After a few jet lagged days in Tokyo we traded the bright lights and crowds for some time in Gotemba.
Where?
Gotemba. It's the small city somewhere between Tokyo and Kyoto that Dave calls home. It could be said that it doesn't have a lot going for it as a tourist town, except for the fact that it's situated on the side of a giant inactive volcano. So, three cool things about Gotemba:
1. Fuji
Step out at the station, there's fuji. Look outside Dave's door, oh, it's Fuji. Driving to the supermarket, it's there. Wonder why there's a slight slope uphill? Oh, you're actually on Mt Fuju. This is endlessly amusing.
2. School
We went to visit the school where Dave works as an English Aid. The children were highly amused to see a giant blonde woman. One girl was so embarassed to meet me she fell over. Another asked if I was Dave's mum... hmmmm. We played Dodgeball at luchtime, as which I did very bad. I just couldn't bring myself to throw a ball as hard as possible at a pack of small children. But they seemed more relaxed about school safety - they had 3 meter high monkey bars, and kids were playing on unicycles and stilts.
3. Onsen
Athough it was sunny while we were in Gotemba, it was also rather chilly. And what better way to warm up than a trip to a traditional Japanese hot bath.
Possibly the most relaxing hour I've spent on the whole trip, sitting in the 40 degree water, thinking of nothing. Especially nice was the outdoor pool, where you could just kick back and admire the view. Of what? Fuji, of course.
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tokyo
To prevent excessive rambling I'm just going to give my top three favourite things about each city that I visited in Japan. City number one, that sprawling metropolis, the capital of Japan; Tokyo.
1. The Weather
It was t-shirt weather for the two days that we were there. Compared to the relentless rain that struck on the day I was passing though to go home, we were very very lucky. There was sunshine and, most unusual for Tokyo, clear skies. It was so clear in fact, that you could see Fuji from the top of panoramic buildings. Even from 100 km away it looked huge.
2. Sukiji Fish Markets
If you told me that waking up at four thirty in the morning to watch people haul fish around would be one of the most fascinating things to do in Tokyo I would never have believed you. I'm a vegetarian for goodness sake, and even when I wasn't I didn't really eat fish.
But there I was on a crisp, clear morning, at a market the size of Vic Markets (ie BIG) dedicated to supplying the fishy needs of over 8 million people. It was a life and death experience walking through the mini carts used to haul the fish around, but we somehow made it to the auction hall alive. Unlike the fish.
We watched the buyers examine the fish, poking and prodding and chatting. The auction itself was all over very quickly - most fish sold for around 1000 AUD and above. Then they were lugged off to be cut up and sold on to retailers and restaurants.
3. Jet Lag
I always find jet lag amusing - it's like being drunk without all the bother of drinking! Walking around Tokyo in a daze just added to the ambience. It was almost like being in Lost in Translation - but the hotel wasn't as flash and Dave makes a really unconvincing Scarlet Johansson.
1. The Weather
It was t-shirt weather for the two days that we were there. Compared to the relentless rain that struck on the day I was passing though to go home, we were very very lucky. There was sunshine and, most unusual for Tokyo, clear skies. It was so clear in fact, that you could see Fuji from the top of panoramic buildings. Even from 100 km away it looked huge.
2. Sukiji Fish Markets
If you told me that waking up at four thirty in the morning to watch people haul fish around would be one of the most fascinating things to do in Tokyo I would never have believed you. I'm a vegetarian for goodness sake, and even when I wasn't I didn't really eat fish.
But there I was on a crisp, clear morning, at a market the size of Vic Markets (ie BIG) dedicated to supplying the fishy needs of over 8 million people. It was a life and death experience walking through the mini carts used to haul the fish around, but we somehow made it to the auction hall alive. Unlike the fish.
We watched the buyers examine the fish, poking and prodding and chatting. The auction itself was all over very quickly - most fish sold for around 1000 AUD and above. Then they were lugged off to be cut up and sold on to retailers and restaurants.
