week 101_sampling moon cakes

It's not every week that our office counter tops are covered with moon cakes, but just twice a year we get lucky ~ once for the preview/sampling of what we might send to clients, and once when the clients send us moon cakes during the Moon Festival holiday!

Since the Moon Festival holiday is fast approaching (it rotates with the Chinese lunar calendar, falling on September 30th this year), last week we got to try out boxes of moon cake samples from all over Taipei. :)

As mentioned in last year's post, the moon cakes come in all assorted flavors and varieties, but the basic idea is consistent: very dense, and lightly sweetened treats with an outside pastry or sweet shell and the inside is thick and chewy.

Best combination of presentation & flavors:
The Westin Hotel
(ex: Raspberry Blueberry or Grapefruit Ceylon Tea)

I actually kept the box on my desk (since it was headed for the trash) and it will make a great little organizer, but is still very attractive when closed up. :)

Traditional Chinese Moon cakes with Egg Yolk Center

Moon cake presentation with dried fruits

Great Box (but I didn't love the moon cakes!)

Fancy moon cake boxes from the Grand Hotel
~ one tasted coffee flavored, I like it best!

I'm not sure which box won in the end, but one of these will be sent to our professional friends and clients in the next few weeks.

week 100_Can you believe that?

100 weeks in Taipei. 

Sounds monumental I think! 

I can hardly believe I have been here for (almost) two years ~ and at the same time, sometimes it feels like it has already been five...

I'm happy to report that Taipei is still fresh and entertaining. With so many places to see, explore, and new adventures to be had, there is never a dull moment - just a lack of time on my calendar! I've been keeping busier than ever recently with personal fitness training sessions, Chinese lessons, a book club, work (obviously!), doctor's appointments, and preparing for baby.

However, the most significant thing to note over these past few months, I believe, is how truly "local" I have been feeling recently. I can at least see significant improvement in my own geographic and language abilities. Not to mention I've been introduced to the vast network of English speaking parents in Taiwan - which is sort of like this massive community that must have always been right in front of my face but I never noticed. It's interesting how quickly I've learned from them, and not just about children/baby activities, but generally about where to find things in Taipei and what is going on at all times! 

100 week local status:

• I've finally gained the ability to direct taxi drivers 75% accurately (left, right, intersection, take ___ street, MRT station, air port, past that stoplight, u-turn here, address names, etc.). This is immensely helpful ~ and most taxi rides cost less than $10 USD ~ a splurge I'm willing to make sometimes

• I can read many of the Chinese characters. I can rarely read anything in whole, but can almost always (75% of the time) read something in part.

• I know where to find great food. Whether it's a street vendor cart for breakfast, a or an authentic Mediterranean restaurant, I can find whatever my craving heart desires! In fact, sometimes I tell my local friends where to find things... :)

34 weeks preggo.

Also pretty darn monumental!

Just like my time in Taiwan, the time being pregnant has seemed rapid and slow at the same time. Now that I'm in the home stretch, I am ready for baby to get here! 

(Well, sort of... depending on your definition of ready)

34 weeks preggo status:

• Ailments such as stretch marks, swollen hands and legs, inability to shave my own legs, etc. ~ Not Yet! and Holding Out as long as possible!!!

• 100% ready for the following items to come back into my life: Blue cheese (fresh, dip, or dressing), medium rare steak, deli meat, margaritas, sushi, beer... the list goes on...

• Need to Finish: Baby's room, shopping!, maternity photos, arranging child care, pre-washing all of baby's many clothes/blankets/diapers, childbirth classes, a little light preggo related reading, my Chinese text book, next month's book club assignment, and many tasks at Work!!!

