福山植物園之旅

I joined my husband's office outing to 福山植物園 yesterday.I heard a lot about this botanical garden in Y-Lan. In my view, it is not as good as we expected.I will rate its beauty as 小家碧玉level. The garden is pretty small in size and flowers are very scarce.It is not worth going all the way from Taipei to visit it.

However, the restaurant we had lunch before going into the mountain was really awesome. What I like about the restaurant is not only the delicious food it served, its decoration , the surrounding, and its service are all first rate.
The restaurant is surrounded by orange and 楊桃 orchards with landscaped rocks and clear stream flowing around. The food is fixed with fresh fruit and other materials, generous portion, wholesome and delicious.
time: Dec , 2009
place: Y-Lan, Taiwan

團體照

士林官邸菊花展

I deleted all the videos with background music for fear violating copyright regulations. Now I am waiting for my son to compose some music for my blog. ( I wonder if he would do that .)

Like last year I almost missed out the flower exhibition in 士林官邸. I rushed there two days after it was closed officially. Fortunately, all the flowers were still there, blossomy and beautiful.
Enjoy!
time: December, 2009
place: Taipei

上當了嗎?

新竹的家很難修復,所以我忙著找一間新房子,後來在網路發現一間建商自售的餘屋 , 11/22在議價後當天在建商半哄半騙下,簽下一張200多萬的預約金本票給建商 , 預約後4天 (11/26) 建商才在我一再敦促下將買賣契約fax到台北市給我,看了契約後有非常上當的感覺因為:
在未閱讀買屋契約前與未定正式契約前,不該簽給對方任何本票或付款給對方,否則非常不利以後的定約談判.
棄約內容完全是有利賣方,不利買方的不平等條約 , 而賣方完全無意讓步半分.
預約後才發現隔壁的每坪單價比我们便宜0.2萬 .
犯下如此重大的錯誤,我是不是得了老人癡呆症?
但願下星期一簽正式契約時一切順利.

a disaster

We put the drenched pictures on our Taipei apt. floor to be air dried, which we rescued from our flooded home in Hsin Chu. People may ask how on earth this could happen ,for there had been no typhoon and heavy rain in the past few months. Here is how:
Our friend who is living in our apt went back to U.S leaving the toilet pipe leaking for five months. They sealed up the bathroom drain to keep mosquitoes coming up. The leaking water accumulated and overflowed all over my apt.
It made a disaster everywhere in my home. Even worse, our friend is now on a one month sight-seeing cruise. He can not come back to take care of the mess.

time: November, 2009

place: Taipei

an old fashion restaurant

Bolero is the first western restaurant in Taipei where many young men propose to their sweethearts successfully. We went there out of curiosity why it can survive more than 70 years.
We ordered different dishes including their signature dish--curry beef rice. When it came up, I was like "what , Is this their famous dish ?"
Curry beef was served in a stainless steel lunch box, with rice and 肉鬆.
All their dishes taste very Taiwanese . A very unforgettable restaurant for me.

time: November,2009

place: Taipei

北京-4

水立方夜景

                                          天壇                                            

鳥巢

世貿天階

Beijing National Stadium -鳥巣 is the main venue of 2008 Olympic games. This strong struture hold 9100 seats. It was started constructed in 2003 and completed in 2008. 水立方-Water Cube is right next to Bird Nest. It's a shame that our group didn't go into Water Cube to take pictures.
Bird Nest is surrounded by many parks and spacious open lots where people can fly kites and do all kinds of exercises.
世貿天階 is a giant LED screen (75oo square meters). It hangs overhead in the air. So all viewers have to look upward to read the screen. It's a very unique attraction in Beijing.
天壇 served as an altar where emperors pray for the country.
time: October , 2009
place: Beijing

北京-3

 

長廊

長廊的彩繪

佛香閣

頤和園位於北京市西北,是一座巨大的皇家花園和清朝的行宮。修建於清朝乾隆年間、重建於光緒年間,是中國園林藝術頂峰時期的代表，1998年被列為世界文化遺產之一。園內風光秀麗,其長廊長達780多公尺,是世界最長的走廊，長廊上的彩繪共有一萬七千多幅不同的畫作,一邊走一邊看很有古意.
佛香閣：位於萬壽山前正中位置，覆蓋鑲綠色邊的黃色琉璃瓦，是頤和園內最大的建築。每月慈禧太后在此燒香禮佛。
time: October, 2009
place:Beijing

北京-2

居庸關

The great wall is one of the wonders of the world. It stretches about 6700 Kilometers across China. I count it as one of my must sees in my lifetime.
The great wall can be climbed from different sections. Our travel agency chose 居庸關 for us which is the easiest section for people over 45 years old.
It is indeed a long, winding and steep wall. It is not an overstatement to say crawling up the great wall. There are many times we have to make our way up the wall with both hands and legs crawling .
After the climb, my legs were extremely stiff and sore. But the valuable memory soon erase all the uncomfortable feelings.
time:October, 2009
place:Beijing

北京行-1

 you tube 

天安門廣場

October is a good time to visit Beiing. I took a sightseeing tour to Beiing from 10/12 to 10/16. The weather during these five days were very comfortable , the temperature was around 20 degree and no sand storm at this time.

