Taipei Day 1

We arrived at the Grand Hyatt Taipei and were met by the bellmen who took our bags from us and pointed us towards the check-in desk.  The lobby was spacious and beautiful and the reception area was opposite the entrance.  The man who helped us said that since we were Hyatt Diamond members, we could do check-in at the Grand Club on the 22nd floor, but we just wanted to get to our room as quickly as possible so we did it there.  We were on our way a few minutes later.

We booked the entry level room and were given a small upgrade to a larger room on the Grand Club floors.  Unfortunately there were no Diamond Suite Upgrade suites available as they were all under renovation so we all shared one room with a king sized bed, a couch for Annie to sleep on and a crib for Lizzy.  First world problems, I know.  While it worked out just fine, whenever we all share a room I am thankful that we don't live in a studio apartment :).  I think this also might be one of the last trips that Lizzy can fit in a hotel crib - she basically took up the entire crib and I would sometimes see her contorted in a corner in horribly uncomfortable looking positions. 

Few things the girls like more than exploring a new hotel room

Bathroom with shower but no tub

Some welcome fruit that they replaced daily.  The pears were amazing

Everyone was tired from the day of travel and from getting up early so everyone was asleep soon after settling down.

Annie was up bright and early the next morning and watched TV in bed for a bit while Lizzy got a little more sleep and I went to work out. The fitness facilities were really impressive with a cardio room, a weight room and a studio for classes.  There were also very nice locker room/spa facilities which I enjoyed later that night.

After I was finished with my workout and Lizzy was up and dressed we all headed up to the lounge for breakfast.  It was a great lounge with a lot of space and an impressive breakfast spread. They had pretty much anything you could want - breads, pastries, yogurt, cereals, fresh fruit and hot items like potatoes, sausage, bacon and eggs made to order.  There were also Asian selections like dim sum, sashimi and congee.  I try to eat a healthy breakfast every morning but sometimes the temptation of the breakfast buffet is just too much.  I think I ate more croissants on this trip than I have in my entire life.  We loaded the girls up with giant plates of fruit every morning since a watermelon in Japan costs over $30 US (more like $100 if you want it with a cute little hair bow on the stem).

Lizzy made friends with the lounge attendants

Lots of yummy food throughout the day

Carbo-loading time

Love a good hotel lounge breakfast!

The Grand Hyatt is located right across the street from Taipei 101, which was the tallest building in the world until 2004 when the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was built.  I got an "insider" tip from a student of mine that there was a "secret" Starbucks midway up the tower.  Since it wasn't a clear day we figured paying to go to the top of Taipei 101 woudln't be worth it.  We used our detective skills (aka Google) to find out how to access the Starbucks, which wasn't exactly easy!  We had to go in the business entrance of the tower, where we clearly didn't belong in our shorts, and then use an ATM-looking machine to call up to Starbucks and then have visitor cards printed out for us.  Then we used the cards to pass through a guarded turnstile to access the elevators which took us to Starbucks.  Once we were up there I really did feel like we had accomplished something since it was pretty empty and the few other customers looked like they worked in the building.  We grabbed a window seat and enjoyed some drinks and the view.

Secret Starbucks!

Daddy and Annie in front of Taipei 101

Cool sign showing the different heights of the world's tallest buildings (or so we guessed)

Lots and lots of people wanted pictures with the girls. Annie wasn't into it this time

After walking around the building for a while, the girls decided they wanted to go swimming so we headed back to the hotel.  It was overcast and looked like it was about to start raining at any moment but that did not deter Annie and Lizzy.  There were two pools, one of which was the size of a kiddy pool but was still deep enough that neither could stand.

Annie went in by herself and Lizzy wore her floaties so we did not have to get in with them.  Annie swims just well enough that you feel like you need to jump in to save her about every twelve seconds, but at the last moment she either grabs the wall or is able to roll on her back.  Lizzy is very confident but is still a ways away from being able to go in by herself.

The pool attendant brought over a box of kid toys for the girls to play with and after the lone lap swimmer headed inside, the girls were the only ones at the pool.  It was a very nice setting for an urban pool and I sat on the couches and read for a bit while Joe stood at the edge of the pool watching the girls. 

Sisters out for a swim in Taipei

After finishing up swimming, we headed back out to see the area around Taipei 101 and try to find something the girls would like to do.  One thing we always feel a little bad about in our travels is that we don't do many cultural, area-specific, experiences.  The girls just don't like walking through temples and heading to loud, smelly, crazy night markets.  But we still enjoy seeing new places, even if we don't do all the things you are supposed to do.

We ultimately ended up at a department store that had a children's shopping area on the fifth floor. Ironically, it was a Mitsukoshi, a very famous department store in Japan.  Much to the girls delight, they had a play place on the children's floor, and play places are at the top of their list of favorite things to do, right after Disneyland.  Cheap-o Joe thought it was too expensive so we originally passed by it and just wandered around the shopping area, but after another pass we decided to go ahead and let the girls go in and let off some steam.

Didn't really need to fly 4 hours to come here, but the girls really wanted to

Just about the most fun she has ever had

They had an amazing time and it never got too crowded, which is nice since Joe can't stand being in crowded, uncontrolled places, especially with the girls.  We ended up staying for well over an hour and definitely felt that we got our money's worth.  Annie and Lizzy had such a good time that they repeatedly asked to go back throughout the rest of the trip.

It was getting late so we headed back to the hotel and took a bit of a break in the room.  Annie was about to fall asleep, so Joe got her up and took her to the mall for dinner while I took Lizzy up to the lounge to see how the evening offerings were. There was a great spread of food easily supplying a full meal and then some.  

The girls took a shower and went to bed very easily after their busy day.  I went to gym for a bit and walked on the treadmill while watching a new episode of Real Housewives of Orange County - I made Joe buy me a season pass before he left for his most recent business trip. Then I went to the locker room to enjoy the showers, steam room and hot tub.  Side note, you are not allowed to wear swimsuits at any of the wet spa facilities I've been to in Asia. The rules say it's to avoid making other people uncomfortable. I don't understand that logic, but ok. After my spa time I went into the meditation room and sat in a recliner to do some deep thinking aka read my US Weekly.  The meditation room had a wall made out of salt rocks that supposed to "produce heathy negative ions to clean the air, improve focus and enhance meditation and healing."  I felt great afterward and slept like a baby that night so I guess the salt wall did its job! ;)