Our Front Door

J's sweet grandma sent me a collection of crafty supplies (buttons, ribbon, glittery stars/ shapes, and lots of colorful art papers) awhile back, and I finally put some of them to good use on our apartment's front door. I like seeing the numbers go down, and since people love asking when am I due, I figure the neighbors are probably watching too...! ;)

week 99_Asian Figure Skating Trophy 2012

It's hot here (this seems to be the trend everywhere this month ;) --- poor Oklahoma and Texas!), so last week when I heard tell of an ice skating competition, it sounded like a great way to beat the heat. I've recently started paying more attention to online English forums for parents in Taipei, and it turns out they are constantly finding new activities to entertain their kids and get out of the house. Who knew there were so many destinations and events going on in Taipei that I've never even heard of?... And many of these are things that I'd just like to see - kids or not!

So last Friday on a warm and muggy evening when the husband happened to be off work as well, we crossed the street from my office to Taipei Arena to check out the Asian Figure Skating Trophy 2012 competition. We've been watching the Olympics recently (hasn't everyone?) and it was fun to actually see a sporting event in person. The portion of the competition that we caught was the "Senior Women's Short Program," (senior implying late teenage and early 20's) and a variety of Asian countries were represented in the competition - Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Kazakstan, and more.

It was great to watch the girls but we also cringed at every missed step or fall! The differences between the countries was fascinating. The Korean skaters had better speed and faster lifts/spins, but the Taiwanese girls had better personality, always smiling and acting the part. It turned out to be a great idea for a leisurely Friday night with the hubby. We took some videos too, but my blog is not cooperating this morning...

The competition is over now, but the Taipei Arena 'Ice Land' hosts other ice sporting events year round (skating, hockey), and is also open for public ice skating in between. I definitely want to go back next summer (post-pregnancy) when I can stretch my legs out, try to remember how to ice skate, and enjoy a nice cool escape on a hot summer evening!

week 98_Another Typhoon & Another Anniversary

So far in our married life, we have managed to do something unique on each wedding anniversary. Each year has been a little different than the next, but at least we always manage to celebrate together and treat ourselves in some way. 

For our 1st wedding anniversary, we attended a Rangers baseball game at the ballpark in Arlington, TX. We like watching baseball but rarely attend the games in person, so it was a special treat for both us with a few souvenirs as our keepsakes [I think that Rangers t-shirt is around here somewhere...]

For our 2nd wedding anniversary, we shared a fondue dinner at the Melting Pot in Dallas, TX. I love fondue, and hubby hadn't had any in years so he needed to be reminded of how delicious it is! It was a fancy dinner and a small splurge for us, but a great choice for a nice romantic evening. 

For our 3rd wedding anniversary, we had spent the majority of the year living on separate continents! Thankfully, Jason had finally joined me in Taipei a couple of months earlier, and though we were planning to have a nice dinner together, I ended up having a business dinner to attend the same day! In the end, I snuck out of my dinner early and hubby met me for a special dessert at a Haagen Dazs shop nearby (in Taipei, Taiwan). 

{{{ For those of you who don't know, my husband and I met when we were working together at the Marble Slab Ice Cream shop 10 years ago. So cute! And I can still remember those days! Since ice cream holds a special place in our story, it is our perfect anniversary treat. }}}

This year, for our 4th wedding anniversary, we were magically given the day off work together ~ amazing! Due to another typhoon passing near the island, many offices and schools were closed. There was some wind and rain to be dealt with, but it was so fantastic to have a lazy day off work together! Not to mention, perfect timing :) We slept in, ate a late lunch, went to the movies, and finished the day with homemade ice cream sundaes. The typhoon caused little to no damage in our immediate area, so we just tried to stay dry and enjoy the day off! 

Our selection of flavors and "mix-ins," purchased from the Family Mart downstairs for convenience :)
(as we weathered the storm) + 2 brownies from the Aussie Dessert House down the block

His

Hers

Hoping you were all also spared by the typhoon, and enjoyed the day off! :)

week 97_Taipei Zoo

After 96 weeks in Taiwan, it's about time we made a visit to the Zoo (don't you think?)!

