The weather forecast today specified "Thundershowers." Not something I'd want to experience while on the mountainside, so I planned a city hike to a few "Art parks."
First breakfast, though. A breakfast place was opposite the hotel, but it was always crowded with a queue outside. In the neighborhood behind the hotel were a few more breakfast places with no lines and the same delicious breakfast pancakes.
From here, I wandered through the Banqiao neighborhood towards the river park.
I enjoy wandering through these old neighborhoods with life on the streets—lots of little shops selling everything from meals to vegetables to clothes.
Next to the river was the "Banqiao 435 Art Zone". A few of these are scattered throughout Taiwan (Art zones, that is). And most of the time, the description sounds cooler than they are.
At the riverside, there were a ton of bird spotters with huge tele lenses pointed at some bush far away. I couldn't see what they were pointing at and decided not to walk that way and disturb them.
The other way brought me to a bridge and a metro station nearby, but first lunch, classic Taiwanese beef noodles, delicious!
Next to the lunch place, a lady was selling custard buns, which seemed like a good after-lunch dessert.
One metro ride later, I was at the "Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall”. I’ve been here before, but I had to cross it to get to my next destination. I did visit the exhibition this time, because I had time to spare.
From here I walked to another art zone: "Huashan 1914 Creative Park". This one was a bit more lively, and a few shops sold things ranging from DIY origami to necklaces and other trinkets.
There were cafes and a park where I sat down for a while. Google Maps showed me that a mall nearby would be a nice place to shelter from the incoming rain.
This mall was pretty amazing; it was huge, with seven floors selling every product connected with a wire ever invented, from lie-down gaming chairs to washing machines and from outdoor gear to Anime figures.
An hour or so later, the rain had stopped, and I found an Okonomiyaki place nearby for dinner.
The day ended with more rain.
