Escape from the Rain

Apparently, it rains a lot in Taipei in the winter. So for the first two days we weren't able to do much outdoors. By the third day, we were getting tired of the rain, so my aunt decided to call our cousin who lives about an hour south of us in Taichung (it gets sunnier and warmer the farther south you go in Taiwan). They were visiting family farther south but when they heard we wanted to visit to hide from the rain, they drove up to meet us!

Everyone drinks tea in Taiwan, it's great, I love Asian tea! My cousin's husband making tea, it's a cool process to watch, but not as time consuming and delicate as the Japanese style.

















My cousin and her husband took us to this bridge that is no longer used for public transportation, so people rent bikes and ride across it. When we saw how many people were riding bikes, we decided to pass, it just didn't seem very relaxing to ride a bike bumper to bumper. It was Chinese New Year, so everyone was off from work, not to mention that very few restaurants were open so it was hard to find places to eat. For Chinese New Year, people get at least a week to spend with family, how awesome is that, compared to our ONE DAY!






















River next to the bridge
















It's fun because my cousin is a cop and her husband is a former cop, so we were treated very well wherever we went, haha! They're friends with a guy who owns a hot springs resort, which are very popular in Taiwan. It was SO cold out, which made the experience even more worthwhile! After the hot springs, we went to dinner and ordered 100 dumplings - yum!

















The best hot and sour soup I've ever had - it tastes so different from the hot and sour soups in America. It's a lot lighter and not as sour so you can have more of it.