For some odd reason, the idea to visit the Taipei Zoo struck us on a particularly hot & humid day this past weekend. Hubby and I had just finished a late lunch and had no plans, other than to beat the heat, until we started pondering a visit to the Zoo. True, it was scalding hot outside, but it also sounded more exciting than heading home to sit on the sofa! [In retrospect - excellent thinking on our part]

By the time we came to this conclusion and hopped on the MRT it was already pretty late in the day. As we rode the MRT brown line south towards the last stop on the line -Taipei Zoo- I checked the website on my iPhone and was distraught to see the published hours said the Zoo closed at 5pm daily. It was already 4:30pm... but I didn't feel like bursting our bubble, so I kept my lips sealed in hopes that the website might be wrong, and --- Yes! --- It turns out the Zoo is open until 9pm! :)

We arrived just before 5pm and entered the Zoo by swiping our Taipei Easy Cards (MRT cards). The entrance fee was $30 NTD (= $1 USD); easy and affordable.

Not only was the Zoo open later in the day, but we were also pleasantly surprised by the size and quality of the park. With the sun sinking lower in the sky and plenty of places for a pit stop, it turned out to be a lovely adventure for a Saturday afternoon. There were various places to stop for drinks or snacks, stroller and wheelchair rental available (we joked that I should get a wheelchair since I'm preggers), shaded seating areas, indoor exhibits with nice cool air conditioning, and plenty of large outdoor habitats for the biggest critters.

One of the highlights was the Giant Panda exhibit, home to two pandas, gifted to Taiwan from China (apparently China is the only place to find Pandas anymore). There were all of the regulars too - elephants, hippos, giraffe, zebra, etc. We're animal lovers all the way around, so we enjoyed everything we saw. In total we probably only saw 1/4 of the zoo. We will have to go back another day!

Not too shabby for a Saturday afternoon outing. After almost 3 hours of sightseeing, it was time to rest!
Just a few pics ~~~

Posing with an 'Elephant'

Their flamingos didn't seem as pink as I expected

Gorgeous Owl in the Nocturnal Exhibit

Monkeys on the move!

Bambi, and bambino

A real panda bear!

Bird & Wildlife refuge area

week 96_Feeling pretty Preg-O!

I've tried to avoid converting this to a baby blog - and will continue to do so (just in case you all are already as bombarded as I am by people around you having babies!), but let's face it folks --- that is most of what's going on with me these days.

Me
In baby's room ~ I love the colors :)

So for week 96, why not record a few of the highlights of being pretty darn preggers in hot Taipei City in July?! Someday I will need my own notes to remember these details... and if 'mommy-brain' is as bad as I hear, I may be needing help with my memory sooner rather than later! It is one excruciatingly hot summer, and the heat is probably the #1 thing slowing me down at this point! Just 10 more weeks to go... but I think they will all be hot!


I've just recently reached the point of feeling big. I am starting to walk slower and more carefully, watching my breathing when I'm exerting myself, and stepping more cautiously onto the bus while holding the handrail. Some women do this throughout pregnancy, but it has taken the actual bump getting in my way at this point to truly slow me down! It's true that I can't see my feet when I look down anymore - unless I bend over my stomach to get a peek at them - and reaching my feet can be truly uncomfortable when I wish I could just tie the straps on those cute shoes! The local women have been telling me for months how "big" I am, and are always shocked to hear how far I still have to reach my due date! But by American standards, I feel like I've stayed on track pretty well. Luckily, I love my maternity wardrobe and so most of the time I just feel like the cute pregnant American lady. 


They say everyone loves a pregnant woman, and it seems to be true - I feel like I'm getting more attention these days, and people are so kind to me. 


Thankfully, my appetite has gone back to normal from about 5 months onward. Food is just as delicious as I remember it was pre-pregnancy, and it's amazing how I can be starving one minute and overly stuffed the next! I guess my stomach really is squished out of the way for baby at this point. Keeping my health in check, I've also started exercising with a fitness trainer twice weekly, and I am feeling great about it. It is tough work (especially with the equivalent of a 20 pound weight tied around my belly), but each session gets a little easier and it has definitely boosted my morale and energy level / helped me fall asleep faster two nights per week! 


