Posts

  • A Glimpse of Kyoto

    A Glimpse of Kyoto

    It was too short. That sums up my visit of Kyoto. Bad weather on top of tight viewing schedules and complicated bus transfers resulted in only a few hours in the city. Thus we missed the Fushimi Inari Shrine, the long stretch of beautiful, red torii gates, and the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove – two of Kyoto’s…

  • Osaka in a Day

    Osaka in a Day

    A gust of wind hit my face like a sharp slap as I stepped out of the warmth of New Osaka Hotel. The morning was blustery, almost 0 degrees C, a true winter morning. We marched to the Shin-Osaka Station across the street, gloved hands in pockets and heads bowed against the cold.

  • Tokyo Time Machine

    Tokyo Time Machine

    Eighteen months. That’s how long it’s been since these photos were taken. Too long ago, to be honest. I’d much rather be back here now, staring out the Shinkansen window at the blazing countryside, seeing the face Japan takes for late Spring.

  • Salt Spring Island and More Quaint Canadiana

    Salt Spring Island and More Quaint Canadiana

    “It’s so cute, I want to squeeze it!” I believe those were my first words to Sandy the first time we took a walk around his hometown of Salt Spring Island. I also remembered saying “I feel like I’m in Stars Hollow!” and “Your whole town looks like a pretty movie set!” Suffice it to…

  • Finding “Oomph” in Nature

    Finding “Oomph” in Nature

    I stared up the rock bluff, an “in your face!” finale to the tough hike I’ve had. After two hours, Sandy and I were almost at the summit of the Prairie View Mountain Trail in Kananaskis Country, Alberta. My legs were raging, my chest was tight, and my sides were in stitches, but I had…