3. Jet Lag
I always find jet lag amusing - it's like being drunk without all the bother of drinking! Walking around Tokyo in a daze just added to the ambience. It was almost like being in Lost in Translation - but the hotel wasn't as flash and Dave makes a really unconvincing Scarlet Johansson.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Andorable
The other day my family (including my brother and his friend, who have dropped by to visit for a few days) took a couple of cars up to Andora for a day trip.
Andora is a small independent principality snuggled in the Pyrenees between France and Spain. It is very remarkable for a couple of reasons.
1. There was snow
Which was of great amusement to us all. There was a good covering on the slopes, and there was lots of snowball throwing action. My brother also decided that 3 degrees celsius was the perfect temperature to walk around bare chested. He was lucky that no one tried to capture him and claim him as the Andoran Yeti.
2. Cheep cheep liquor
Andora is a tax haven, and they don't have any duty on their alcohol. This means that it is basically a giant airport duty free lounge for their neighbours in Spain and France. The streets in the two or three main towns were brim full of electronics boutiques, perfumeries, jewellers, tobacconists and supermarkets selling alcohol, chocolate, confectionary and cheese.
The alcohol wasn't just cheep, it was astonishingly cheep; 10 Euro (~ 20 AUD) for a liter of Absolute flavored vodka, and around 8 Euro for a liter of your standard bourbons.
The down side of this is that the French will try and charge you duty on whatever you take out of the country, and will do thorough searches on random vehicles as your re-enter their country. They also have search posts about an hour down the mountains, just in case you think you got away.
So while all of this was of great amusement, the windy roads up the mountains to get there left me with the worst car sickness I ever had. Perhaps I should have partaken in the affordable booze for medicinal purposes...
Andora is a small independent principality snuggled in the Pyrenees between France and Spain. It is very remarkable for a couple of reasons.
1. There was snow
Which was of great amusement to us all. There was a good covering on the slopes, and there was lots of snowball throwing action. My brother also decided that 3 degrees celsius was the perfect temperature to walk around bare chested. He was lucky that no one tried to capture him and claim him as the Andoran Yeti.
2. Cheep cheep liquor
Andora is a tax haven, and they don't have any duty on their alcohol. This means that it is basically a giant airport duty free lounge for their neighbours in Spain and France. The streets in the two or three main towns were brim full of electronics boutiques, perfumeries, jewellers, tobacconists and supermarkets selling alcohol, chocolate, confectionary and cheese.
The alcohol wasn't just cheep, it was astonishingly cheep; 10 Euro (~ 20 AUD) for a liter of Absolute flavored vodka, and around 8 Euro for a liter of your standard bourbons.
The down side of this is that the French will try and charge you duty on whatever you take out of the country, and will do thorough searches on random vehicles as your re-enter their country. They also have search posts about an hour down the mountains, just in case you think you got away.
So while all of this was of great amusement, the windy roads up the mountains to get there left me with the worst car sickness I ever had. Perhaps I should have partaken in the affordable booze for medicinal purposes...
Friday, October 31, 2008
England (the telly, the weather, the cake...)
These three thngs are really of great importance while in England. most of my time over here is generally spent visiting family, which means we get a lot of chance to watch the local TV content, discuss the weather and eat cake. Thus I will tell you all about these things, as they are at the forefront of my activities.
TV
There is a new quiz show called Golden Balls. No, really, there is. And people are given these golden balls with cash values written inside and have to try and vote each other off, and then the balls all go in this big tumbler. it's hilarious, ridiculous, and every time the host says the name of the show I almost wet myself. Nut then what do you expect from a country that still has Millionaire and Weakest Link on air?
Also, in TV news, the British Telly Awards were on last night. In his acceptance speech for best actor in a drama, David Tennent said that he WON'T be returning as the doctor after the 4 2009 specials. There has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth.