We haven't loaded up on a ton of baby things, but mostly I am still trying to sort out what we will need and what is just fluff consumerism. Does baby really need a baby bathtub or will the sink or regular tub suffice? How many outfits, diapers, bibs, pacifiers, bottles, does one child need? It seems impossible to tell without baby in hand, but we are mostly sticking to the big staple items and I guess the rest we will have to figure out as we go! 


It's pretty fun to be so far along with baby now because he is active and it is as though we're spending time together every day. In the beginning I was not as emotionally invested in the little guy, but as time moves on and we grow together, he's 'really growing on me'! :) He kicks, turns, flips, and somersaults. Elbows, knees, head-buts, whatever! My little Olympian has become more and more active every day, and I generally look forward to it --- of course worrying a little any day when he is not practicing his moves as much. 


My in-laws have booked their flights and apartment for the big delivery, so I suppose I'm going to have to hold out until they get here! I'm secretly hoping I will get lucky though, and baby will arrive early! 


I've been feeling great these past couple of months, but now that I am reaching the grin and bear it phase - I am ready to have baby here in person asap! Hopefully we will squeeze in a few more preparations and adventures before 'hubby and me' become 'us three'! :)

week 95_Halfway through July already?!

I have been keeping busy this month.

It's summer here in all it's glory. The weather is HOT, but at least the humidity has lessened recently so it feels a lot more like a sunny Texas summer. Bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Time to wear sunglasses, sunscreen, and flip flops for sure! [Not to mention, this pregnant woman is even more overheated than the average city-goer].

I can't believe July has escaped me already. Where has 2012 gone?!

Just thought I'd share a few shots from work - yes, work. We have a large skyscraper project underway and the views are spectacular on a clear day.

Enjoy ~~~

Looking down on Keelung Road & Zhongxiao E. Road intersection (Hankyu Dept Store at right)

Lots of cranes for this project. City, bridges, river, and mountains beyond.

101 in all her glory (as usual) :)

Heart of downtown on a sunny afternoon. 

Downtown Taipei is just a stone's throw away from mountains filled with hiking trails.

week 94_Renovating for Baby

The norm in Taipei homes seems to be leaving ALL walls/ceilings painted WHITE. Clean and simple can be refreshing... but can also get boring to folks who are a fan of colors...!


Although our landlord was originally hesitant to permit any painting (or touching the walls in any way in our apartment - nails, 3M hooks, etc.), we have gradually gained her trust and she even took me shopping for paint last weekend! We agreed to hire a painter for our 2nd bedroom in preparation for making it 'baby's room'. Aside from providing our landlord with peace of mind that a "professional" would be handling the makeover, it also made it possible to have the room painted while I was away -not even in the apartment, let alone providing the labor - so there was no danger of excessive fumes around me and the baby. He did a great job, and I'm so glad to  have the room painted (even though we would usually save the cash and do the painting ourselves in the States...)

Ah, welcome to COLOR! :)

Bright and Cheerful, just as I'd hoped :)

One of the HARDEST puzzles I've ever worked on!

When my landlady and I visited the B&Q home store in Neihu, she was shocked to learn that not only were low-odor paint color choices abundant, but the staff actually mix the paint there as you wait (!). None of this was news to me - I had assured her that there were more colors available than the painter believed - but it made me wonder how many other locals (even workers who paint homes for a living) are unaware of custom paint colors? The small home shops on our block sell a set menu of paint colors... probably 20 choices total... and keep these stocked at all times. Maybe the Taiwanese don't paint with colors often because the majority of people are unaware of the color and brand choices available?

