Here is the rest of the parental visit post, after a ridiculously long break. So sorry.
I forgot to mention that on Christmas Eve we went to a great church service and then strolled over to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall with the family, plus Mel and Annie. After enjoying the changing of the guard, we ate at Ding Tai Feng. SO good. Mmmmm. In Chinese the name of the tastiness you can encounter there means something like "little soup wrappings in a steamer" (I'm sure that's not quite right) but I call them "soggy-bottom dumplings." We all feasted so much that we could barely walk afterwards. Or maybe that was just me.
So after Christmas, George and Petch went off to Hong Kong and GuangZhou. When they returned, we headed down the coast to Hualien.
Beautiful, n'est pas? Our first night there, we saw some traditional tribal dances... I even participated a little. Very, very poorly; it involved sticks and jumping.
And Taroko Gorge is, well, gorgeous. Yeah, I know I'm a cheeseball, but it is.
The Gorge is famous for marble, so mom and I got some marble chops made up. Mine has my Chinese name, and the guy gave her two characters to use on the spot.
Here's us doing some illegal hot-springing... For more information, read this. But let me point out that although we had to climb over three fences and down sheer rock to get there, we were not the only ones who made the trek. We definitely met a several more bathers, and their children, down there in addition to this couple.
We also had fun checking out Hualien with Libeck and her dear shiao mama. They are wonderful hosts, in case you ever feel like visiting!
Finally, back in Taipei, we celebrated New Year's Eve with Andrea.
The whole gang on the rooftop.
And the annual explosion.
And yes, everyone made it back safely. But my dear stepdad and darling mother are already planning the next trip!
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