Taiwan Travel Adventures 2011: Day 2 - Ximending and Sophisca Candy Shop

     Since I came back early in Taipei from Jiufen, I took a short rest at the Hostel.  A shower with hot water came after that.  Then I went back to Zhongxiao Fuxing Station to buy some Jill Stuart cosmetics.  

     Anyway, for one reason or the other, I decided to dress up.  I bought a dress just for my Taiwan trip, and I wanted to use it that night.  I even curled my long hair.  Call me vain, and I won't take it against you.  Besides, I want to look great for my night out in Taipei, plus, I was hoping Eric from the hostel would see me in my kinda pretty state.  And, it never hurts to look presentable.  Who knows, I might meet someone.  Heehee.

This is me, all dressed up, with hair curled, and looking grotesque.

     So, I decided to go to Sogo first.  I know my way there and so I just took the blue line and alighted at Zhongxiao Fuxing Station.  I headed to the cosmetics department which took me a while to find.  I bought  some Jill Stuart cosmetics because I've almost emptied my compact.  And I found myself withdrawing cash at an atm.  Oh, well.  

     A Jill Stuart sales person helped me find a great lipstick, pinkish, which works best for me, and a very flattering blush.  However, the sales staff thought I won't be buying the lipstick and the blush, so they weren't added to my bill.  I guess, it was not really meant for me to buy those.  At least, I looked nice in the lipstick and blush I had on my face.

     So, I went to Ximending, a place I was not able to visit the first time I got to Taipei. It was easy enough to find.  It was on the blue line, too.  However, when I got to Ximending, I was like, "this is it?"  Well, let's just say that I was a bit disappointed.  I felt the place didn't appeal to me.  There were a lot of people, for one thing, and I think, I am just too old for the place.  It's hip and young, and I am not.  Heehee.  Besides, it was not bright and as colorful as I hoped it would be; not that I was hoping to see Rainbow Brite or anything.  It was even hard to take pictures using my point-and-shoot camera.  So, none of my photos turned out great.  They're either overblown or overexposed or blurred.  Well, I am partly to blame because I don't really know how to work a camera.

     I wandered around Ximending.  One thing's for sure, the place is alive, and there are a lot of cinemas!  They're everywhere.  And since I came around dinner time, the restaurants were packed and I saw a lot of food stalls with really long lines.  I wanted to line up, too, but I was not up to it.  I still needed to find a candy shop that I specifically intended to visit.

     And the shop is called SOPHISCA. They sell candies and chocolates in cute and novelty packages.  There's a condom choco, sanitary napkin marshmallows, jelly syringe, candy boobies and more.  There were a lot of people inside so I was only able to take a photo or two.   As to how I found Sophisca? I just walked till I got to the right alley and saw a white sheep against a pink background  (logo).  It was luck.

 Don't forget the logo!

      Inside the shop.

     I got these photos of Sophisca's products from their website:

      FYI, there are branches in Jiiufen and Danshui, too.  And these are the stuff I bought at Sophisca as treats and souvenirs for my friends and family:

     I couldn't remember if I ate dinner that night.  I don't think I did. I remember my feet burning because I had been walking with flat shoes since early morning.