We chose two shades of yellow-orange, and left some of the white, to create a cheerful room. It is going to be a little boy's room, but could easily be anyone's room - girl, boy, adult - if by some luck we don't have to paint it back to white at whatever point we move out. I've been working on a *challenging* puzzle from a local children's artist that is blue & green with small flecks of orange, yellow and red. Whenever I finally finish, I am planning to hang it in the room. It should pop right off the orange wall and look great with those specs of color matching the wall background. :)

Shortly after visiting the store with me - and before the date the painter was even scheduled to paint at our apartment - I learned that our landlady had her mother's apartment painted by the same man. Inspired by our shopping trip?! Haha.


Other than paint, we also learned, a little late in the game, that apparently in Chinese culture (not limited to Taiwan) they believe pregnant women and their spouses should NOT hammer anything while pregnant. The fear being that doing so could cause a miscarriage or even cause the baby to be born with some abnormality. No hammers, no nails, my friends. Good to know now that we've reached the 3rd trimester... I don't think we've hammered/nailed anything since January... (?!?!?!). This was news to us, and even the hubby falls into the superstition! So... now that we have freshly painted walls and will surely have art/pictures to hang, it looks like it will all be 3M adhesive hooks for us!

week 93_Photos from Sansia

On a recent sunny afternoon off work, the hubby ventured out to see some sights and play with our new camera. I was stuck in the office for the day, but he managed to bring me back some photos and a delicious bullhorn croissant treat from his travels (the local specialty).

Afternoon sightseeing destination: Sansia, Taiwan. Located near the small pottery town named Yingge that you may recall from older blog posts, is another small town called Sansia. Yingge is famous for it's ceramics, and I've read that Sansia is famous for it's temples and woodworking. We've learned that reaching Yingge by train is cheap and fairly painless. From there, you can take a short taxi ride to Sansia.

Check out some of the hubby's pictures below... :)

Old Street

Banana filled bullhorn croissant (local specialty)

Looking forward to when I have the chance to visit Sansia myself sometime :)

week 92_Pregnant in Taipei... and Counting Down!

Geez, where have I been lately? OH, that's right - beaching, book clubbing, visiting with friends, and studying Chinese!!!

Hubby bought me a new Dragon this week in honor of my little Dragon baby!
(He found this while sightseeing in Taipei County)

----------*----------

Being pregnant overseas has been a learning experience so far! Though the truth is, I'd be getting an education regardless (since I have limited-to-zero pregnant friends), but the language barrier and cultural differences do add to the adventure. I've been discovering the vast network of foreigners with children in Taipei, and have a new found respect for the parents who truly do wing it and manage to get by on their own! For me, being able to connect with others in a similar situation has been key. 


At 26 weeks and counting that leaves only 14 more weeks until baby arrives (hopefully) and probably less time than that for me to have everything ready to go! I know that sounds like a long time to some of you, but ~ it's not. Imagine your free time had a time limit. We have been determined to enjoy as much of the summer as we can before we become committed new parents!


Being a planner, I am also spending time reading and getting ready for baby. So just in case anyone reading this is in Taipei, possibly in the same scenario, I thought I'd share some of the things I have learned so far...


1. Angie, our Doula
After reading a bit about other people's positive experiences with doulas, I decided it might be a good idea for us to work with one ~ but the TRUE benefit in Taipei is working with a pregnancy/child birth specialist who is bilingual and able to help navigate the local health care system with you. As our doula, Angie is there to answer any questions and make our pregnancy smoother from start to finish. She can communicate with local health care professionals when needed, and she has loads of experience with delivering babies in Taiwan for both foreign or local families.


2. Xinzhuang Birth Center
While the health care system in Taiwan is quite good, I am excited to have found the Xinchuang Birth Center for my pre-natal care and labor/delivery (when the time comes). The hospitals here are also good, but I am happy to have found a location specializing specifically in mother and baby care. No sick patients with random diseases, no huge facility with long lines or confusing endless hallways --- just a clean, fairly new facility full of other pregnant women like me, and a doctor who can communicate with me in English. It may not be in the heart of downtown, but to us it is worth the 20 minute commute. The birth center offers all the tools for natural birth, or medically assisted birth as needed (they can perform a C-section if that's what you need, for example). 


