Taichung, Taiwan: Lavender Cottage (薰衣草森林)

Keep an eye out for the teddy bears at the Lavender Cottage!

One of my favorite colors, one my favorite scents, and one of my favorite flowers all coincidentally share the same word: lavender. Growing up, I have always loved the color purple, in all shades and tints. Specifically, something about the light, more blue-toned lavender hue makes me feel serene, perhaps because I associate it with the scent of lavender flowers. Floral and sweet in fragrance, lavenders invoke images of cleanliness, of tranquility, and of subtle sensuality. It comes as no surprise then, that one of my favorite places to visit in Taiwan just so happens to be the Lavender Cottage in XinShe, Taichung.



There are other locations, but this site in particular is situated deep, deep, deep within the mountains of XinShe. Driving there is dangerous, particularly during monsoon season, because of the narrow, winding mountain roads, often of which are either under construction or not fully paved. Not to mention that my aunt is a *slightly* scary driver who values speed and time efficiency. However, I say that for a peaceful, rejuvenating respite from bustling towns or people, a visit to the Cottage is well worth the trip.

My family and I left the Feng Jia area around lunchtime, and arrived at the Cottage about an hour or two later. To my pleasure, the place wasn't too crowded, seeing as the weather forecast had predicted gloomy, gray skies. Thus, we stopped at the Cottage's restaurant first for some afternoon tea. Prices here are not as expensive as they are at the XinShe castle, but they are still definitely not cheap (especially when compared to food at the night market). For drinks, I ordered hot lavender milk tea to share with my sister while the rest of my family ordered kiwi juice and apple tea. We also shared orders of chocolate cake, fruit waffles, and pizza. Food was filling and good, but nothing to write home about. The lavender milk tea, however, was delicious. :) Rich, warm, and not too floral on the palette.

Delicious lavender milk tea, shared with my sister

An assortment of the sweet and the savory (mostly the sweet) at the Lavender Cottage's restaurant

The restaurant is quaint, the construction of which is on a slope so that half of the restaurant is elevated over the other half. My family and I sat at a table on the lower half. On our right was a beautiful, open view of the mountain slope below, filled with luscious green trees whose leaves swayed gently with the humid breeze of Taiwan's monsoon season.

After tea, my family and I wandered around the Cottage, following various wooden signs posted along the roads. One of my favorite areas was the Wishing Tree, an elevated platform at the edge of a hill, upon which stood a gigantic tree with looming branches. Attached to one of the branches by rope is a large metal bell, designated the wish bell, that visitors can ring. In the middle of the platform was a station for visitors to write wishes and tie them wherever they'd like (most are tied on rails designated for wish-tying, but others like to get creative and hang their wishes off the bell or in more discrete places like flower stems). I wrote two wishes, one hung on the rail, and another tied to the stem of a large frond near the wishing tree. The latter wish was more private, but my first one was pretty generic: "I wish that this upcoming year will be full of joyful memories that are safe, happy, wonderful, and healthy." The phrasing's a bit redundant, but I just wanted to fill the leaf...

Walking around the Cottage, I noticed that there weren't actually any lavenders blooming at the time. Apparently lavenders are for springtime, and sylvia flowers are in bloom during late summer, which was when I was there. Nonetheless, sylvia flowers are still beautiful; they look somewhat similar to lavenders. One of the more popular destinations in the Cottage was the terraced field of sylvia/lavender (depending on season) flowers through which visitors were welcome to stroll. I broke away from my family for a bit to walk through the field on my own, inhaling the light, fragrant scent of flowers mingling with the slightly musty lingering of rain in the air. Along the fields there were even wooden benches, painted bright, happy colors, whereupon tired visitors could recuperate while admiring the natural beauty of their surroundings.

Another popular destination in the Cottage site is an actual cottage, which is connected to a gift shop. Quick background blurb: the Lavender Cottage was the creation of two women who wanted a nature-infused haven away from fast-paced city life. There is no real furniture here, but this mock-cottage is a representation of that slow-paced haven. It's a cute place in which to wander, and as one passes through the many rooms in the abode, one can imagine him or herself living here, going through the motions of day-to-day life. Waking up early morning to the consistent whirr of chirping crickets, padding out of bed to cook a filling breakfast made from herbs grown in the gardens... It's a romantic notion inspired by the romantic setting of the Cottage.

Before leaving the Lavender Cottage for the day, my family and I stopped by the small cafe for their signature lavender ice cream. The first time I ever visited the Lavender Cottage, which was at least a decade ago, I clearly remember devouring a cone of creamy, rich ice cream, sweetened perfectly and kissed with the floral, herby lavender. This time when I took my first lick of the cone, I was transported back to my childhood – a sweltering summer day on a wooden bench with two scoops of lavender ice cream, trying to lick the melting cream off the edges of the cone before it could dribble all over my hands and turn them sticky.

I swear one cone is actually my sister's...