WEATHER
Really, the only thing worth mentioning here is that it snowed while we were in Eastbourne yesterday. Actual big fat snowflakes. Unfortunately it was too warm for it to settle, but it looked magic.
CAKE
This is only here because Claire and I had morning tea by the fire side in these lovely little tea rooms. I really like tea rooms. I think Melbourne really has too many cafes and should really have more tea shops, with cakes, and scones and nice china, and with a fireplace.
Tomorrow Claire and i are off to London to terrify the good citizens of that fair town.
TV
There is a new quiz show called Golden Balls. No, really, there is. And people are given these golden balls with cash values written inside and have to try and vote each other off, and then the balls all go in this big tumbler. it's hilarious, ridiculous, and every time the host says the name of the show I almost wet myself. Nut then what do you expect from a country that still has Millionaire and Weakest Link on air?
Also, in TV news, the British Telly Awards were on last night. In his acceptance speech for best actor in a drama, David Tennent said that he WON'T be returning as the doctor after the 4 2009 specials. There has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth.
WEATHER
Really, the only thing worth mentioning here is that it snowed while we were in Eastbourne yesterday. Actual big fat snowflakes. Unfortunately it was too warm for it to settle, but it looked magic.
CAKE
This is only here because Claire and I had morning tea by the fire side in these lovely little tea rooms. I really like tea rooms. I think Melbourne really has too many cafes and should really have more tea shops, with cakes, and scones and nice china, and with a fireplace.
Tomorrow Claire and i are off to London to terrify the good citizens of that fair town.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Nights of Malta (and Days Too!)
All it took was a couple of short flights and I've swapped the Alps for the Mediterranean. Malta is a lovely and fascinating place, for reasons I will now ramble about.
Lovely?
Well, for starters, there is the Mediterranean climate, which means that I'm back to bare legs and sandals, and adding to the tan which has been accumulating sporadically.
What I find most charming about Malta is the buildings. They are, in vast majority, build out of the local stone. It's a soft, warm sandstone which I can't help but compare (despite the cringe it will elicit) to the crisp heart of a Malteser. Houses, government buildings, defensive walls and churches in all styles are build of the same stone, blending in seamlessly with the rocky ground on which they are built. From a distance, across the water, they glow in unity under the sun - but up close they are all different, with brightly coloured shutters and large window boxes.
Fascinating?
Because I am a history freak (I can't really say I'm a history geek, because it's more of a recreational pursuit for me) and this small group of islands is crammed full of history, and history of all different kinds.
Linguistically, it was here that a 'Rosetta stone' style monument was found in the 16th century with Etruscan and Greek, which allowed for the beginning of being able to understand Etruscan script.
Militaristically, it was the sight of the defeat of Suleiman the Great, which was the beginning of the tide turning against the Muslim attacks on Europe in the 16th century.
Artistically, Caravaggio came here after he killed a guy in Rome (as you do), joined a monastic order (as you do) and painted some of his amazing High Baroque masterpieces for them (as you do) which are now on display for all to see (as I did).
Nationally, they have only been independent from England for about 40 years, so English is a national language (along with Maltese), they drive on the left side of the road, and they have lovely red mail boxes everywhere.
It has also been amusing because we have caught up with some cousins, who moved here from Malta, and have a beautiful 10mth old baby who has kept us all entertained. Next stop; Poland - but first a 24 hour stop over in Barcelona! (for those of you who know what Europe looks like, I know that it appears I have gone mental and have let a drunk plan my itinerary, but then maybe I've just had a few too many wines in the last few weeks...)
Lovely?
Well, for starters, there is the Mediterranean climate, which means that I'm back to bare legs and sandals, and adding to the tan which has been accumulating sporadically.
What I find most charming about Malta is the buildings. They are, in vast majority, build out of the local stone. It's a soft, warm sandstone which I can't help but compare (despite the cringe it will elicit) to the crisp heart of a Malteser. Houses, government buildings, defensive walls and churches in all styles are build of the same stone, blending in seamlessly with the rocky ground on which they are built. From a distance, across the water, they glow in unity under the sun - but up close they are all different, with brightly coloured shutters and large window boxes.
