This week, I will be testing out a few new series on Sweets by Sillianah. As mentioned in this post, one of my goals this year is to blog more - but to include non-food posts and share "sprinkles of sweetness" whether it be from my personal life or from around the internet. Since I'm still trying to figure out exactly what will work for me, these new features may be short-lived like a mini-series or they may become a permanent feature on the blog. In any case, I hope you enjoy. Thank you for being here!

Yangmingshan National Park, 2009

First up, is Taiwan Tuesday [edit 2/18/14: Now titled, Taiwan Tidbits]. Lately, I've been reminiscing a lot about Taiwan, my "motherland". It may have something to do with the fact that my 5-year wedding anniversary is coming up next month and the last time I was in Taiwan was for my honeymoon 5 years ago. I've been doing a lot of Google'ing and stumbled across a few interesting blogs and articles along the way so I will be sharing what I find in this new weekly series. I've also been digging through photos from my honeymoon and since I've never shared them on the blog (besides a few from my Fun Photo Friday series), I'll share a few memories from my personal travels as well. Just keep in mind my photos will not be the best quality.

Calla Lily Festival, Yangmingshan National Park

The photos you're seeing in this post are from the Calla Lily Festival in Yangmingshan National Park. It was an overcast, drizzly day but the scenes were still breath-taking. How could they not be? Fields of calla lilies (which, are one of my favorite flowers) just happened to be in bloom during the time we were in Taiwan, early April.

Calla Lily Festival, Yangmingshan National Park

From what I've read, some of the calla lily farms allow you to pick from the fields and take home a bundle of lilies for a small admission fee ($5 or less). But be ready to get wet and muddy! Don't worry, they also have plenty of pre-picked bouquets to choose from.

Street food vendor selling various fried snacks and soups

While we did not pick or buy any calla lilies to take home, we did stop for some bites from street vendors - this is what I love most about Taiwan. You can find amazing food anywhere for next to nothing.

Street food vendor selling savory fried sweet potato pancakes

Sweet potato pancakes seemed to be all the rage as we came across multiple vendors selling their own variation. Eventually, we tried some from this lady - the hot, deep-fried, crispy pancake with a touch of chili seasoning was just the snack we needed on this chilly day.

Yangmingshan National Park

There's so much more to see at Yangmingshan National Park, we'd probably need at least a week to explore it all. There are dozens of hiking and biking trails as well as eco-tours that include stops at several natural hot springs.

Lillian in Yangmingshan National Park, 2009

Alas, we were on a tight schedule and only spent a few hours in the park for the calla lily festival. It's definitely on my list of places to go for my next visit to Taiwan though. Which, I hope is soon!

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Taiwan travel, I've actually done very little exploring in Taiwan. Besides my honeymoon, the primary reason for my trips in years past was to visit my extended family. Any tidbits from my personal travels may be outdated and even though I'll do my best to include current information it's best to do your own research if planning a trip to Taiwan.

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