long island for a year

Last night I couldn't sleep well: my nose was a bit congested and I had a terrible head-ache...so I got mad at myself about the last post. It was the typical scene with a little angel sitting on one shoulder and a little devil sitting on the other one, arguing about this facebook craze. The devil was right, asking "Why on hell would you wish to add another family member to an already large family?". On the other hand the angel was also right, asking "Shouldn't we forgive, even if he voted for B.?". Basically this is what bothered me most; in the end I decided to forgive - but not forget - and kind of forgive myself too, because I seem anyway to have the urge to find more relatives.  Might it be that I am often around and feel a bit rootless?Whatever!I have a more fun story  about relatives. This all started on our last Japan trip, to be correct at the welcome banquet that always takes place when one of Ralph's conferences begins. At the reception we ha...

In a freezing cold December day, after fighting with my daughter who is - if you ask me what's wrong with her - possessed by evil spirits from time to time...I find support in GUESS WHAT? CHOCOLATE I don't necessarily eat kilos of it at once, but I need some. Thanks to the kind people who know me so well and instead of flowers just bring me a bar of dark chocolate (more than 70% cacao that is) as a present. Sorry for those who bring flowers, I like them a lot but it obviously ain't enough to keep them alive. Sigh. Said that, I will post my last Japan pics, those of Shikoku. I wish we had more time to visit this wonderful area of Japan - will there be a next time?I don't know. In the distance you can se the , Seto Ō-hashi bridge 瀬戸大橋 that connects Honshu with Shikoku, namely the beautiful old city of Kurashiki in Okayama-ken and that of Sakaide in Kagawa-ken, stretching for 13 km over five islands on the Seto Sea. If you ever happen to stop here, there is a Kinokun...

Momotarō is the peach-boy of Japanese legends. These days I am making my own Momotarō story: whenever my daughter asks me "Are you my mom?", I answer "No, I just found you". Anyway, we found this pretty statue while walking in Okayama, the Vegas of western Japan, a city rising in the middle of nowhere but with one of the most beautiful gardens I've ever visited - the Korakuen. Yatsuhashi Bridge (八橋) から衣 きつゝなれにし つましあれば はるばるきぬる たびをしぞ思 Karagoromo / kitsutsu narenishi / tsuma shi areba / harubaru kinuru / tabi o shi zo omou I have a beloved wife / familiar as the skirt / of a well-worn robe / and so this distant journeying / fills my heart with grief from Ise Monogatari 伊勢物語

Kiyomizudera is one of my favorite temples, because it combines an amazing architecture - I've told you I am a fan of such constructions, maybe I have been an architect in one of my previous lives...- and a spectacular view over Kyoto. Since it was rainy just before we got to the terrace of the temple, we got the next illumination with sun piercing the clouds - isn't it inspiring? ooohhhh....ehhhhh.....aaahhhhh (Japanese for a wesome) no single nail was used to build this temple

Nishiki Market stand From Teramachidori If you are a temple freak - like I was and still partly am - Kyoto is the place to be. The first time in Kyoto, nine years ago, I was desperately craving for illumination, so this time I decided to take it easy - it is part of that illumination to know that you don't enjoy temples while your kids are complaining and crying because they are tired or hungry - or just because to them torii - the gate in front of shinto shrines - all look alike and Buddha is only a fat man (I try to see through the eyes of a child, of course to me THERE ARE substantial differences!!!). Kobe is a convenient location for a day trip to Japan's ancient capital, so I took this opportunity and got on the local trains to reach Kyoto and stroll around, visit the Nishiki Market and, as part of the deal, walk through Teramachi Street ( 寺町通 , teramachidōri ) a shopping arcade surrounded by temples - or the other way round. Not long ago I had read about anko (red...

Here comes one of the toughest part of our Kobe tour... After running around so much, Carlotta finally decided that she was ready to be transported. In Kobe Kitano, literally the northern area of Kobe, there are mountains from which you can enjoy a wonderful sight of the city and take a stroll through the herb garden, where you can find some hidden beauties. The price to pay to get there - and we aren't talking about the entrance fee - is a ten minute ride on the rope-way. As you probably know, I don't quite like the heights...for a number of reasons. Can you picture me on such a trap? These are some pics I could take; if you mean they are not good it's because everything was shacking!! If going up wasn't enough.... but the view is great ain't it?

There is a strange tricky monster in my mind, which makes me seek things western if I am in Far East and makes me seek things eastern if I am on the western side of the world - but it is a matter of definition where east and west are, right? Me, Carlotta and little Bastian made it to the Hyogo Museum and stared at a lot of art-works. When I say "stared" I really mean it, since the title of the exhibition was "Visual deception" it took some time before you could figure out what was real and what just illusion. I was incredibly captured by a work of Patrick Hughes , displaying one of my favorite cities...

Forget riding the jet-ski for a second!!! We had - sorry, I meant we joyfully took part to the social program bus-tour organized for scientists' accompanying persons. Do you like bus tours? Do you like Japanese bus tours? Anyway, we went to the Arima Onsen - nothing for me with both kids (too bad because I love to soak in hot water). After riding the bus to Arima, we hit the road again to reach the Akashi Bridge observation point on Awaji Island. The longest suspension bridge of the world just there in front of us. I started being interested in such amazing constructions as bridges, dams, towers...escalators oops...maybe the last aren't so amazing but hey, useful!!!

I like cities on the water, be it a river, a bay, the ocean or a lake. Especially harbors are a source of energy and of new ideas. Japanese harbors though are a bit depressing, being strictly dedicated to the import of goods and to the industry. Not far away from downtown Kobe though you can find an area that "celebrates" the harbor with a panoramic wheel, a sightseeing tower and a nautical museum hosting a large ship exhibition which Carlotta found very exciting, mostly because of other means of transportation she could pretend to ride....

Kobe is a rather international city: it has a large harbor, a number of ethnic restaurants, an area where a bunch of European homes were built - a little Shanghai without ever being as crowded as Shanghai. The big earthquake in 1995 destroyed most of it, so I can't be sure of how much of the original flavor remains. One of my favorite areas was the Motomachi area, bustling with life and packed with small shops and restaurants, mostly located under arcades or under the railroad (saving room is a national sport). On top of that, add the small but busy Chinatown, a place where you might forget for a while you are in Japan and where the intense and delicious smell of dumplings and Peking duck rolls fill the air. How did it go? Give me a gate and I'll turn it into a Chinatown?

I know, I know...you thought I was lost in translation and I didn't want to go back to the States but I am back, even after the 12 hour long flight and the usual stop at Washington - late because of weather delay, missed th e connecting flight, short night at the M arriot and flight the next day (I could get used to that procedure). After recovering from some jet-leg, I realized I am well behind schedule with my posting and now I have to report about our trip . Let's start from Odawara A fter flying from NY La Guardia to Washington Dulles and from there to Narita, we were taking the train to Odawara, which is not far away from Chigasaki. We decided to spend a night in Odawara before getting to Kobe, because we wanted to meet Chizuko - see previous post and picture - and also because we wanted to have some sleep between the long flight and the Shinkansen ride. We arrived on the very day the tropical storm Melor hit the coast in the Tokyo area. The wind was quite strong, local ...