Fascinating?
Because I am a history freak (I can't really say I'm a history geek, because it's more of a recreational pursuit for me) and this small group of islands is crammed full of history, and history of all different kinds.
Linguistically, it was here that a 'Rosetta stone' style monument was found in the 16th century with Etruscan and Greek, which allowed for the beginning of being able to understand Etruscan script.
Militaristically, it was the sight of the defeat of Suleiman the Great, which was the beginning of the tide turning against the Muslim attacks on Europe in the 16th century.
Artistically, Caravaggio came here after he killed a guy in Rome (as you do), joined a monastic order (as you do) and painted some of his amazing High Baroque masterpieces for them (as you do) which are now on display for all to see (as I did).
Nationally, they have only been independent from England for about 40 years, so English is a national language (along with Maltese), they drive on the left side of the road, and they have lovely red mail boxes everywhere.
It has also been amusing because we have caught up with some cousins, who moved here from Malta, and have a beautiful 10mth old baby who has kept us all entertained. Next stop; Poland - but first a 24 hour stop over in Barcelona! (for those of you who know what Europe looks like, I know that it appears I have gone mental and have let a drunk plan my itinerary, but then maybe I've just had a few too many wines in the last few weeks...)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
No Rain In Spain
Despite the fact that a turn in the weather has been predicted since my parents arrived here ten days ago, every day has consistently been clear blue skys, sunny and mid-twenties. And so it was when we took a couple of hours drive across the border to visit Spain - well, more specifically, the small holiday villiage of Cadaques.
Although it was only just across the border, it was a very Spanish town, full of white stucco houses with blue shutters, tiled walls and resraunts and cafes that didn't serve lunch until 2pm. The place was very quite as official tourist season ended a month ago, and what dregs of summery tourism that are left are closing at the end of the month (ie. today).
We (ie the parents, Claire and I) had a lovely day strolling around the villiage, small pockets of beach and the lovely beach roads. We had tapas for lunch, with a jug of sangria- so apart from dancing salsa with an attractive Spanish man, I've basically done everything I wanted to do in Spain in one meal.
After lunch there was more walking, admiring the scenery, and ice cream. On the drive home I was honoured with the privilage of sitting in the front (possilby because of the threats to vomit that I made coming long the windy mountain roads on thw way there), thus I was able to entertain dad with a game I made up called 'That Truck Is From...' . The objective of the game is quite simple - every time you pass a truck on the freeway you say (in your best gameshow voice) 'That Truck Is From... The Netherlands!' There were a lot of trucks from lots of different places heading out of Spain; from Portugal to Turkey, Sweden to Italy, all going about their trucky business as we went about our business and headed home from a fun international day trip.
Although it was only just across the border, it was a very Spanish town, full of white stucco houses with blue shutters, tiled walls and resraunts and cafes that didn't serve lunch until 2pm. The place was very quite as official tourist season ended a month ago, and what dregs of summery tourism that are left are closing at the end of the month (ie. today).
We (ie the parents, Claire and I) had a lovely day strolling around the villiage, small pockets of beach and the lovely beach roads. We had tapas for lunch, with a jug of sangria- so apart from dancing salsa with an attractive Spanish man, I've basically done everything I wanted to do in Spain in one meal.
After lunch there was more walking, admiring the scenery, and ice cream. On the drive home I was honoured with the privilage of sitting in the front (possilby because of the threats to vomit that I made coming long the windy mountain roads on thw way there), thus I was able to entertain dad with a game I made up called 'That Truck Is From...' . The objective of the game is quite simple - every time you pass a truck on the freeway you say (in your best gameshow voice) 'That Truck Is From... The Netherlands!' There were a lot of trucks from lots of different places heading out of Spain; from Portugal to Turkey, Sweden to Italy, all going about their trucky business as we went about our business and headed home from a fun international day trip.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Scarf: Complete
After traversing half a dozen countries over 7 time zones, my green scarf that I started in Siberia is now complete!
