Looking for an easy day trip, we decided to travel to Tamsui, a seaside town on the north coast of Taiwan, technically still a part of New Taipei City, and therefore easily reachable via a 45 minute ride on the MRT. Our crowded train ride followed alongside the Tamsui (meaning “fresh water”) River — that very same river we can see from the balcony of our apartment. Definitely having the feel of a resort town, Tamsui was packed with Taiwanese tourists who were escaping the big city on a sunny Sunday.
Our arrival just outside the train station on a rare rainless afternoon.
The photos don’t give a sense of the sheer numbers of people in the immediate vicinity, as well as vendor after vendor of fried seafood and ice cream. While it looks like fried cuttlefish isn’t Sue’s cup o’ tea, the treat was actually delicious — juicy with a spicy coating plus pea sprouts thrown in for good measure.
Walking the promenade along the Tamsui River.
Our only historical stop of the day, Fort San Domingo. Originally built in 1628 by the Spanish Empire and currently the oldest building in Taiwan, the fort has changed hands many times over the centuries: Dutch Empire, Qing Dynasty, Britain, China, Australia, the US, and now returned back to the Republic of China.
The former British consular residence next to the fort.
The rooms inside the residence had a Mount Vernon vibe: quilted counterpanes, flowered wallpaper... By far, our favorite piece of furniture was the massive R2-“AC”2 installed in every room. We could admire lacy doilies for hours standing in front of the barely-cooled air that was shooting out of those units.
Lover’s bridge, a pedestrian bridge at fisherman’s wharf
Perfect timing as we headed toward the beach
Windy, but not refreshing windy.
“Fine sand stuck in your teeth” windy.
The reason why we traveled to land’s end
Freighters on the horizon
Eat it fast!
Passion fruit and lime popsicle 
One final view of the Tamsui harbor before hopping on the train back to Taipei
Meanwhile, on another part of the planet, the CSO Brass Quintet embarks on a European tour. Esteban, Dave, Gene, Mick, John, and girlfriend Lisa just landed in Venezia and are now busing to Ravenna. Buon viaggio!
This featured blog entry was written by skwclar from the blog Gryphon Globetrotters.
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