3. Shopping for Baby Items
Of course, typical of Taipei, there are unlimited numbers of shops catering to parents and babies. Shopping is never a problem here, right?! In our hunting so far, we have found that *most* department stores have limited and very expensive selection. Baby things are abundant, most stores seem to carry many import brands, so they are expensive as well. The best selection we've run into so far is at the Living Mall, which has a wide variety of brands, price ranges and big ticket items like cribs, high chairs, strollers, etc. There is also a whole slew of baby care stores across from Adventist Hospital on BaDe Road. 


4. Cloth Diapers
We've decided to use cloth diapers for our baby (and admittedly picked up our stock in the US); this seems to be atypical for Taipei and the selection is limited here. Thankfully a friend referred us to the Little Wonders website which will be able to provide the appropriate detergents and cloth diaper accessories that we need! The stores listed above (3.) also had a limited selection of cloth diapers on hand.


5. Networking
For all things baby and family, check out the Parent Pages on Taiwanease. This site is frequented by a close-knit network of family professionals, businesses, and just plain old other parents. If you can't find something you need, or the answer to a question --- someone here can help you find the answer. The best references, baby items, services we've found have been from suggestions of other parents in Taipei! 


Guess that's all for now! Hope this brings help to a pregnant reader in Taipei someday! :)

week 91_Typhoons & Summer Treats

Now that I have reached 24 weeks (well past the halfway mark of growing Baby Gerock!), I have finally regained my previous love for all things food, and ~ good, or bad ~ I seem to be catching up for months of lost time spent on endless meals tasting something akin to sawdust.

Our office has not had weekly tea times these past few months, but we still manage to celebrate at least once a month for various birthdays/anniversaries with the company/etc! Here's an example of the spread for our June birthdays ~ Wow.

Chocolate Cakes from 'Black as Chocolate' ~ dark  bittersweet cocoa fudge icing,
Fresh fruit trays (including tomatoes - they are always included as a 'fruit' here!),
Fried Chicken and Assorted Pizzas, Coca~Cola Classic to wash it all down. 

I recently noticed the opening of a dessert shop on ZhongXiao E. Road named "Ice Monster". The location is along my path home if I choose to go that way, and when it's hot or muggy outside, something icy is the perfect way to beat the heat! Their reputation precedes them, and since I had heard such good things I just had to check it out asap! Ice Monster specializes in icy desserts. It's popular in Taipei to eat shaved ice piled with assorted fruits, syrups, jellos, and treats. I will be back to this place... repeatedly :) [Not to mention it's generally a light dessert ~ no heavy creams or chocolates]

Left: Complimentary Treat (because they just opened)
Taiwanese Bubble Tea Ice Cream complete with Tapioca Pearls,
Right: I ordered the Lemon Orange Freeze,
Lemon/Orange Ice piled on a mountain of shaved ice
drizzled with citrus syrup and a few jello cubes.

Summer in Taipei is creeping in on us. I feel like it has been mild so far (Wasn't last summer hotter?), but my memory may just be fuzzy. Or preggo brain has gotten the best of me! Either way, June has been a hazy blur of rainy days and muggy mornings so far. The heat hasn't gotten the best of me yet, but the humidity is killer - of course!


This week we had not 1, but 2 typhoons narrowly pass the island. One on each side! Luckily, neither typhoon hit Taipei and life/work has continued as usual... but I wouldn't have minded getting an extra "typhoon" day off work ;)

Typhoons are similar to hurricanes, and can certainly have dangerous side affects such as flying debris, power outages, and landslides in rural areas. Our life in Taipei city is quite secure though - only affected by these things minimally - and mostly on a typhoon day it is a good chance to stay home and read a book!

