Kismet in Taipei
Memories from Taipei
I met her in the bathroom of the Grand Hyatt Taipei in Taiwan. I was washing my hands, moving quickly, to get to my 9:00am meeting point by the fountain in the hotel lobby. As I reached for the towel, I noticed her, I was intrigued.
I think it was the broad brimmed camouflage hat that she was wearing that first caught my attention...then the two bushy ponytails with flecks of grey, that filled her petite neckline... from there it was the little silver retro granny glasses perched on her nose, the 60's style bright floral shirt, the multiple fanny packs around her waist, the straight legged well worn blue jeans and practical walking shoes. I guessed around 60ish in age..and thought "Woodstock meets Taipei". She glanced my way, smiled warmly and said "Are you Jeanne?" I can tell you, I was not expecting that.
On that note, I replied "Jennifer?" I can only assume she assessed me as studiously as I assessed her. I quickly glanced at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.. a lime green and aqua paisley caftan top, white linen pants and my black ecco walking shoes because comfort takes precedence when on tour and an over the shoulder bag stuffed with my camera and travel necessities. We were on the same page..style and function..our own style.
Kismet..it was fate...Jennifer was the tour guide I was meant to meet at the fountain in the hotel lobby. I had a feeling from that moment on that this was going to be a fascinating and memorable two days in Taipei.
We left the ladies room and hopped into a black Mercedes waiting for us outside the entrance to the hotel. I was loving everything about Jennifer at this point. She quickly filled the space with stories of her life, of Taipei and the history of Taiwan. An art teacher by profession, she also works independently as a private tour guide. In between all of that, she teaches Chinese flower painting to French expats.
The stories weaved their way in and out of each other as we motored along, I listened while taking in the sights out the window until she mentioned the "sparkle" that someone felt for her. Love? She had my full attention. Gossip about love in Taipei..who wouldn't tune in for that?
Jennifer is a friendly, engaging and thoughtful woman and it seems that she has had the attention of a few admirers over the years. She was not shy about telling me so. I am still not certain how this topic came up, it may have been over art supplies that I wanted to find. She mentioned an admirer once felt a certain "sparkle" for her but unfortunately she did not feel the same "sparkle" for him. I loved that she referred to attraction as "sparkle".
And this is how it went with Jennifer, she was a tour guide like no other, always a surprise here and there. She was charming...in her own quirky way. The plan was for us to have a half day together before collecting Mr. H who would join us for the afternoon and the following day. As we drove along, I smiled as I wondered how Mr. H would react to the "sparkle" story and the many more stories to come.
Jennifer asked about me, what I enjoyed doing with my time and what I would like to take away from my visit to Taipei. I mentioned that I was interested in pottery, art, tea and the history of Taiwan, in that order. I knew very little, I wanted to hear it all and I was interested in a first hand perspective rather than from the "tour book".
When she asked if I would be interested in seeing her little art studio in her home, where she teaches her students, it took me less than three seconds to reply. This trip just kept getting better and better.
We arrived at the New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum and then onto a ceramics factory tour where I had a wonderful choice of beautiful porcelain. I had wanted to find a style of teapot that I had spotted in Hong Kong and regretted not buying. I found what I was looking for and now regret not buying more.
Ceramics factory tour in Taipei
With the morning portion of our tour concluded, we met Mr. H and drove to the old market area on DiHua Street in the Datong District of Taipei. We were eager to check out the tea selection and were not disappointed. We stocked up on lavender, roses, jasmine, chamomile and chrysanthemum. I love steeping the flowers in hot water for tea..it is has a way of knocking my stress factor down about 4-5 notches. You breathe deep and sip lightly...heaven in a cup.
Out and about the old market section of Taipei
From DiHua Street we wandered over to Jennifer's home in the same section of the city. Down one lane and over to another, Taipei's history passed us by with each turn.
A tree grows in the Datong District of Taipei.
Jennifer kindly let me take photos of her work and those of her students. They are beautiful Chinese watercolours of flowers. I admired her paint brush collection and asked about her technique. We both agreed that I needed to come back to Taipei to take lessons from her. She gave me one of her paint brushes as a memento, to bring back with me for a future painting class. Clever woman..she sold me on the spot with that offer.
Jennifer's paintings
We ended our tour on day one here. We waved goodbye to Jennifer, looking forward to the next day. I will come back another time with day two. I can tell you that Jennifer was not the only fascinating woman that we discovered, there is one more.
Jennifer hits the trail home.
I feel a tea break coming on with my one cup Taipei teapot. In my mind, the cutest little teapot this side of Southeast Asia. This is the one I hope to buy more of.. it is so sweet!
My Taipei one cup teapot.
I leave you with a bouquet from Taipei and warm wishes for a wonderful week!
Jeanne xx
PS.. If you have any questions about my trip to Taipei, or anything else, you can write to me at [email protected]
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