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Built from 1406 to 1420, the palace consists of 980 buildings with 8,707 rooms.
time: October ,2009
place: Beijin

Happy birthday to A-Ma

A family reunion on Mid -Autumn Festival has long been our custom. Mom's birthday is four days after moon festival. So we combine two events together for our convenience.

With family member spreading around the world, it is not easy to have a reunion with full family members. In this picture, Steven was giving a red envelope to A-Ma on behalf of us . A-ma's cheerful smile told us she was very happy and content.

 time: mid-autumn festival, 2009

place: Hsin-Chu

繽紛之秋

rock creek park

Twin oak estate

Black Hill ParkRock Creek Park

I love hiking in the autumn parks to see the golden, brown and red leaves flying all around. When walking on the golden color earth, watching the colorful leaves drifting slowly down around you, you would feel like a fairy flying in the heaven.

time: autumn, 2007

place: Washington DC

兒子回台

Son was back in Taiwan for Summer break. His stay was very short , only 12 days. He did as many fun things as possible to make up what he missed during the past five years.
I teased him like a Hill Billy in Taipei, many things in Taiwan are very different than they were when he left Taiwan.
The most crazy thing he did was going to night clubs with friends three nights in a row.
time: September, 2009
place: Taipei

華盛頓故居及雙橡園

Twin Oak Estate- -party room

Twin oak estate

Twin Oak Estate

washington mansionWashington Mansion

雙橡園-Tiwn oak estate為喬治復興時代式建築物，1888年由赫巴德先生創建，因屋後有兩棵並列的橡樹而取名為雙橡園。雙橡園於1986年被美國政府明訂為古蹟住宅，是華府的名勝地之一,雙橡園離 National Cathedral 步行只十五分可順便一遊.

Washington Mansion 位於Virginia 州 , 是華盛頓及家人住了幾十年及終老之處 , 裡面有許多花園 牧場 工作房 及工人房 , Mansion 面對 Chesapeake River 氣勢非凡且風光明媚 .

time: 2007 and 2008
place: Washington

remove age spots

This article was forwarded by a friend. I can't enlarge the article. Hopefully, it is visible and helpful to you.

櫻花

                                                  you tube

Tidal Basin是華盛頓特區最著名的賞櫻景點，圍繞著湖邊還有林肯、傑佛遜、羅斯福等紀念堂。 櫻花約在四月初盛開，但花期極短且不確定，若不是此次派駐華盛頓特區，絕不可有機會欣賞櫻花盛開的美景。 其實個人認為華盛頓特區最美的賞櫻景點是Kenwood，只因此地非搭地鐵可達，不如Tidal Basin方便，知名度不高，但整個社區都是櫻花，鋪天蓋地，而且品種很多，有的粗壯如榕樹，有的似柳樹，嘆為觀止，能見此美景，真是三生有幸。
article by DJSHIEH
you tube by SJLEE
time : April , 2008
place : Washington DC

Boston

tour vehicle

Harbor walk

Fenway Park紅襪隊的主場

Trinity Church

I spent 7 days in Boston when my husband attended a conference there.
Almost all attractions in Boston like MIT and Harvard UNiversity are accessibe by subway. The park near Prudential Center along the Charles River is a beautiful place to take a walk in late afternoon. If you love lobster, you can enjoy a lobster big meal in China town. Each costs only $12.
Quincy market is a good place to eat too. You can find all kinds of delicacy there. By the way, be sure to walk the freedom trail. You will discover the essence of Boston in this walking .

time: June , 2007
Place: Boston

In San Francisco

China town

Pier 39

Golden gate brige

If you come to San Francisco there are two things you must do.
First, walking on the golden gate bridge .
The view up on the bridge is awesome. It will give you an unforgettable experience for the rest of your life.
Second, watching the otters at pier 39 .
It will help you realize how to live a happy and carefree life .

time: 2008 , May
place:San Francisco

my trip to Japan

you tube

羊啼山

Last October I went to Japan with a group from 清華 university. The tour courses are requested by us. It includes many sights that I have never seen before. This video shows only a half of my Japan trip.

place:Japan 北海道
Time: 2008 Oct.

蔣介石' s residence

蔣介石' residence had been shrouded in mystery for decades before the martial law was lifted . Now it is open to the general public and is my favorite strolling place.

time: April , 2009
place:士林 , Taipei