Weekend
Last week ended with us going to see 2 apartments at 5 pm on Friday, nothing like waiting until the last minute. One apartment we had already seen before and one was definitely not for us only 2 bedrooms and really different interesting furniture. We went ahead and said to start negotiations on the one we had already seen. Its a nice apartment, big, three bedroom plus a study, three bathrooms, kitchen with small oven. It would work for us, although the drawbacks are no bathtub three bathrooms but no tub, no courtyard or common area to meet other people or for the kids to play, on a busy street, right downtown. Its in a nice area and there is a Wellcome store (supermarket) nearby. After looking at apartments, we ate again at Chilis just cant stop going there!
Saturday we slept in late, as late as you can with two little kids. We ate a late breakfast at the 22nd floor and then walked over the Taipei 101 bookstore, Page One, to look at books. They were having a 20 percent off sale on all books. It was pretty busy, there was some very popular trade show going on next door at the Convention Center so a lot of people came over to the mall also. We got the girls down for their naps fairly late in the afternoon and they were still asleep at 5 pm when the babysitter (Linda Lee) showed up. We had to wake them up, which didnt bode well for us leaving them. Ended up taking a while to leave them, we had to get them calmed down first. Linda brought a coloring book to share with Ashley, so that was cool. Anthony and I took off and went to eat dinner, we were going to eat Steak at a nice place here in the hotel, but found out they dont open until 6pm, so that wasnt an option. So we walked over to Taipei 101 and ate at a Chinese restaurant they have. It was all very good shrimp balls, chicken with cashews and egg/vegetable soup. After dinner, we saw Collateral with Tom Cruise. Anthony liked it more than I, but I still thought it was pretty good. Again, it was nice going out and having a few hours with no children to watch. On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped by the FREE MTV Concert to listen to a few songs. They set the concert up in front of the Taipei City Hall, which is right in front of the hotel. Theres a little park area. Arvil Lavine was one of the guest singers, although we didnt get to see her. There were a ton of people there, but we were able to listen to the music and see some of the acts from far away. It was pretty cool. When we got back to the hotel, both girls were asleep and Linda said they had been good. She said that she had to call for help because she didnt know how to give both of them baths (she explained that she doesnt have children, just watches many of the hotel kids). The lady that came to help also brought a marker set for Ashley. The girls are so spoiled here, its not even funny.
Sunday was a good day. After breakfast, we took the girls downstairs with their bikes and Ashley rode around on her bike, even going up and down a little ramp and Liz walked and crawled around, pushing her little bike and enjoying the exercise and attention. We got some video of them and hopefully soon I can figure out how to get it on a website for viewing. We all took naps, except Anthony, then decided to go to the jade market, which I hadnt been to before. On the weekends, theres an area underneath a highway, that is usually for parking (for those in Austin, its like the parking underneath IH35 right across from the police station, only much longer) that is converted into rows and rows of tables where people sell jewelry. For someone who likes to make jewelry, this would be a perfect shopping experience as there are beads and jewels galore. Ashley and I both picked up some lovely little purple bracelets for a few dollars. Then next to the Jade Market is the Flower Market. This is like a HUGE nursery where you can buy plants, flowers, pots, gardening supplies, etc. I got a little lucky cat with some bamboo and some plants to go in the little fish tank we have for Ashley. It was a nice walk through this area and I am excited for when we get an apartment with a balcony so I can get some plants to put on it. We went back to the hotel and had dinner (more like snacks) next to the pool at the hotel. It was a nice evening, with a cool breeze, so it was nice to sit outside for a bit and enjoy the cool, instead of melting in the heat.
Monday was fairly uneventful. The girls and I went swimming in the morning. Ashley is getting better in the water, although she still refuses to go under. Liz just kept going back and forth from the kids pool to the baby pool. They both took good naps. Anthony got back from work fairly late after 6pm, and we went to eat at a Japanese buffet in Taipei 101. It was pretty good, with some really good sushi with some very spicy wasabi hidden in some of the pieces, some good fried shrimp and some other dishes. They also had some great ice cream for dessert! YUMMY!
