On a cloudy day, the view of the majestic Quan-In (Goddess of Mercy) Mountain 觀音山 over Tamsui River 淡水河
 

Ferry between the shores of Ba-li 八里 and Tamsui
 

City of Taipei is at the far end of the river, but not visible in the photo
 

A story on the wall about Tamsui 淡水 and Dr. Mackey 馬偕
 

An in ground marble road sign leads us to Mackey's Tamsui Church
 

We walk up the long stone stairs to the popular Hong Lou (Red House)
 

Interesting mix of East and West architecture design
 

We had an interesting late lunch set at a table in the long corridor
 

Ken & Felix, Felix was Vincent's classmate at Cheng Kung High
 

Two special dishes, steamed tofu on leaves and fried oysters, and others ...
 

A view of the Lover's Bridge in the popular Tamsui Fisherman's wharf
 

A post explains a local tofu based dish    

Traditional marble sculpture of Kirin (mystical lions) and Dragons outside of a Tamsui temple
 

There are many small food shops and stands in the old town streets.  We stopped by a nice bakery to sample some of their Taiwanese cakes. 
The portions of the delicious sample are surprisingly generous!  We ate many and bought some to bring back to USA.
 

In Beitou, where Vincent spent many summer and winter vacation days in the '50s
 

Lily in the pond
 

Vincent nostalgically recalls his kindergarten trip to this same pond, catching many tadpoles.
The pond has been kept exactly the same as many years ago!  A beautiful modern public library is on the right.
 

This is the famous Hot Spring Creek which cuts through Beitou valley. 
Many beautiful landscape can be seen in the surrounding area. 
Hotels nearby offer traditional hot spring bath, and some Jacuzzi styles.
 

This is a 1955 photo with Vincent's sister Lucy, cousin Po-long, and a relative by the same "hot" waterfall.
That summer, Vincent passed a competitive entrance exam to enter Taipei Cheng-Kung Middle High.
The watch he wore was a congratulatory gift from the Tzeng family.
 

Vincent in Dec. 2007, 52 years later, having gone around the world then back to the same spot!

Felix took us in his car to visit the area where Vincent's maternal Grand Farther had
a villa on the hillside.  The Villa is next to a Catholic Church and just above an old hotel.
 

The Church has a bell tower which can be heard through out the Beitou valley.
 

The old hotel still stands after almost 60 years, still offers natural hot spring bath services.
 

The old granite stairs leads to A-Gong's (Gandpa's) villa on the right.
 

The old (seems abandoned) villa is in the background. Only the upper story is visible in this photo.
The huge 2nd floor veranda (porch) and a spacious living room underneath it are sadly ruined.
 

There used to be a nicer looking wooden door at the villa entrance
 

Two old photos in Susan's (Vincent's sister) album showing villa's flower gardens with roses, orchids,
several fruit trees, grape vines etc. etc.... There was also a small natural hot spring pool in the villa.
 

Many thanks to Felix and Ken for their hospitality and generosity to accompany us for this wonderful and nostalgic day!