Day 1- walking, rain, walking, walking, sleeping, eating

Sort of.... not in that order.
Let me back up. My fight was mostly smooth with 1-2 hours of bumpiness towards the end. I had to ask for extra snacks and ate two Clif Bars, so not enough food for Delia. They had complimentary tooth brushes and tiny tubes of tooth paste (as well and ear plugs and eye covers) in the bathroom, which almost made up for the fact that I was not flying on a Hello Kitty plane.
Last night my flight was an hour late but my ride was still waiting for me. The ride to my hotel was probably 30 minutes. I got here and found out that I had to pay for my ride in cash and I had not gone to an ATM. So I ran across the street to the 7-11, attempted to get cash three times and finally got some (bank withdrawal limits are a pain in the ass when you don't actually know how much money you're withdrawing.) I found out that my room was so bare-bones that I had to pay for my towels- the equivalent of $6.34 for a whole set, so not bad. I was starving and the hotel staff gave me a cup of ramen she made for me with the hot water in the lobby. I read, and went to bed. (I'm reading a YA novel my friend Mary suggested. I'm kind of loving it and I'm trying not to read it too quickly. It's a good thing I brought more books with me.)
Today, I had nothing planned in terms of schedule. I figured I'd start off with a contemporary art museum. I found that many things, including that museum, are closed on Mondays (as was the highly rated, walkable breakfast place I wanted to try.)
I slept inconsistently but probably sufficiently given my body thinks it's 15 hours ago. I walked to a cafe with good coffee and a partially translated menu. With my to-go coffee (which came in a sleeve with a handle so I could carry it like a purse), it came to over $13, which is a sign that Delia has not yet mastered mental currency conversion.
I have to say I've become spoiled by GPS. When I went to Thailand in 2015, I relied on a really good map to get every where. I also have to say, all the maps I have suck. The ones in Lonely Planet don't name all the streets. I got one in the mail and found some of the street names - at least in Kaohsuing, where I plan to go at the end of the week - have changed. And this city is not exactly in a grid. And the street signs are hard to see. Oh well.
I got a pork bun.
I got brown sugar boba tea, which was incredible and probably 75% of my calories for the day.
I walked to the Peace Memorial Park. There is a museum there dedicated to the "228 Incident," but it was of course closed today.

Then I walked to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Actually there is the memorial, an arch, a concert hall, in this big open area.

 I like pretty ceilings.

I happened to be there when they change the guards. I thought I was recording it but I forgot the hit the button on my phone :/
I went to the Huashan 1914 Creative Park. It started to rain. This place is pretty cute. It was a wine factory converted into performance spaces and expensive shops. I didn't buy anything. There was a store for wood toys that had all these moving mobiles and displays, and a play area. There were stores selling jewelry and over priced journal and clothes and saki. By time I walked back to my area, it stopped raining.
The area behind the street my hotel is on is a huge shopping area with lots of street food. I already see that finding vegetables is going to be challenging. I tried stinky tofu, which Taiwan is known for.

 It was not that stinky. I also asked for it not spicy, because I'm a wuss.

There are tons of these arcades that are filled with those crane games with the stuffed animals in them.
I got a foot massage that kind of hurt and went back to my hotel. I was feeling pretty low energy. I looked at my maps and decided I was going to buy a metro pass tomorrow. I walk almost everywhere, but things seem to be pretty spread out. I took a nap which ended up being about two hours. I got up around 7:15pm and realized I needed to find food. I tried to research vegetarian placed in the area but the maps are not cooperating with me. I went down the block and got another pork bun, which is supposed to be famous. I was reminded that Taiwanese pork buns are different than Chinese- still tasty. I was needing something un-bread, un-meat, and I found a store selling big containers of cut fruit (I ate the whole thing as I'm sitting here.)
This area is a little like Time Square. See:

A lot of the streets have covered walkways built into the buildings which is nice when it's raining.

In case you are wondering, it's muggy but not sunny. I'd hoped for sun, especially given what SF weather has been like lately. But I am getting to sweat a lot. And the rain comes straight down, which is a welcomed change.
So here I am with a belly filled with mango and watermelon. I am hoping to get to that breakfast place tomorrow. And then tackle the metro!