Weekend 4: Saturday&Sunday

Weekend Floral Market

I decided to spend this particular Saturday morning at the floral market. It's a nice way to just relax and not feel so tourist-y. It always amaze me the variety of flowers and plants people sell at this market. Why can't Toronto have one of these? Also, who buys the water lilies at this market? I mean, people who have a backyard big enough for a pond of course, but who can afford a backyard in Taipei? 

Di-bao (帝寶) Apartment Complex
I may or may not have gotten slightly lost after the floral market. But somehow I managed to find my way here, one of the most expensive apartment complexes in Taiwan. It's where all the CEOs live. I don't know much else about the complex, but I do know their security guards were nice enough to direct me back towards the MRT.

Muji Exhibit on Organizational Units (Isn't that just music to your ears?)

Talk about serendipity! The first thing I saw walking into the SOGO department store was the sign for the Muji exhibit. And when I stepped into the exhibit, I thought I was in heaven (if heaven was a very organized living space with a muted palette.) I could have stayed here for hours.

Have you seen anything more beautiful? All it needs is a few plants and a ladder and it would be perfect. Don't judge, but I bought the Muji catalogue back with me. It's sitting next to my bed right now.

Sun Yat-sen Park 

This is where Dr. Sun Yat-sen lived when he visited Taiwan. This park is so discreetly tucked behind Taipei Main Station, I must have walked past it dozens of times without noticing it. Being the upstanding citizens we are, we dutifully took off our shoes and put away our cameras inside the house even though no one was watching. 

Mister Donut. It's very different from Timmy's. Denser and chewier and flavourful. Expensive by Taiwanese standards. Definitely not a "dozen-to-go" kind of place.

Museum of History. What a view. A lotus blossom sanctuary in the middle of urban development.

 

A couple of police officers were nice enough to direct us to this ice stand. It's very popular (as you can tell by the people lining up in the photo) and specializes in brown sugar shaved ice. You get three toppings of your choosing. I chose herb jelly, sweet potato dough, and white wood ear. A little on the sweet side, but delicious nonetheless.

And of course I had to take a picture of the Roots store in Ximending, one of the most youth-oriented districts. Who knew Roots was so popular overseas?