Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Easter Weekend in Taichung - Day 4

Monday was our last day in Taichung, and it was bittersweet but we also knew it was time to go home and get back to our routines.  We packed our bags and checked out of the hotel by noon, then went to one final play area, Mr. Tree, for lunch.























 
This one had a bunch of toys and slides as well.  By this point, Lola was probably dreaming of slides every night!

There was a little water dispenser in one of the toy refrigerators that Lola was fascinated with.

Not usually one for dolls and dollhouses, Lola really enjoyed giving all of the Barbies baths, and making them go to to the toilet.
She of course loved the ball pit, although I think it was a contest between her and Michael as to who loved it more. 
The pink balls contrasted beautifully with the pretty pastel dress that a couple of the Taiwanese aunties (no blood relation) gifted Lola.  It was a very generous and sweet gesture on their part. 

 Lola was again too distracted to eat properly.  Life is just too much fun!  At this point we had taught Lola how to say "I love Taichung" and she was saying it very readily, I guess because it was true!
 
 After lunch, we bid farewell to my cousins and their babies, went with my uncle and aunt to look for some sandals for Lola (we were not successful) and then headed to the airport for our trip home.  Here Lola is, very happy after an action packed and fun filled weekend!
 

Monday, April 29, 2019

Easter Weekend in Taichung - Day 3

On Easter Sunday, we went to the art museum bright and early, followed by a stroll down a little pop up weekend market and a gelato shop, and then lunch.  Lola spent a lot of time in the museum doing what she loves doing everywhere she goes - going up stairs and demanding to go in and out of elevators and slopes.  But, the museum had an awesome kids play area that Lola liked.  She was very intrigued by the felt sticky board.

 
We also spent a lot of time chasing her around the museum just like this: charging ahead full speed with her head down, pulling me forward as quickly as her little body could propel us.
 She is full of curiosity, and her impatience often gets the better of her.  Here, she was desperate to get into a cardboard tuk tuk truck.  But then when she finally got the chance to step into it, she backed away and kept saying, "no, no."  Sometimes Lola is such a little scaredy-cat.  But we love her so much nonetheless.  Besides, exercising caution is a very intelligent and appropriate way to approach the world!
 
Taiwan does such a good job with children's interactive learning spaces in the museums.  Here, Lola playing with blocks.
 We were all having so much fun.
 
The museum is a really pretty place.  We really enjoyed all the open grassy areas and trees.
We left the museum to go for a little walk nearby.  Here Lola is wearing the fruit hat that our friends bought for her, as she munches on guava.  It's the only hat she has ever willingly worn!

There was a very cute market that sold all kinds of pretty handicraft and dried fruits, juices and snacks.  I sampled quite a few things.  There was also a wall of vending machines where Lola wanted an Elmo key chain.  There were seven different Sesame Street characters, so she was (or maybe I should say we were) very lucky to get Elmo on her first try!
I bought some peanut butter, some dried pineapple and dried banana, and pineapple juice.
 We went to a gelato store and relaxed for a little while.  Lola pushed around the huge ice cream cones (while wearing her newly acquired Elmo accessory).
 I saw this very beautiful and intriguing flowering plant.
We ate some watermelon, mango and grapefruit flavored gelato.  I know not why but the grapefruit gelato was black.  I tried it more for the novelty than for the aesthetic appeal. 
After that, we headed to lunch at a noodle restaurant near the museum where we all enjoyed beef noodles, appetizers, and bubble milk tea.  At this point we were nearing Lola's danger zone because she was really tired, but as long as there were things to do she would not succumb to a nap.
 She was still being incredibly cute after lunch nonetheless.  This little girl never passes up an opportunity to explore and find delight in her surroundings.


















 
 After that action packed morning and early afternoon, we went back to our hotel and spent the rest of the day relaxing.  Michael did some work, I binge-watched shows on Netflix, Lola had a very enjoyable and relaxing bath, Jovie went out in the slashing rain and got to explore the famous Fengchia night market to her heart's content.  I think it was a very satisfying Saturday all around.

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Easter Weekend in Taichung - Day 2

On our second day in Taichung, Lola attacked the breakfast buffet and happily munched on a bun in each hand.  She also really enjoyed pressing the up and down buttons for the elevator, one set of which was at her height.  The nicest things about the La Vida are the free breakfast and the on-site parking directly below the hotel lobby - so convenient and essential when traveling with a little one!
They let Lola take balloons every morning.  On the first day Lola chose blue and yellow.  By the end of our trip Lola had amassed a nice collection of blue, yellow, pink, red and purple balloons.  
                  
After breakfast, we went to check out the various exhibits about planet earth, fossils and dinosaurs at the science museum.  Lola wore her very colorful floral dress and rain boots, which was very fitting given it was a rainy day, and had her hair in a beautiful little side French braid.

At the science museum, Lola was pretty reluctant to enter the exhibit itself (she wanted to go on the elevator instead).  Every time we put her down, she would make a beeline for the exit, no matter how far away it was. Eventually, though, we got to an exhibit of a crocodile, which she really liked because of the "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" song.




When we got to the grand finale, which was a huge T-rex and smaller animated T-rex's, Lola's eyes got huge  and her mouth dropped open.  She was scared but trying very hard not to show it.
 


She kept trying to get away from the exhibit - but when none of her attempts worked, she suddenly said very clearly, "Lola boo boo," and "mmm mmmmm" which are the sounds she makes to indicate that she has to go to the bathroom.  Well of course we then rushed off to find a bathroom, only to discover that this was just an escape mechanism that she concocted to get out of the dinosaur exhibit!  We should have known better - she never signals that clearly if she actually really does have to go to the bathroom...


Once we were past the dinosaur exhibit, we got to the interactive termite maze, which Lola loved.  She kept running through the mazes at top speed, squealing as she eventually exited at a difference place each time.  We could not tear her away from this place!
                    
 After all that exertion, we all needed a break.  Flush from her recent adventures, Lola enjoyed a banana at the bottom of the museum steps. Then we were out in the warm muggy air again, ready to head to our next destination!
 
 We went to a huge playspace/restaurant (again, I wish Hong Kong had more places like this)!
 
The play space was awesome - basically, a huge, sprawling, double decker building full of individual play rooms.  The idea is, for any kids' party or meal, you can book a private room with its own set of slides, ball pit and other toys, and adults eat while the kids play.  Brilliant!  Lola started off in her dress but we quickly realized she would be better able to climb and play in pants, so she got an outfit change.
 
 
 
 We also participated in a small ceremony for Bo Bo - apparently a little fun Taiwanese tradition that I didn't know about - he got to wear this ring of cookies as a necklace, and then every adult came up to help him wipe his drool with it, and confer a little blessing on him.  I was called to say something and was very flustered so just wished him great intelligence and courage!  The cookies were really adorable though.
As the kids played, the adults sat down to a huge meal.  I ordered a beef and cheese milk based hotpot.  In retrospect, I wish I had gone for the sour plum broth base.  But clearly, as you can see, I was indulging in hotpot at every possible turn.  Here Lola is giving a hug to our close family friend, Tina.
 
We only had the private room booked until 5:30 pm, and at that point Lola was so tired that we thought she would collapse.  But she still wanted to play until the very last possible minute. 
 
With all the excitement, Lola couldn't focus and ate terribly.  She just wanted to go in the ball pit and the slides (except once she got up to the slides she would chicken out and back away, perhaps because the slides were too fast).  As a result, she ended up eating some of her meal in her car seat on our way home. 
 
 Our second day in Taichung was another huge success!