The Autumn Queen

Emily had a great time trick or treating tonight! We went down on the hill and she got 3.5 pounds of candy.

First Snow

Don't know what you other NYers are getting but we have snow on the mountain!

Another view

It opens on a field with lots of trails. Hope I get something.

View from my tree stand

We named this one the acrobat stand because it's in a pine tree. Great cover but a pain to get into.

My Baby Bear

Must have known Emily was on my mind!

For Emily

This guy lives right across from the paper mache tiger I saw on the last trip.

Zombie Scarecrow

It wants to eat your brains! We dined at the American club before heading to the airport. The children of members were having a Halloween Scarecrow competition.

101 from a distance

Can you see it? It would have been better if there were less clouds.

More Art Deco

Last shot from the hotel. This is the checkout desk. There's an Erte sculpture on the side table.

Taiwanese Deer

The school had its own deer statue. It felt like we were back in Corning.

If we lived in Taiwan

This might be the gate to Emily's school.

Boys will be boys

There were games at the night market this time. The guns are like the airsoft ones Tom and his brothers used to play with. Dawes, Bobby, and Glenn took a turn and Bobby won. He let me pick the prize for Emily.

Puca Fish

As seen on Nickelodeon's Victorious, these guys will eat the dead skin right off you.

Night Market

Went to the Taipei night market last night. Much bigger than the one in Taichung.

I'm Lovin' It

Belinda and I with Mr. McDonald. Had a great time last night on our way to the night market.

Dessert

Was the best part of dinner yesterday. I should have put my hand in for proportion but the cake was bigger than my entire steak, asparagus, and potato dinner!

Even more Flowers

More Flowers

Can't get enough Flowers

The orchids are everywhere here...and so beautiful.

Temple Details

The color and carving is amazing. The temple is over 200 years old.

Shrines

The dieties portayed here bring good fortune and protection. The diety on the right is known as the most understanding, as he never gets upset and gets along with everyone. The diety on the left is his brother.

Offerings

The center of the template is full of tables for people to leave offerings like food and flowers. Our local host told us that the food is distributed to the less fortunate through a food bank.

Incense Urn

They were several in the temple perfuming the air.

Monks

Both men and woman can be monks. They were studying scripture at the back of the temple.

Toaist Temple

Visited a Taoist temple last night. The carvings are amazing and it smells fantastic with all the incense burning.

Flowers

These are the centerpiece of the lobby and are changed every 2 days. When we got here they were shades of pink. All of them are different varieties of orchids.

Erte in Taiwan

Erte in the hotel lobby. Number xxx1/xxx...an original, one-of-a-kind.

Hotel View

Not quite as grand as last time I was here.

Coral Dragon

Part of the 101 observation floor is a bunch of gift shops/displays that showcase coral gemstone cut into fantastically intricate things.

After our high altitude tour, we boarded the world's fastest elevator to head to the lobby. It took us 41 seconds to go from the 88th floor to the lobby. It only took 37 seconds to come up to the 89th floor from the lobby.

Damper Baby

This is the mascot for the Taipei 101 damper. The damper is a counterweight that helps control the building's sway. It reduces sway by 40% (or 6 feet on a normal day). It was too big to take a picture so the damper baby will have to suffice.

Everything looks so small

Especially from the 89th floor! Here's a view from the indoor observation deck of Taipei 101. The outdoor deck on the 91st floor was closed because of high winds so this was as high as we could go.

Dumplings

They were as good as they look! My favorites were the truffle and pork (yes, I ate mushrooms) and the taro root dessert dumplings.

Dumpling Dolly

We ate at Dintaifung @ Taipei 101 our first night in town. It's a chain restaurant in Asia that specializes in dumplings. Each dumpling is made with 18-22 creases in the top. They even have a cute mascot!

Fancy Lights

Check out the 2 story chandelier. And the stair rails aren't too shabby either.

My Hotel

Staying at the Landis Taipei. The whole hotel is done in Art Deco style.

Serena the Circular

The prettiest horse on the Carousel.

Mmmm...Bacon

We enjoyed the Kiddie Zoo too!

Just Lion Around

It really was a beautiful day to visit the zoo.

Generations

There's a new baby in the gorilla family. Mama and Daddy in the foreground, baby in the middle, and Auntie back in the corner.

Zoo Fun

Took Emily to the Buffalo Zoo today and had a close encounter of the peacock kind.

Our Herd

Everybody has their winter coats on now. The twins we watched grow up all summer are getting pretty big now.

Rainy Weekend Fun

Becky was busy this weekend bringing our gardens back inside. All these great planters were found at Goodwill or Restore for a couple of bucks each.

Behold the Sputnik

Finally got our dining room light hung today.