Despite the weather, and the humidity, I'm still counting on summer treats to cool me off. The Dragon Boat holiday is today, Friday, June 23rd. We are working as usual, but the office has had an influx of goodies delivered to us from clients and friends (just as we've sent gifts to them too, of course). This afternoon's sweet treat: lychees.

Lychee fruit: Red crusty exterior with juicy white inside

If you've never tried a lychee, you should! In our global marketplace, they have become more available even from supermarkets in the US if you know where to look. To me, a lychee tastes like a "fruit punch" flavored fruit. Very sweet. As the case would have it, they also make an excellent flavored martini or mojito... Will have to wait on that treat for a few more months!

week 90_BaiShaWan Beach

My birthday gift "wish list" this year was: A Day at the Beach!

Taipei Red Line MRT, Headed North to Danshui

For the final "birthday" outing in my ongoing series of celebrations, hubby and I spent a day exploring a new beach (new to us) near Taipei. The day happened to be a cloudy and misty Sunday, but we figured this might actually be to our advantage since many of the more beautiful beaches near Taipei become crowded and rowdy during great weather. The hubby just purchased a new camera a few days before my birthday, so this was also a great opportunity to break it in! :)

I like the above ground MRT lines best ~ More to see

MRT Station Map... We're headed to the end of the line!

That's Me! Priority seat girl ~ For Now ;)

We set out for a destination that we could reach easily via public transportation --- taking the red MRT line to it's north terminal station, Danshui, and then catching a bus from there to BaiShaWan Beach. There are multiple buses to chose from and the kind folks at the Information Desk at the MRT/Bus Station are happy to point you in the right direction.

Our small shuttle bus from Danshui MRT Station to BaiShaWan Beach

BaiShaWan is known for being a large, open, beautiful white sand beach - and on a bright sunny day, I have the feeling the sand really would look more *white*. Our hazy day was still pleasant though, and great weather without being too hot. Not to mention (as you can see) we had plenty of beach to ourselves!

BaiShaWan Beach, June 2012

You'll notice that the people in the photo are congregated at the opposite end of the beach. I've heard talk that some beaches in Taiwan have designated swim areas, roped off by buoys and protected by life guards. This was our first time to visit one of "those" beaches --- not the best for free spirits who enjoy swimming deeper than chest deep. To me, a beach destination should include the ability to just dive into the water head first. As this was clearly not the case ~ we opted not to swim that day, but instead enjoyed the sightseeing, the fresh air, and the chance to stretch our legs / play with the new camera :)

BaiShaWan Beach, West End ~ Rock Formations, Trails Beyond (above beach)

Some of the mossy green rock formations were so beautiful, you would think these photos were taken somewhere else ~ Ireland? We loved all of the rocks, pools, and sea life.

Pools trapped among the rocks

Gorgeous. Wish I had caught a picture of the crabs, but they were happy to hide in these rocks!

Since we weren't swimming, we enjoyed exploring instead... full of crabs, fish, seashell formations, and sea creatures, these rocks could keep me entertained for hours!

Barefoot Beach Bar ~ Fresh Kiwi Juice, Appetizer Sampler
Best travel mate ever.

Once I was ready for a snack (after all, I am pregnant and this was a moderate workout) we stopped in at one of the beach side cafes for refreshments. There were also shops selling beach ware, floats, etc. and the stereotypical showers or hose available to rinse your feet for spare change. I love the availability of all these conveniences along the beach: hotels, cafes, showers, lockers, tent rentals, etc.

Jellyfish ~ We saw a LOT of these on the beach that day.
Does this kind sting???

The trip was great, but we did decide this is probably not our favorite beach destination for swimming. Walking, Hiking, Photography, Beach Cafe, Sunbathing, Napping, Reading a Book ~ You get the idea ~ It's a great destination for some leisure time just beyond the city.

BaiShaWan Beach, East End ~ More rocks to explore

With plenty of summer time yet to explore, I can't wait to check out more new beaches! (and to break in my new pregg-o swimsuit!) :)