Weekend outings in Taipei

Spring has sprung and it's amazing what a little sunshine does for you. Lately I've been able to do a lot more exploring on the weekends. Well to be honest sometimes I just end up getting on the wrong train and getting lost but that's part of the fun right? On one of my outings I finally made it to one of Taiwan's most popular landmarks the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial (above) and it was so much more than I'd expected. 

FYI Taiwan definitely takes the cake for the longest changing of the guards routine I've ever seen.

The National Theater and Concert Halls (above) stand in front of the memorial. They remind me of a lot of the temples I've seen around Taiwan only much bigger. One thing I always find funny is how kids here meet up to practice "dancing" in the most random public places and apparently this is a pretty popular one. There were also a lot of people running laps around the National Theater (below) which totally blows my old running route around downtown Raleigh out of the water. Sometimes when I go to these awesome places that in no way resemble anything we have back at home I always find it amusing how normal they are to people here. One of the Taiwanese teachers at my school even asked me why I wanted to go there. Really??

And of course what's an Asian landmark without a pond full of koi fish?!

^^^La gordita that kept ruining my pics while trying to sneak 

away from her Grandma lol

In the midst of my shopping in Taipei I stumbled upon a froyo and almost freaked out! 

So of course I had to take a snack break.

If I haven't mentioned it before people in Taiwan are obsessed with all things cute. So of course the subway is decorated with bunnies and ice skating piggies!

Welp, that's all for now folks :-)
Cheers!
Ash