I knitted the whole thing out on my chopsticks which turned out to be ok knitting needles once I got into the swing of it. It was 30 stitches wide, which isn't too big, but quite hard as the needles taper quickly so I was only working with a very small space. I also have knitted a scarf in an off white natural wool I purchased from a spinner in Finland, that one was only 15 stitches, so it was a quicker job, and I ribbed the ends of it.
The funny thing is, having completed the two projects, the weather here in France is amazing and completely inappropriate for scarves. We're about two hours east of Toulouse, right near the Mediteranian. Every day has been clear blue skys and mid twenties. The evenings are cooler, but seems I don't like red wine when the weather's too hot this is really a perfect arrangement.
I knitted the whole thing out on my chopsticks which turned out to be ok knitting needles once I got into the swing of it. It was 30 stitches wide, which isn't too big, but quite hard as the needles taper quickly so I was only working with a very small space. I also have knitted a scarf in an off white natural wool I purchased from a spinner in Finland, that one was only 15 stitches, so it was a quicker job, and I ribbed the ends of it.
The funny thing is, having completed the two projects, the weather here in France is amazing and completely inappropriate for scarves. We're about two hours east of Toulouse, right near the Mediteranian. Every day has been clear blue skys and mid twenties. The evenings are cooler, but seems I don't like red wine when the weather's too hot this is really a perfect arrangement.
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Baltic, See
So, being unable to find an ínternet cafe for the last few days, my octogenarian Aunt has a computer with excellent connection at her house. She says she doesn't understand it or use it, but that her children set it up for when they occasionally drop in. Thus, for the next four days while we´re in Stockholm I'll be able to attend to my backlog of emails and things to do. But before all of that, I can now tell you all about the Baltic adventures Claire and I have had since leaving our trans-Siberian family and venturing off on our own.
The overnight bus from St Petersburg was the final 'stressful' boarder crossing for us (excluding convincing the English boarder patrol to let us in) on this trip. We got to the boarder at 1am and spent 2 hours sitting around, being pulled off the bus, being put back off the bus etc. Thankfully we´re now in the EU, where there is virtually no boarder control between countries, and being Aussie doesn't mean pre-arranging visas for entry.
Tallinn It Like It Is
We got to Tallinn early on a raining Saturday morning, so it was dead quiet - we had the whole place to ourselves for a while. It's a very cute old city that has been very well preserved and restored. We spent two days binging on museums, churches, galleries, and, off all things, Mexican food. It really wasn't intentional, but each day around lunch time we just happened to come across a good looking, affordable Mexican restaurant, and seems Claire hasn't been within cooee of a tortilla for 8 months we made the most of the opportunity.
Tallinn is strange in that I'm not sure where the actual population of the city lives. The old town consists almost entirely of museums, galleries, souvenir stores, bad restaurants and cafes and more souvenirs. It's like Disney for Euro-Tourists. It's not even like Venice, where if you walk down enough side streets you'll find the local population. Normally this situation makes me sad, but the Estonians who I ran into and talked to seemed to be so genuinely proud of the city, and the extent to which it's been preserved that I gained an appreciation of what a feat that is, considering that it was pretty heavily bombed during WW2.
