fixated on sourcing "western" style reminders of our previous lives: we were hunting in night markets for DVDs to watch in our spare time, seeking out good restaurants with a semblance of non-traditional food and hanging out in the very rare, early iterations of Taipei's super malls. Along with this, we were starting to take advantage of the beauty exisiting in the natural landscape, taking drives to the beach in our battered shared car and wondering at the awe-inspriirng beauty of Yangminshan National park and beyond.

What's changed, then? Quite a lot! The world itself has moved on and Taipei has been at the forefront of a lot of smart city initiatives. Its share bike system and network of bikeways were groundbreaking years ago and continue to grow and develop. Lightning fast internet optic fibred to every home seems ubiquitous now, but we were just transitioning from clunky dial-up setups back then! I suppose one of the main things that has changed has been our attitude: we're firmly entrenched as residents and fans of all things Taipei now and we find ourselves embracing local quirks rather than railing against them and trying to seek solace in past practices. That said, we certainly do still take advantage of a burgeoning restaurant scene; perhaps it's even outgrown us, as we can't possibly sample all that is on offer in this vibrant, ever-changing and developing space.

Another noticeable lifestyle change is that we're comfortable just "living" in our community these days. Even though we still take advantage of experiences that a huge and exciting Asian city throws up, we don't feel we have to see everything: we're more picky! It's not a matter of being jaded either: we still feel the palpable excitement of a temple festival, get equally revolted and interested in local street food stall ingredients and get swept away by festivals, exhibitions and events. We take more notice these days of the small beauties around us like the Japanese school girls running and chattering alongside their bike riding mum on the way to school in the morning, the Tai-Chi practitioners finishing a session in the local park or the countless expressions of small kindnesses that we witness in the community every day.

We were certainly "comfortable" this weekend and didn't feel the need to venture too far from home! Cass had been up to Rhonda's for her Book Club on Thursday night and a late "school night" meant she wasn't super energetic on the following weekend. I'd had my regular catch-up with Wal and dropped in on a local expat band gig later on Friday, so I was similarly ready for a rest. We took advantage of a lot of our modern "tricks": Fast, reliable internet allows HD uninterrupted streaming, a good VPN hides us from geo-blocking and we enjoyed another weekend of quality cricket from the Aussies in the second test of the Ashes. We also watched a few episodes of a new Netflix TV series, Ozark, which proved to be confronting and shocking and very entertaining!

It's pretty weird reading a few entries from so long ago: we were a little naive and also a little silly! Maybe I'll look back at this post in 15 years time and have similar thoughts...who knows?! Anyway, apologies for the lack of photos, although I did include a video I haven't previously posted: we hiked up to the top of Elephant Mountain in Chinese New Year to take in the spectacular views of Taipei 101 and the Xin Yi eastern district. We're both coming to the final stages of "The Road to Jonestown": it's a massive tome that details every last snippet of information about this nutter and has been very disturbing!