Bridge at the Chaing Kai-shek Memorial (Now the Museum of National Democracy, apparently CKS has lost some of his status)
Taipei 101
View from Taipei 101
Sushi platter in the food court at Taipei 101, you can get anything here!
We walked into the consulate, up the window, and they handed us the visa. The visa means Anna is cleared to enter the US. Funny, this is the one time I got teary with the process. After India, we were concerned about getting the visa. They told us we would still have to apply for a US passport but her social security number should be issued.
This afternoon, we went to Taipei 101. We ate sushi and teppanyaki in the food court. Many shops were Western, Nine West, Esprit, and Mont Blanc. We took the elevator to the observatory, 88 flights up. It took a total of 37 seconds. Quicker than you can call our hotel elevator. We had to pop our ears several times in the first elevator while descending. The view from the top was probably as good as you ever get; it is still overcast and smog, but we could see fairly far. They have a huge stabilizing ball at the top that looks like a gold bee hive suspended on a rope. It's for earthquakes and typhoons to move to balance the building. It will move up to 1 meter. I'm glad it didn't happen while we were there.
We went back to the CHK memorial today, inside, and looked at the displays. They are renaming it the Democracy Memorial. We then walked around the park and fed Anna. We were supposed to go to the Handicraft market but Anna was fussy and we returned to the hotel. Let's just say she is having tummy problems and will get some medication soon if she doesn't get relief.
I'm not sure what we are doing this evening, but the "Girls," as I now think of them in the Rosewood Club, gave me a map of the local area with stores and restaurants. We might go to the "Really Good Seafood". Tomorrow, we are going to a park in the morning, then to Pinling, an area famous for its tea, to see where they grow and go tea tasting. Tara, I bet you're jealous!
Last thought: if we got a lot of stares before, we really do now. Part is there are so few babies in Taiwan. Mostly, it's these 5 really white people with little Taiwanese babies. Some people just stare, but many either make faces or, wave at Anna or touch her. The hotel staff who have gotten to know us are all excited. One of the "Girls" ran up to us in the lobby when she saw we had Anna with her. She was upset she hadn't seen her before, admonishing Ralph for not coming to happy hour before.
4 comments:
Yay. We are so happy for you. and Ryan. and of course we are happy for your friends going through this with you. much peace jylian
Yes, very jealous about the tea tasting! I'd ask you to try to smuggle some into the US for me, but don't want them to have any excuse to give you any trouble in LAX. Remember the last time with the powdered sugar? On another note, the photos have been wonderful! Anna looks so completely "at home" with all of you, and Joe says she has Ralph's nose! (Meaning you all look like you've belonged together from the beginning.)
Travel safe,
Tara
Congrats! The visa is such an emotional moment, isn't it?
I think she looks like she "belongs together" with you, too. She just looks like she fits.
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