Architecture (And Islands and Food and Shopping) In Helsinki After 2 days in Estonia we caught a ferry north to Helsinki. Now, I've heard rumours that Helsinki is cool. Like Prague, Edinburgh, Berlin and Stockholm before it, Helsinki is apparently cool du jour. I'd have to say that it's not so much cool, but it's certainly nice. It is small, clean, open, and has that effortless Scandinavian elegance - but it's just too small and nice to be cool. It's full of chic kitchen wares rather than chic fashion, and it's cafes are homely, not boho. Still Claire and I had a lovely time there, we visited the island fortress Soumelinna, and spent a lot of time at the food hall (cheap baguettes helped to offset the otherwise costly nature of the Scandinavian lifestyle).We also did something that I've been avoiding for some time now, clothes shopping. We hit up all the cheap and cheerful retailers (H&M, Vero Moda, Indiska etc) and I now own more than 2 summer skirts and 3 t-shirts. This is really a positive step, because the weather has taken a turn for the colder in the last couple of weeks. While it was 22C in Moscow less than a fortnight ago, it was 6C in Helsinki yesterday. Given my predilection for gloves, scarves, hats and coats, the change in temperature has been met with great relish.
Taking Stock(holm)After an amusing overnight ferry ride, in which we were in a cabin deep in the hull (the part of the ship in which everyone in Titanic were Irish and died very early on) we have arrived in Stockholm. We're spending the next four nights with our Aunt Sophie (nan's sister). I'll post all about how much I love Stockholm later - provided Sophie doesn't feed us to death first...
The overnight bus from St Petersburg was the final 'stressful' boarder crossing for us (excluding convincing the English boarder patrol to let us in) on this trip. We got to the boarder at 1am and spent 2 hours sitting around, being pulled off the bus, being put back off the bus etc. Thankfully we´re now in the EU, where there is virtually no boarder control between countries, and being Aussie doesn't mean pre-arranging visas for entry.
Tallinn It Like It Is
We got to Tallinn early on a raining Saturday morning, so it was dead quiet - we had the whole place to ourselves for a while. It's a very cute old city that has been very well preserved and restored. We spent two days binging on museums, churches, galleries, and, off all things, Mexican food. It really wasn't intentional, but each day around lunch time we just happened to come across a good looking, affordable Mexican restaurant, and seems Claire hasn't been within cooee of a tortilla for 8 months we made the most of the opportunity.
Tallinn is strange in that I'm not sure where the actual population of the city lives. The old town consists almost entirely of museums, galleries, souvenir stores, bad restaurants and cafes and more souvenirs. It's like Disney for Euro-Tourists. It's not even like Venice, where if you walk down enough side streets you'll find the local population. Normally this situation makes me sad, but the Estonians who I ran into and talked to seemed to be so genuinely proud of the city, and the extent to which it's been preserved that I gained an appreciation of what a feat that is, considering that it was pretty heavily bombed during WW2.
Architecture (And Islands and Food and Shopping) In Helsinki After 2 days in Estonia we caught a ferry north to Helsinki. Now, I've heard rumours that Helsinki is cool. Like Prague, Edinburgh, Berlin and Stockholm before it, Helsinki is apparently cool du jour. I'd have to say that it's not so much cool, but it's certainly nice. It is small, clean, open, and has that effortless Scandinavian elegance - but it's just too small and nice to be cool. It's full of chic kitchen wares rather than chic fashion, and it's cafes are homely, not boho. Still Claire and I had a lovely time there, we visited the island fortress Soumelinna, and spent a lot of time at the food hall (cheap baguettes helped to offset the otherwise costly nature of the Scandinavian lifestyle).We also did something that I've been avoiding for some time now, clothes shopping. We hit up all the cheap and cheerful retailers (H&M, Vero Moda, Indiska etc) and I now own more than 2 summer skirts and 3 t-shirts. This is really a positive step, because the weather has taken a turn for the colder in the last couple of weeks. While it was 22C in Moscow less than a fortnight ago, it was 6C in Helsinki yesterday. Given my predilection for gloves, scarves, hats and coats, the change in temperature has been met with great relish.
Taking Stock(holm)After an amusing overnight ferry ride, in which we were in a cabin deep in the hull (the part of the ship in which everyone in Titanic were Irish and died very early on) we have arrived in Stockholm. We're spending the next four nights with our Aunt Sophie (nan's sister). I'll post all about how much I love Stockholm later - provided Sophie doesn't feed us to death first...
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