Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Returned!

 We're home!  I am not feeling the jet lag YET.  Yay!  Taiwan was WONDERFUL!  It was wonderful because of the Taiwanese people.  Everything in Asia (I've been to several Asian countries) is DIFFERENT.  I found myself trying to find my rhythm throughout the trip! The goodie above is shaved ice with mangos.  YUMMY!  We had to go deep into downtown Taipei to find it.

 We had dinner with our friend Yiping's family.  Her sister has the cutest baby boy!  As you can see I can't take my eyes off of him.  I was having a seriously bad hair day.  Sorry.
 Yiping's dad made us some glorious fish!  
 This quote was on our hotel wall.  I like it.
 Another sweet friend named Leah showed me around downtown on another day.  Ten years ago she went to camp and our Jeff was the speaker (he flew all the way to Taiwan by himself when he was a senior in high school).  She began her journey with Jesus that week and then last week, I met her and she showed me around.  We ate in an alley noodle shop and then went to buy cool Asian notebooks.
 Here's Bill speaking at the training Yiping put together.
 My pictures are out of order, but here you can see famous dumplings.  They were delicious!
 We went to a harbor market and I really should have bought one of these tea travel mugs.  I hadn't figured out the money yet.  
 I spied a spotty mug!  (Two weeks ago, my book club ladies commented on all the spotty things in our house!)
 Lots of fresh seafood abounds in Taiwan.  I'm not particularly attracted to sea cucumbers.
 They water was wavy! 
 The beachside coffee shop was lovely!
 Here is our dear Yiping.  She used to be a social worker and now she runs a ministry that aims to deepen people's walk with Jesus.  She is something else.  Even watching her for just one week I noticed a woman who KNOWS how to do friendship.  She is funny, fun, inspiring, and happy.  I love her.
 Even though I couldn't understand the Chinese worship songs, I felt included.
 Here are the dumpling makers.  It takes three years to perfect one's dumpling making skills.
 Clams!
 Ferry boat!  I always love riding in a boat and these open air ferries are perfect transportation!
 Our hotel was by a school and the highlight of my morning walks was seeing the children arrive on the back of their parents' scooters (there are zillions of scooters in Taipei).  The kids are ADORABLE!
 More spots!
 Here is a close up of Yiping's father's soup.  He is an amazing chef!
 Pretty crowded!  Shops under stacks of apartments.
 Fishing boats!

 The rim of the earth from the plane!
 Our walking path and a Buddhist temple.
 People live in tiny apartments.  I feel like our house is HUGE in comparison.  
 Yiping drove us over the mountains to the sea.


 Smoky volcano!




 Badger came along!  His aim is to check out homemaking and homekeeping, so he wanted to see Yiping's kitchen.  He liked her teapot.
Badger shall have his own launching post soon.  He's flying over to Belfast first.  He'll do his visiting in Europe (and maybe New Zealand and Australia again!) and finish in the states.  I have quite a few hostesses lined up!  

It's our Jenny's birthday today!  Wasn't she a sweet little girl?  Now she's a mama of two, a happy wife, and a runner.  I cherished our last baby.  I remember hugging her little pink self tightly in deep appreciation for one more child.  

I've missed you!  I'm glad to be home!
Thank you for stopping by!

15 comments:

Farm Girl said...

What a lovely adventure!! I love all of your pictures. I am so glad you wrote such lovely descriptions.
I think it would be a lovely place to visit.
Such lovely people too. Happy Birthday to your Jenny! I am sure you will have a wonderful day.
So glad you are at home.

TexWisGirl said...

whew, you packed in a bunch on this post! really glad you had a great trip and reconnected with several folks from the past. very cool.

Granny Marigold said...

Welcome back. So nice that you took all those photos to share. BTW what do cool Asian notebooks look like?

GretchenJoanna said...

That was a great travelogue, Pom Pom! I like your style of reporting, and you pictures are just perfect.
While you were in Taiwan, our Kate was in South Korea, and still is...so I've been getting a nice glimpse of places East.
Welcome home!

Jo said...

What great pictures. It looks like you have had an inspiring journey. Jo x

magsmcc said...

Welcome home, PP and B, and Bill! I missed you from just beyond the rim if the earth. My but Badger will have teavelled far and long, and he's coming to Belfast! We shall show him our wild woods and burrow deep as the old year moves slowly to its end xx

Julia said...

Thanks for sharing your trip to Taiwan. My daughter was there as a guest of one of her friend. They are lovely people.

It sounds like a great adventure and you sure were made welcome.

Your photos are beautiful.
Welcome back home.
Hugs,
JB

Aida said...

What a fun trip that was PomPom. Everyone looks happy and friendly. And that soup made by Yiping's dad looks yummy! You look happy and fresh in that surrounding.

Welcome home. Hope to see more photos. Oh, isn't badger lucky?

Tessa~ Here there be musing said...

What a wonderful trip....

One of our grand daughters is doing her Junior year at University, in Japan. She has been to Japan, twice before. She is loving it.

Tessa~
"Here there be musing" blog
"Here there be more words" blog
"Here there be whimsey" blog

happyone said...

Wow that was some trip. Looks like a wonderful time. The photos are fantastic. The first picture of the dumplings look like white chocolate candy to me. : )

M.K. said...

Welcome home, dear Pom! Although your voyage and adventure look fabulous, I know you're happy to be back in your cozy, spotty place :) Taiwan does look like a colorful, lively place. I'd like to go there someday too. Such beautiful countryside! I squealed when I saw Badger. Will any of his friends accompany him on this long trip, or will he have to go it along? I wondered if Ratty might be willing to leave his river and keep his friend company. Remember when one of them was nearly lost, last time, in the middle of a street somewhere? So scary! I'm sure Badger will be brave enough to encounter any challenge or distress.

I felt just the same about my last baby girl, Julia. So thankful to have her, even though I was a bit long in the tooth, as they say, and very tired to be a mommy again. I held her, and squeezed her, and stroked her soft skin, and wrote a few poems about how much I adored her.

ann said...

What a lovely vacation. The people look warm and friendly who took good care of you. They all look so happy. Nice to have you back home. Badger has quite a trek planned for himself.

Amy at love made my home said...

Gosh it looks as though you had an amazing time and saw and did some amazing things. So glad that you enjoyed it so very much. xx

Thistle Cove Farm said...

What a fabulous trip; thanks for the photos and writing, loved it all. The people look wonderful and the fishing boats so cheerful. So glad y'all are home safe and sound; the quote is bitter sweet and, pretty much, how I feel these days.

Leslie said...

Oh, what a fun post to be able to travel with you, PomPom. Glad you are home safely and enjoyed such a great time. HBD to your brilliantly blue-eyed Jenny. I just love how you celebrate God's goodness to you in all of your blog posts. You are a wonderful example to me. Love from Texas, Leslie

Followers