Pottery!

This post is long overdue. I found the pictures to the pottery we made from the Snake Kiln post. They had a DIY make your own pottery on the wheel thing, so we all tried it. AND I SOOO WANT TO DO IT AGAIN, so I've decided I will take pottery lessons when I have the chance.

The feeling of that cold, wet clay shaping and spinning through your fingers is a rather spiritual one for me.

I had too much fun

all the little bowl thingers we made! I made the two bowls on
the far left + the plate.  

The plate I made. There aren't any close ups of the bowls..

Later, they fired the clay and painted it for us! Then, they sent them to my cousins and they actually look real good. I'll see if I can get pics of them.

Candy from the Island, specifically the Muji store

I brought back these marshmallows from Taiwan. They're from the store Muji, this Japanese store. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THAT STORE AND WANTED TO BUY EVERYTHING FROM IT. They sell stuff that's designed simplistically, but also beautifully. Luckily for my wallet, I did not buy anything except for these marshmallows.

I was REALLY really really tempted to buy these notebooks made from recycled paper, but I have too many. The paper was sooo soft and smooth like a baby's bottom, I rubbed it against my face. Not that I have ever rubbed my face against a baby's bottom and risked getting pooped on.

So now there are a few notebooks in the Taichung Muji with my facial oils on it.. teehee.

But anyway, these strawberry marshmallows are amazing! They're super soft and seemed to be stuffed and fluffed up with air. You can actually hear the tiny air bubbles while you chew.  I am sad they only have Muji in NYC.. but I will enjoy the online store!

Leaving the Beautiful Island

So I left Taiwan a few days ago and ate quite a lot in the last few days before leaving. We ate with a lot of people at once and so there was a looooot of food. On the airplane back, I peeked out the window again to see the most beautiful layering of mountains I have ever seen. I don't think my photographs quite capture it, but I tried.

One of the last meals on the island! Some of the dishes were bought
from the market and some were cooked by my family.

so many layers of blue mountains! I did not even +saturation

the very northern edge of the island meeting the sea

Sunrise Spa

My family took a trip to the spa on top of the mountains! It was pretty nice and cool, so the warm water was very warm. After a while, my cousin and I would jump into the cold pool and freeze so much that I could feel my hairs standing up. 

Interesting statue

the view from the spa 

water massage thing

going home

And More Food..

We went to the mall alllllllllll day long.

grilled stuff!

fried tofu with green onion and radish soaked in soy sauce

xian cao, a type of jelly made from grass

Xue Hua Bing!! Like the kind at Cool Ice Taipei in Pittsburgh.
a mix between shaved ice and ice cream. Peanut, red bean and mango flavored.

Xing Yue Tian Kong

We went to this place called Xing Yue Tian Kong (Star Moon Sky) on top of this mountain. It was basically a touristy resort like location with both food and things for people to do. But most people go there for the very broad view from atop of this mountain.

This little piggy likes to play push with your hand

the piggy's home

day view. there's more to both sides, but I haven't yet made the panorama

Sunset view

night time view

really interesting bathroom. in front of the urinal is a glass pane
and behind it is a small sculpture garden

what the restaurant is like

a cat thing that is native to Taiwan

and of course there is food!

cross off pig! and interesting toilet!

Food Food and more Food!

So much food! After seeing the Snake Kiln, we went to this famous Pineapple Cake place.

pineapple cake: an essential Taiwanese snack

 Then we went to this Vegetarian Western Style Restaurant. They used a lot of cream and cheese and it was sooooo good.

Soup with puff pastry on top.

Rice baked with cheese

Then, another day we went to this other restaurant called "Under a Coconut Tree"

tomato and beef stew + rice

vinegar drink. sounds weird, but it's both sweet and sour

This was the most amazing dessert I've ever had
It's called: "Nai Lao" and it's like pudding but also very creamy

Pottery at Snake Kiln

We went to this kiln place that had a lot of pottery!

a wall made out of pots!



the snake kiln. very very long!



inside the kiln!

The Best Food In the World

Ba Wan!!!!!!! Meat in glutonous rice dough in gloopy sweet sauce. most amazing thing ever.

Night Photography On A Mountain

We went on a little walk at night on the mountain to see the view! It was hard for me to get shots that I was really satisfied with, but here are two that I like most. Click on the photo for a bigger view.

Looking down at Luku. the moon is in view! unintentionally

A little windy road below. Next time I'm going to try to
take a closer shot at it

Hot Pot and Concrete

No, we did not eat concrete, but we ate in this nice building at this restaurant called Hassen.

under the wooden lid is the hot pot!

I did not take any pictures of the cooked food because I was too busy eating. But you can check out their website for their menu and stuff if you wish!

yum

 Afterwards we went to my uncle's house. My cousin has a cute 6 month old baby!!!


a sleeping baby and her mother



big foot!!

big hand!

Birthday Cake

Birthday cake! (not the Rihanna song that I barely know) It was my mom's birthday this weekend and my aunt brought this beautiful and tastey mango cake!! IT WAS SO GOOD and not too sweet.

pre consumption

the innards

Zhong Zi and a Ninja

This past weekend was Duan Wu Jie, this traditional Chinese holiday where they make this kind of pyramidal sticky rice stuff inside some leaves. My mom and aunt made some and they were delicious!

I also came across a garment that was fit for a ninja. Turns out it's my grandma's..

Zhong Zi

My grandparents' dog, Xiao Bai (Little White) really wanted some..



a ninja!!

Cross off!