You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘vacation’ tag.
I’m excited to get away for a few days. I don’t really live such a fast-paced, hectic life, but it still is good to take a step away from the everyday things & take some time to breathe & relax. It not only recharges one’s body, but it also gives one a moment away from the same ho-hum repetitive schedule. Next week, I will be jetting off to Portland, Oregon. It’s not quite an exotic locale, but I’ve been wanting to visit Portland for a long time, to really take some time to explore the city.
Of course, the popular IFC TV show Portlandia has increased my interest in visiting the city, but it’s by no means the main reason I want to go there. I’ve driven through this city a few times on my way to Seattle & Canada. I’ve even stayed overnight once, but I’ve never actually seen this city for myself. I am very excited that I will get the chance to do so, next week.
There are three main things I must check off my To-Do list while I’m in Portland.
1. Drink plenty of coffee
Although Srumptown & Sterling are my favorite coffee roasters, there are plenty of other coffee roasters to try. I’d say that over Seattle, Portland is the true city of coffee.
2. Drink plenty of craft beer
I’ve been watching Esquire TV‘s shows Best Bars In America & Brew Dogs, & those two shows really opened my eyes to craft beers. Portland’s got tons of local craft breweries that I can’t wait to check out.
3. Drink plenty of whisk(e)y
I am making my way to Multnomah Whisky Library. I am not leaving until I’ve had my fair share of fine whisky. Did I ever mention that I’m a pretty big whisky drinker? Oh, well…now that cat has left the bag…
My husband & I were so excited to visit Taipei for the first time, we definitely were planning on going nuts with our camera & take tons of photos. Here are some of the best highlights of our photo album.
Yes, graffiti is everywhere. It’s not really a shocking thing in most countries, but we were still excited to see street art throughout the city. This type of art really amazes us, & these big murals are so cool.
Like I’ve mentioned before, my female friend who got married is from Taipei. She was showing our big group of friends around town, & as we were walking to the subway station, we passed by this small shop selling funny t-shirts. All of us thought these two shirts in particular was very fitting for the occasion. The first shirt on the left says “My husband is the greatest”. The second shirt on the right says “My wife is never wrong”. Our group thought it would be funny to buy these shirts for our friends who were getting married that weekend, so they could wear them on their wedding day. Alas, they begged us not to get them, so we didn’t end up buying them. It would have been a funny story if we did get those shirts!
It was very interesting to see new/modern buildings mixed in with the older/traditional buildings. The city itself is quite clean & orderly, however, the older buildings feel a little run-down & worn-out. This is quite a dramatic contrast against the vibrant background of the bustling cityscape.
During our stay in Taipei, we stayed at the AMBA Hotel. It’s a really hip, urban & minimalist hotel located in the very popular 西門町 (Ximending) neighborhood on the west side of the city. For me, this hotel was the best in terms of amenities, service, location, proximity to public transportation, etc. I love being smack-dab in the heart of the bustling downtown area of any city, so this hotel was perfect for my taste. One might think that the hotel may be quite noisy, since it is in the middle of such a busy neighborhood, but to be honest, I couldn’t really hear much outside noise from my hotel room on the 9th floor. I was planning on taking a ton of pictures of the hotel (& my room) while I was staying at AMBA, but I got so busy with my friends & kept pushing it aside until the last day. Then on the last day, I just happened to catch a bug of some sort & got really sick. Luckily the illness only cost me one and a half days of vacation time. These are the few pictures we took of the hotel…
-
- 01
-
- 02
-
- 03
-
- 04
-
- 05
-
- 06
-
- 07
-
- 08
-
- 09
-
- 10
-
- 11
-
- 12
-
- 13
-
- 14
-
- 15
-
- 16
- When you walk into the lobby on the 5th floor, as soon as you exit the elevators you are greeted by a large Tofu-Oyako mural hand-painted by the DevilRobots team.
- On the other side of the lobby, facing opposite of the front desk reception booth is the dining area & cafe complete with a hip coffee bar.
- Also in the middle of the lobby, under the atrium skylight is the community seats where you can eat your meal from the dining cafe.
- Near the elevators is another hand-painted mural of the Ximending skyline.
- Next to the Tofu-Oyako mural was this big “5” sculpture, which I assume is for the 5-year anniversary of the hotel (?).
- I completely forgot to take pictures of our room, so I borrowed one of my friend’s photos to show a sample of the sleeping area. The rooms are quite compact, but still highly functional.
- There is always a valet at the ground floor elevators to escort you to the lobby on the 5th floor or to help you with directions.
- Also on the ground floor was a bakery with outdoor bench seats & patio tables.
- The bakery served lots of sweet treats (such as cupcakes, New York style cheesecake, etc.).
- In the morning, we would always converge with our friends at the bakery.
- There was a really cool 3D moving art piece in the lobby, right next to the lounge.
- Speaking of the lounge (Legacy), my husband & I had a few drinks there one night.
- The lounge had a swanky, modern, urban vibe. The lounge often hosted many live performances on the stage. The backdrop of the stage was covered in denim fabric.
- There were many types of hip sofa seats & plush couches scattered about the lounge.
- One of the walls were covered in stereo speakers & amplifiers. This was one of the coolest art installations I’ve ever seen.
- Finishing off the night with a “Whisky Old Fashioned” cocktail.
Since I didn’t get to take any pictures of our hotel room, I made a little mock-up drawing of our room layout:
Please excuse my poor drawing skills.
Rabbits & Foxes 
You must be logged in to post a comment.