XXX. Three decades. A score and a half. This number in years when said aloud does seem like a long period of time, yet in other respects it has flown by. We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this past week and only really felt the years when we watched snippets of video or looked at some photos of the day: we were so young, and we weren't the only ones!
We flirted with the idea of jetting across the ditch one way or the other, across to Hong Kong or perhaps Japan. No doubt, we would have enjoyed a special time in either of those places, but so soon after our big holiday, the last thing we wanted to do was to get on to another plane. With that thought in mind before the break, we were glad we'd decided to do a "staycation" in Taipei, the first time we'd done such a thing.
We arranged a personal day each for the exact day of the anniversary, which was the Tuesday, and booked in our hotel stay and restaurant meal for the Monday night. The W is the trendiest hotel in town and dominates the skyline in the Hsin Yi district, of course while still yielding ground to the granddaddy of soaring monoliths, Taipei 101. We raced back from school on Blackie on Monday afternoon and a doorman was ushering us inside the lobby from our taxi, still in the fading afternoon light drifting lazily into dusk.
The room wasn't cheap, so we didn't expect anything other than excellence, and we are delighted to report it was thus. The elevators whispered us to the 10th floor check in without seeming to move, and the 26th floor corridors were wide enough to play a game of tennis in, if slightly murky due to the incredibly low "mood lighting." Everything was slick, clean and stylish and our room had an amazing vaulted view dead-on to 101. The room was fitted with Japanese electronic toilets, rain-showers and two way closets, along with every gadget and knickknack known to man, most with a hefty price-tag attached. There were lights for every mood and occasion and a daybed and blanket to drink in the mighty vistas. See this video (above for the time being)
We only needed to wander across the road to the Breeze Centre to access the private lifts which in turn whisked us to the 45th floor to Morton's Chicago Grill. It was time for Cassy's yearly steak! I'd booked some weeks before and impressed upon the staff the necessity of garnering a window table for the night. Despite the fact that the Hsin Yi lights loom large across the entire glassed restaurant which runs the entire length of the floor, it's more special to have a direct view. I was quite insistent and they agreed that they would guarantee the window table despite it being against their usual practice. Suffice to say the food was stunning, the location perfect and the service amazing. After our main meals and wine, they brought out a complimentary souffle, along with taking a commemorative photo which they printed, framed and signed a large card to accompany it. Wow!
We had a checkout time of a very civilized 12 o'clock, so we shamelessly slept in, then wandered down for a fantastic breakfast buffet at "The Kitchen Table", a restaurant we've previously visited with friends. After some hearty breakfasts and great coffees, I decided to make use of more of the facilities and take a dip in the 10th floor outdoor, 25 m pool. I needn't have worried that it might be a little cool to swim: the pool was heated to a balmy 29 degrees! Cass wandered around on pool-deck for a while then we both basked in the sun poolside and gazed out at the glistening city.
It was an easy taxi ride home and we enjoyed the decadence of relaxing at home in the afternoon of a "school day": there's nothing quite so delicious! It was a bit hard to drag ourselves back into work for the remainder of the week: it just seemed so humdrum compared to our little taste of the "high life". Nevermind, these moments wouldn't be so special if you did them all the time, at least that's our theory!