Observing Europe – Part I (Belgium)

 

I forgot what it’s like being in a place where I have difficulty reading the menus
Giving long blank stares to anyone that attempts to speak to me
And that feeling of hearing something but not being able to process it at all

That almost sums up my whole trip to Europe.

Confused, lost, bewildered but also unbelievably giddy, happy and being in constant awe.

Taking advantage of the 9-day Chinese New Year break, I took this rare opportunity to finally pay a visit to my parents. My parents moved to Brussels about half a year ago and I’ve been dying to go explore and frolick around the old world. The fast-paced and stressful lifestyle of Asia made me crave for the laid-back European lifestyle. It sounded like heaven; a place where people take the time to taste their food and enjoy the company of others. When getting off at five and having dinner with family is the norm and not a rare occasion. Well dressed and groomed gentlemen.

And don’t even get me started on the food.

I fell in love with macarons (Pierre Marcolini macarons!)

Flying A Kite

There’s something innocent and peaceful about flying a kite. I think it has to do with standing around in an open, breezy space with colorful kites just soaring in whatever way the wind guides them, with no goal or purpose but just simply enjoying the moment.

I’m not sure why both Teddy and I had the urge to fly a kite but it came up in conversation so frequently that we added it to the list of things to do. Finally, about two weeks ago, preparation (buying kite) and timing (beautiful afternoon) met and gave us the perfect kite flying opportunity.

Sun Yat-Sen Memorial hall is known to be the kite flying hot spot ever since I was young. It’s close to Taipei 101 and is a rather beautiful, low-key location. I’m not sure what the story is behind kite flying at the memorial hall but given any weekend, it is packed with kite flyers.

Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall on a beautiful sunny day

The kite we bought had awesome Transformers on it, for a grand total of NT99 (US$3).

trying to figure out how to put this thing together

The beautiful weather drew a large crowd to the memorial. There were little children, tiny dogs and sounds of laughter as far as the eye can see.

laid back sunday afternoon

Setting up...

go go go!

Though there was plenty of sun, the day was rather lacking in the wind department. We quickly learned that flying kites is no picnic. Both of us got some pretty good cardio time in just by running back and forth trying to get the kite up.

 

some other kite flyers

Just A Walk

The boy is an active person, much more so than I am. While I would choose to stay in bed to nurse a hangover, he would rather wake up early to hike and catch the rare Taipei rays during this time than waste time being indoors.

Thus, I have gotten more outdoor time, hiking trips and images of beautiful scenery in the past few weeks than I have in the first 5 months since moving back. I’ve discovered a delicious little French restaurant that serves amazing brunch 2 blocks away, a large traditional market with every type of fresh produce, lots of small parks and a handful of narrow alleys with a lot of character.

I completely forgot that there was a river fairly close to my apartment. There is a nice path and a lot of open space around the river banks for people to walk on.

the bridge near my apartment

The river itself isn’t very impressive. Like any other river running through a city, the water was rather murky and unpleasant. I was rather impressed to see fishes leaping out of the water at periodic intervals. Though we couldn’t figure out what type of the fish would lurk in such dire waters, we somehow came to the conclusion that it was probably mating season.

The unexpected garden

Along the banks, we stumbled across a very large and well attended garden. I’m assuming the Taiwanese government owns the land around the river but this garden was very clearing tended by private individuals that just wanted a space for themselves to grow  something. Having a yard or a garden in Taipei is unheard of since everyone lives in apartment buildings. Seeing green and having some space is a rare commodity in Asia, so it isn’t too hard to understand why someone would be tending a garden far from their own homes. There were a few middle aged women watering the flowers and being chatty. The flowers were beautiful and were as tall, if not taller than me, forming a slightly isolated flower wall.