Last Saturday, Sean had a rare day out with his dad. They went to a bird-sanctuary that is located in a place called Guandu. It's way up in the north of Taipei and Sean lives in the very far south of Taipei. So, it was a long ride on Dad's tiny 125cc motor-scooter. The trip up there took about one and a half hours not including a brief rest stop at a McCafe.
Sean had fun eating french fries from the ordinary McDonalds next door and then he began eating sugar from the sachets meant for people to add to their coffee. He seemed to like that more than the fries.
The reason for the trip to the sanctuary was that the National Geographic channel was showing a special documentary/movie and there was a lecture to be heard immediately afterwards. Sean was very attentive and pleased the lecturer with one of his answers to a question that showed Sean had been watching the documentary carefully. He received a box of souvenir pencils and picture frame as prizes for two correct answers to questions asked by the lecturer.
After that, Sean took his dad upstairs to the second floor where there is a bird-watching deck with some large telescopes. Sean had obviously been there before and he could operate the telescope pretty expertly. He found birds and then showed them to his dad for almost an hour.
Then he wrote down in his notebook all the names of the types of birds he had seen. On a blackboard at the back of the observation deck, someone had written all the names of the birds seen by people that day. That was helpful because some of the Chinese characters for bird names are very complex and Sean couldn't remember how to write them all.
Then, Sean showed his dad a very nice (and quite expensive) Spanish restaurant that is right beside the bird sanctuary. Sean had been there before. The restaurant brews its own beer, "Formosa Bird Beer". The waitress said that it's made to a Belgian recipe and Sean's dad liked it a lot.
Sean was good about finishing the main meal which is a bit different for him. He's normally a very, very fussy eater but he had a small barbecued steak and liked it! Then, he wanted dessert. He looked at the menu and saw "Panna Cotta".
When it arrived it looked really nice. Orange-flavored sauce around the edge and a dollop of cream in the middle. But he didn't like the added bits and ate around them! He's a good boy but when the dessert costs NT$180 and he doesn't go close to finishing it, Dad's patience can be tested.
Sean had fun eating french fries from the ordinary McDonalds next door and then he began eating sugar from the sachets meant for people to add to their coffee. He seemed to like that more than the fries.
The reason for the trip to the sanctuary was that the National Geographic channel was showing a special documentary/movie and there was a lecture to be heard immediately afterwards. Sean was very attentive and pleased the lecturer with one of his answers to a question that showed Sean had been watching the documentary carefully. He received a box of souvenir pencils and picture frame as prizes for two correct answers to questions asked by the lecturer.
After that, Sean took his dad upstairs to the second floor where there is a bird-watching deck with some large telescopes. Sean had obviously been there before and he could operate the telescope pretty expertly. He found birds and then showed them to his dad for almost an hour.
Then he wrote down in his notebook all the names of the types of birds he had seen. On a blackboard at the back of the observation deck, someone had written all the names of the birds seen by people that day. That was helpful because some of the Chinese characters for bird names are very complex and Sean couldn't remember how to write them all.
Then, Sean showed his dad a very nice (and quite expensive) Spanish restaurant that is right beside the bird sanctuary. Sean had been there before. The restaurant brews its own beer, "Formosa Bird Beer". The waitress said that it's made to a Belgian recipe and Sean's dad liked it a lot.
Sean was good about finishing the main meal which is a bit different for him. He's normally a very, very fussy eater but he had a small barbecued steak and liked it! Then, he wanted dessert. He looked at the menu and saw "Panna Cotta".
When it arrived it looked really nice. Orange-flavored sauce around the edge and a dollop of cream in the middle. But he didn't like the added bits and ate around them! He's a good boy but when the dessert costs NT$180 and he doesn't go close to finishing it, Dad's patience can be tested.
2 comments:
Sean is certainly looking quite grown up now. I hope that he can come and visit us again in Canberra.
Sounds like you had a fun day out.
Aunty Anne in Australia
Thanks for being the first to give the blog a comment!
We did have a good day. Sean was very keen to go to the movie because he knew there would be freebies during the lecture afterwards. And, he's an amazingly keen bird-watcher these days.
My plan was to take Sean to Canberra, Sydney and Yeppoon once a year but the trip to the World Cup spoiled that this year. Hopefully, I'll get the plan back of track next year.
Thanks again,
Sean's Dad
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