Day Trip to Tamsui, New Taipei, Part II (淡水, Picture heavy!)

Hey guys, running so behind on some posts here :( Sorry!

My sister came for a short visit earlier in the month and hubby and I took her to Tamsui again. It was her second time in Taipei actually. Two winters ago, she was still living and working in Japan and had been here on a group tour along with her colleagues and fellow teacher. However, her group tour had a super tight schedule full of "touristy" places, which didn't give her any time to explore the city on her own at all. So this was an attempt to chill out a little, taking time to leisurely stroll around, check out the shops, eat some snacks, play some games, etc. 

We started out with lunch at my favorite neighborhood's Fortune Garden. Then at the Taipei Main Station we met up with J., whom my sister used to tutor way back in high school. She's a Taiwanese native but went to high school and college in the US, in the same state and city where we did. Hearing of my sister's visit, she was ecstatic as they had lost touch for a while before finding each other on FB several months earlier.

The funny gold statue man was there again! ^.^

Day Trip to Tamsui, New Taipei (淡水, Picture heavy!)

Yet another long post.

My cousin Q. is finishing her last year of college in Taipei, and so after having not seen each other for many years, we now get to hang out every now and then in a city unfamiliar to the both of us ^.^ One weekend we met up for a day trip in Tamsui, and she brought her classmates with her, all 10 of them. Yep. That's how they roll I guess xD Hubby and I were a bit surprised at first since we weren't expecting a giant get together but we all ended up enjoying ourselves so much we forgot we were moving about in a big mass LOL! 

It's so so convenient to travel about here in Taipei, as there are subway, bus, etc., to every where. It is cheap too, and public transportation here costs less than 1/3 of what it does in Japan! The nearest MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) station is literally outside my alley, and I'm on the Red Line, which goes directly to Tamsui in about 1 hour. So yeah, I just got on the train and that was that! Super nice...

A farmer's market and a human statue at the start of the Tamsui Old Street.