I vaguely remember studying Maoist China and the birth of Taiwan during my days as an IB History student in high school. It was a small section of the curriculum and, quite frankly, I was more interested in the grander scaled World Wars, and, to be even more frank, all of that information went completely over my head as soon as graduation rolled around. In college, I took a course called Understanding Chinese Politics. It was taught by one of my favorite professors in my department, but, although interesting, I was more focused on figuring out what would be on the exams than really learning the material. 

So we trekked up the memorial, taking the usual photos on the way, only to the find that the entire building was closed for renovations. BOOO. 

At least we had the garden view. It was an especially beautiful afternoon with not a cloud in the sky, so I wasn't going to let myself be too bummed about it. I could always Google ol' Chiang once I got home. 

We spent the rest of our time there just lounging in the shade, watching tour group after tour group go by. Taiwan has been experiencing a huge spike in tourism in the recent years. I guess nobody thought to consider Taiwan as a destination spot. My parents did though! Fun fact: They had their honeymoon here. How random is that? 

The park is extremely well kept and tidy, like much of the rest of the city. It was a Saturday when we went and loads of people were out with their family enjoying the fantastic weather. We had nothing else planned for that day. It would've been perfect if we had packed a snack and a blanket and have ourselves a little picnic on the grass. It's good to have a lazy weekend sometimes.