Our second full day in Melbourne was the day of the Grand Final, but we had other plans. We started with a visit to the well know Victoria Market. For us it was a stop on our tram ride to the city so an easy stop. We planned to eat breakfast there. Later we would continue our tram ride out to the beach community of St. Kilda and see the St. Kilda penguins. To begin our day, however, we needed…
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Australia is one of those distant places people talk about, but often never expect to visit. Earlier this year an unexpectedly low fare for Australia popped up. I talked it over with my wife, and we decided to pursue it. Since I would be retiring in June, we decided that fall would be a great time to go. It would be my first opportunity in many years to travel in September rather than teach. With the trip booked, we began…
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If you have spent a day at the Grand Canyon, What do you do next? While the Grand Canyon is an amazing place to visit, the truth is unless you are going to hike in the park, it really only takes a day to see it. So what do you do with the rest of your vacation time? If Flagstaff is your home base, here are some day trips near Flagstaff that you can experience with your next day or…
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Yes, this post is actually about toilets, something most of us don’t find a reason to talk about. However, if you are traveling, toilets can be a big deal. Knowing what to expect can help you when you have to find that toilet. My unexpected encounter in the Taipei airport is an example of what might happen. We had a layover in Taipei for a few hours, and I had to use a toilet. I found a bathroom after wandering…
Our last full day in Taipei would finish with viewing Taipei 101, the tallest landmark in the city. (Check out my previous posts on days one, two and three) Since we were going to see Taipei 101 in the evening, we still had a day ahead of us. We decided to check out a different area of the city, Huashan 1914 Creative Park. This is an industrial area turned modern creative center, something that occurs often in the United States.…
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While day one and day two were all spent fairly close to our hotel. On our third day we would venture further away from Taipei. While researching our trip, my daughter discovered information on an unusual place she decided we should explore. It was a cat village where cats are allowed to roam freely. The town’s actual name is Houtong. Houtong is located outside Taipei, but one can get there easily by train. We hopped on the usual looking subway…
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After spending our first day in Taipei getting acquainted with the city, we were ready for day two. This day was intended to be a day looking at some of the historical elements of the city. Unfortunately the first part of the day didn’t turn out as well as we had hoped. We were up at a decent time, and perhaps that was part of the problem. The first place we had on our list was the Red House, which…
After spending a few days in Kaohsiung, it was time to go to Taipei. We traveled up by train and arrived in early afternoon. Knowing our hotel was near the main train station, we asked for some directions at the train help desk and then struck out to find our hotel. The streets were crowded so moving around with our suitcases and bags was not easy. It was also windy, and at one point I lost my hat, but a…
Traveling on I-5 from Seattle to Portland can be a long drive. If you are looking for a break, you will find one just over an hour from Seattle at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. One might expect a wildlife refuge to be a long way from a major freeway, but it really is just off the freeway. In fact while we were at the refuge we could see the cars driving by. I had driven by the exit on many…
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Our second day in Kaohsiung started with another Taiwanese buffet breakfast. Having nourished our bodies the best we could, we were ready for the activities of the day. First we planned to go to Lotus Lake which is a place with a number of religious temples. Later in the day the plan was to go to a night market. To get to Lotus Lake we first took the light rail which was near out hotel. This was our first time…
Continue Reading “Dragons, Temples, and Lights: Kaohsiung Part 2”
