A hike in the mountains

On Sunday, I went to meet a woman who is a friend of one of Sherry Field's friends. (Sherry had connected me with her friend from graduate school and because he lives a few hours from Taipei, he connected me with one of his friends who lives in Taipei.) The woman's (English) name is Irene (she's Taiwanese) and after she picked me up at the metro station near her house, she drove me around to show me the area. She lives very close to the beautiful mountains that surround Taipei (the ones I enjoy looking at as I practice yoga from the 16th floor studio). Because I remarked on how nice it was for her to be so close to the mountains and because she saw that I was dressed somewhat sporty, we drove partway into the mountains and then went on a lovely hike. It was along a trail that not many people know about (in fact, we saw only one other person during the 30 minute hike). I enjoyed feeling so far from the city for a few hours! Here are some pictures of the views:



There are some farms in the mountains (which she said constitute a national park):



After about 30 minutes of hiking, the trail emerged onto a road with homes (what a wonderful place to live!). The first "home" was actually a fairy tale tea shop...



...where we had beautifully presented and delicious tea...



...and enjoyed the view and good conversation. Irene completed her Masters and PhD in England, so her English was the best of any Taiwanese person I've yet met. She's a professor of Early Childhood Education at a local University, and she's the director of a program to license and track family day care centers (small day cares operated in family homes that take in no more than 4 young children). Talking with her was very interesting!

Oh, also, I wanted to tell you about the wonderful gift she gave me: 3 mini papayas from her garden. They are the best I have ever tasted - so soft and full of flavor! Each one is the size of a small pear, and they have no seeds inside.