what a Boxing Day
which was split into 4 parts
(a) religious/cultural
early morning
while my travel mate is still sleeping
I went to explore two famous landmark
which is the Confucius temple and
another old temple nearby
臺北孔廟&大龍峒保安宮
(b) cultural/historical
visited the Palace Museum
ensued by C.K.S. Memorial Hall
臺北故宮博物院 & 中正紀念堂
(c) calories-collecting
it was almost 5 by the time
we left the memorial hall
super hungry after the long walk
and the nearest place
I could think of is XiMenDing 西門町
Let's go, folk
(a) half of Hot Star chicken cutlet 豪大大雞扒
(b) Ay-Zung rice flour noodle 阿宗麵線
(c) Han Lin bubble tea 翰林茶館珍奶
"the proclaimed-inventor of bubble tea"
they actually went to the court
with another similar outlet for
the copyright of bubble tea
so bubble tea actually originated from
a classy place like this
FYI
I had an extra large cup
all by myself
my travel mate went on to eat
(d) spring roll ice cream wrap
(e) Sushi Express sashimi
*salute*
so in between the digestion time
we gotta walk right
to burn the calories and
to empty out tummy space for her Sashimi
which I have not tasted a single piece
all my life
and here came the trap
we ended up in the toy store
which I kind of place
an item on my KIV list
okies let's get it
since I don't see this somewhere else
although merchandise of the Monsters
are everywhere on the street
yet this is not one of them
Monster Mike bag
it double acts as a sling bag
Or a backpack
adult size but of course
it's a children-friendly size
we continued on
while my travel mate go
look for her KIV-ed stuff at Uniqlo
it's a plain cardigan for her dad
unfortunately we searched
high & low
and went from one level to another
which landed us at Level 4
Then I was like:
Hey ABC mart is just
One level up
Let's go
ABC is a sneaker chain store
originated from Japan
with all the major brands
you name it
with loads good deal
this is the 4th of their stores
We enter, I think
And shopping is a contagious thing
both of us found something
we really like, so finally
at different end of the shop
We belong to the different camps
Hers is always red Converse
while mine is Vans in blue
So she ended up with with
A pair of Jack Purcell
In this dirty dark red shade
In mandarin we call it 豬肝紅
Literally translated as
"Pig Liver Red"
while me
still hesitating over this
really cute pair of
Classic Skool Hi in navy blue
My concerns
(a) it's too Converse like
With the patch of white in front
(b) the red shoe laces are disturbing
(c) it's too cute, ie childish
(d) I still have this pair of
New-in-the-box Vans Oxfies
But hey look
(a) it's a crossover
(b) on top of the 50% off
(c) isn't foldable canvas something
I always wanted for
(d) the red shoe laces can be
Easily-got-ridden of
So I ended up
with this pair of
rollicking X Vans which was
the cutest ever pair so far
I actually found out
Rollicking is a proper word
which means lively
but this particular RollicKing
is a niche Japanese brand which
specializes in vintage fashion
so this is a Japanese edition after all
the walk wasn't sufficient yet
to burn the calories
we walked on across the road
to a chain boutique
Which is known as 50%
50% Basically
they label all their products as
The market price: xxx
50% off price: half of xxx
we walked all the way up
to level 4
since that's where the men's section is
and she wanted to grab something
for the bro
and I ended up falling for
another piece of man's clothes
androgynous is just so in me
Isn't it cute?
A like-a-boss mustache gentleman
Pullover knitwear top
I know I know
I am not supposed to shop
budget for the year is exhausted
even before stepping into Taipei
I foresee the unexpected conditions
so I have declared that
any extra spending would
be dumped into FY 2014
and hey it's Christmas
So these are considered
gifts from Santa for..
for whatever bad things
I didn't commit
looks hey Loots
p.s.
definitely looks better with white laces
this is too child friendly
my niece fell for it and
this is now hers