All Places

Amedei Chocolates (inside the BellaVita Mall) are considered probably the finest in the world and unless you are in NYC for us Americans, the next best place to get them is on my regular travels to Taiwan. 🙂 Every time I visit Taipei, I have to stop by to stock up on some of these chocolates. Read more...

ESLite is known for their 24 hour bookstore (not this location), their wide range of books, the architecture and not least their rich selection of curated lifestyle products. There are many ESLite stores in Taiwan, and now other parts of Asia. This is a great store to go to for homewares, books, gifts, fine foods and unique souvenirs. Out of Read more...

3 years ago when I visited this ESLite, it was very small and there wasn’t much, so on this trip I didn’t make it a priority. However, we stopped by today and it’s expanded so much and its offerings are so different from the Xinyi & XiMenDing locations This ESLite location has a very relaxing and tasteful ChunShuiTang Restaurant, but Read more...

XiMenDing is a famous shopping district of Taipei. Their wares typically center around hip fashion and affordable prices (where Xinyi is more luxury and $$$). You will find a lot of Taiwan teens/tweens here as well as tourists from all over the world. It’s very happening and some have likened it to Harajuku (youth culture and fashion). XiMenDing is also Read more...

Mr. Tree is one of our favorite places to go in Taipei. We’ve been to both locations and both are great. As is standard in Taiwan, their concern for hygiene is top-notch. They will check the forehead temperature of each person (adult and kids) before they allow entry. They will also give you hand sanitizer. When kids enter the play Read more...

Today a good friend took us to lunch at 度小月擔仔麵. The noodles dishes here have a long history, since 1895. We ordered their famous danzai noodles, the fried shrimp, oyster dishes and a few more. Very authentic and one of the most enjoyable meals we’ve had so far. By the entrance you can see the staff making the noodles. I Read more...

This place is the absolute favorite place of my girls. We were here 3 years ago and it was an amazing place for them, however in 2019 the mall that hosted them closed. So they have moved to a new, smaller, location. However to compensate for a smaller location, they placed in a lot of new interactive tech toys. Why Read more...

San Jose Family Camp is our preferred family camping experience. It is located outside of Yosemite National Park and opens during the summer months only, typically from June to early August. Follow their website and most importantly Facebook page for details. Read more...

teamLab is one of my favorite artist collective that exhibits around the world. They are famous for their ethereal installations but also well known for producing interactive art for children, known under the collection of FuturePark. Check out their website to discover their nearest or upcoming exhibit to you. Their collections are constantly changing and are all really worth a Read more...

Small museum situated in the Financial District of San Francisco. Modest-sized museum compared to other museums, but it features the wonderful SketchTown by TeamLab as a permanent installation. This installation, within California, is only found in SF and SD. This small museum is surrounded by a skate facility, parks and many outdoor features. Read more on MetaFrost to get more Read more...