After the negotiating on the apartment didnt go very well, we decided to forgo the apartment and keep looking. We really want to find one, and we liked that one, but they werent willing to negotiate very much and we were settling for less than what would really work for us just to get out of the hotel. So, we are back to looking again. Hopefully, something will happen soon!
Saturday we slept in late, as late as you can with two little kids. We ate a late breakfast at the 22nd floor and then walked over the Taipei 101 bookstore, Page One, to look at books. They were having a 20 percent off sale on all books. It was pretty busy, there was some very popular trade show going on next door at the Convention Center so a lot of people came over to the mall also. We got the girls down for their naps fairly late in the afternoon and they were still asleep at 5 pm when the babysitter (Linda Lee) showed up. We had to wake them up, which didnt bode well for us leaving them. Ended up taking a while to leave them, we had to get them calmed down first. Linda brought a coloring book to share with Ashley, so that was cool. Anthony and I took off and went to eat dinner, we were going to eat Steak at a nice place here in the hotel, but found out they dont open until 6pm, so that wasnt an option. So we walked over to Taipei 101 and ate at a Chinese restaurant they have. It was all very good shrimp balls, chicken with cashews and egg/vegetable soup. After dinner, we saw Collateral with Tom Cruise. Anthony liked it more than I, but I still thought it was pretty good. Again, it was nice going out and having a few hours with no children to watch. On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped by the FREE MTV Concert to listen to a few songs. They set the concert up in front of the Taipei City Hall, which is right in front of the hotel. Theres a little park area. Arvil Lavine was one of the guest singers, although we didnt get to see her. There were a ton of people there, but we were able to listen to the music and see some of the acts from far away. It was pretty cool. When we got back to the hotel, both girls were asleep and Linda said they had been good. She said that she had to call for help because she didnt know how to give both of them baths (she explained that she doesnt have children, just watches many of the hotel kids). The lady that came to help also brought a marker set for Ashley. The girls are so spoiled here, its not even funny.
Sunday was a good day. After breakfast, we took the girls downstairs with their bikes and Ashley rode around on her bike, even going up and down a little ramp and Liz walked and crawled around, pushing her little bike and enjoying the exercise and attention. We got some video of them and hopefully soon I can figure out how to get it on a website for viewing. We all took naps, except Anthony, then decided to go to the jade market, which I hadnt been to before. On the weekends, theres an area underneath a highway, that is usually for parking (for those in Austin, its like the parking underneath IH35 right across from the police station, only much longer) that is converted into rows and rows of tables where people sell jewelry. For someone who likes to make jewelry, this would be a perfect shopping experience as there are beads and jewels galore. Ashley and I both picked up some lovely little purple bracelets for a few dollars. Then next to the Jade Market is the Flower Market. This is like a HUGE nursery where you can buy plants, flowers, pots, gardening supplies, etc. I got a little lucky cat with some bamboo and some plants to go in the little fish tank we have for Ashley. It was a nice walk through this area and I am excited for when we get an apartment with a balcony so I can get some plants to put on it. We went back to the hotel and had dinner (more like snacks) next to the pool at the hotel. It was a nice evening, with a cool breeze, so it was nice to sit outside for a bit and enjoy the cool, instead of melting in the heat.
Monday was fairly uneventful. The girls and I went swimming in the morning. Ashley is getting better in the water, although she still refuses to go under. Liz just kept going back and forth from the kids pool to the baby pool. They both took good naps. Anthony got back from work fairly late after 6pm, and we went to eat at a Japanese buffet in Taipei 101. It was pretty good, with some really good sushi with some very spicy wasabi hidden in some of the pieces, some good fried shrimp and some other dishes. They also had some great ice cream for dessert! YUMMY!
After the negotiating on the apartment didnt go very well, we decided to forgo the apartment and keep looking. We really want to find one, and we liked that one, but they werent willing to negotiate very much and we were settling for less than what would really work for us just to get out of the hotel. So, we are back to looking again. Hopefully, something will happen soon!
posted by The Armstrongs at
8/17/2004
