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Piso Perfect (and more!)

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Having just done some serious apartment, or "piso," hunting, you'll notice this is what's been on our minds :) 1) The days are long, but the pillows are longer Everyone knows that Spaniards like to stay out late. A meal can last over three hours, and a night out might go until 4:30AM. But it might surprise our readers - it certainly surprised us! - that the pillows are just as long. We recently moved into a long-term apartment, and our landlord provided new pillows for the guest bed. Or I should say, he provided one new pillow, that runs across the entire double-sized bed. An interesting choice! At first we suspected that maybe it was a particular quirk of his, but during a stay in an AirBnB in Granada we found that each and every bed (four in total) came complete with a lengthy head cushion that ran from one side to the other.  We're currently using the long pillow as a cushion on our sofa.  IKEA is also loaded with "long format" pillows here.   This al...
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I think we're in Spain now...

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Our first dinner out in Madrid: fried sardines and grilled vegetables Lunch at one of our favorite neighborhood spots  For those of you who know I Think We're Alone Now by Tommy James & The Shondells, this song has been stuck in my head since we landed in Madrid, only with the chorus as "I   Think We're in Spain Now."  For those who don't know it, have a listen here .  It's really not a great parallel for our experience other than the fact that socially, we are actually quite alone now compared with the strong ties we have in the Bay Area.  All that to say, we are trying to get out and meet more people and blogging inside, alone has been less of a priority. In no particular order, here are some things that have caught our attention in these first weeks in Madrid that make us pause and say, "Huh, I think we're in Spain now." 1. Churros and Chocolate (of course!) Karen with a porra Churros and chocolate are a way of life here. Fun fact: at mos...
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Hualien

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      We spent two weeks in Taiwan, and most of that time we were in Taipei. We did go on one excursion, to Hualien, a city on the east coast of the island. The main attraction in Hualien is the Taroko Gorge. But our trip surprised and delighted as soon as we got on the train- when we bought tickets, we saw an option to add a bento box meal for about $2.50 (bento boxes are a legacy from when the Japanese colonized Formosa). We didn't know what to expect, but when it arrived it was much tastier than we had dared to hope! It included rice, a stewed egg, chicken, and some veggies. Unfortunately, the bentos can only be added at the time of ticket purchase, so we weren't able to order more for the ride back! Yum!     Once we debarked the train in Hualien, we made our way to the Shining Forest Hostel. On the way, we stopped for a boba tea- it was the worst boba we've ever had , and the only bad boba we had in Taiwan! Fortunately the hostel did not disappoint- the...
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