Kyoto - First day

Today we set out to discover Kyoto. Since it was our first day in Japan it took us some time to get organized.

In the end we managed to find a place for  breakfast in a coffee shop in the Kyoto Station (which is right next to our hotel) and then we bought a bus day-pass. Here we encountered one of the strange Japanese cultural behaviors. Every time you enter a store everyone working there says "Irashai-masen" in a singsong intonation. The central ticket office is in the same space as a coffee shop, so for everyone who enters, the girls beyond the counter go "Irashai-masen" in a high-pitched voice. When we were there people entered every few seconds and initially we thought this was a machine.

Another thing that struck us as strange is people dressed in traditional cloths. We thought these were used for special occasion, but at least here in Kyoto we saw a lot of people going about dressed up like this.

We chose a trip from one of our tourbooks. We took the bus a bit out of the center, and climbed a hill on which stands the Kiyomizu Temple. The temple is a large complex that overlooks the city from a high vantage point.

The road to the temple is narrow and lined with shops and small shrines.

At the point we got to the temple (before 9am) we were all sweaty and red. It was clear that it was going to be a very hot day.

The temple itself consists of several large buildings, each with shrines and gongs.

There are various ways of praying in the temple, hanging a note on a wooden slate, tying a written note on a special rack, and many others.

One of the attractions were water fountains that you can drink from to absolve your issues.

In Japan, cleanliness is all important.

On the way out we met a local monk who prayed for people who donated to his collection bowl.

From Kiyomizu we walked down stairs and narrow lanes that were packed with local establishments (mainly restaurants and stores). This neighborhood is old and had special character.

We meandered down to Maruyama park where we saw ducks, large carps, flies and even ravens.

From the park we strolled past Yasaka Shrine, a large complex with many shrines.

Here people come to ring a bell, throw money into a collection of baskets, say a prayer, and then clap twice and bow.

We then walked through Shinmonzen St., which is an arts center. To our disappointment, this meant high-end galleries that didn't have anything that seemed striking to us. We did wonder through nice streets and saw the local people behavior.

At this stage we were soaking, disgustingly wet, and very tired. So, we took a bus to the hotel to shower and change clothes. We rested a bit and then set out again. This time we went to the International Manga Museum, which was supposed to be a center of Manga. The museum was a bit of a disappointment as it was mostly a big library of Manga, with a lot of people coming in to sit and read different Manga.

While we were there, a thunderstorm started brewing, and by the time we got out it was already raining cats and dogs. We sat down at a cafe that was right next to the Manga museum. On the cafe walls there was an array of drawing made but various Manga artist that, apparently just came in and drew wherever they wanted to.

After coffee, the rain has subsided and we decided to walk to a nice lunch place (although it was already close to 5pm). The book recommended a Soba restaurant a few blocks away. It took us a while to find it, and we had to ask for directions, as the small streets did not have clear signs, but in the end we found a small non-assuming house that was the restaurant.

This was the first place where we had to remove our sandals to get in, and there was a bit of confusion as to where we were supposed to leave them. We were saved from the low table and given a small table with chairs in a room with traditional mats. We had soba-maki (think sushi roll with noddles instead of rice) for appetizer and soba noddles in soup for lunch. It was tasty, but a bit bland.

After late lunch we continued walking and hit a local covered market full of small stores.

It connected with the local food market -  a street with many stalls of various kinds of foods stuff. Some of it exotic and some more common place. We came at an hour where many of the stalls were starting to close. Nonetheless, it was a sight to see.

We reached the main street and found ourselves in the middle of activities for the Gion Festival. This festival involves a procession of floats around the main part of the old city. The evenings before the procession the floats were stationed around this neighborhood and people came to see the floats and their ornaments up close. The streets were packed with people.

All the main streets were lined with stalls selling foods stuff. Some of them were weird things we didn't expect, while others were more western like.

Yael bought a serving of fried noodles, or Yakisoba as they are known in Japanese. She asked for them without the fried egg on top, and they were actually quite tasty.

 

After a while we became very tired and headed back to the hotel.

In Japan!

Woke up at 3:45am in Boston, flew 5 hours to SFO, and then additional 11hours to Osaka. Landed at 3:45pm there. Got on a train to Kyoto, arrived in very very rainy Kyoto at 5:30pm. Got key at the hotel, went to the room, Yael's bags where there, but no sign of the family. Quick shave and shower and I am semi-human again. Been awake 24++ hours by now.

Still no sign of family. Went down to the Lobby and there they were trying to find out if my flight got in in time. We had a quick dinner, and off to bed.

Japan is weird. Very similar but very different at the same time. More later...

Boston - North End

During the conference here I got to spend some time in Boston, and collect pictures from various places, mostly in the North End - the old Italian neighborhood of Boston.

4th of July in Boston

I arrived in Boston on the 3rd in the evening. Moran and Liron took me to eat Pho at a vietnamese restaurant on Harvard Sq, bringing back fond memories.

I woke early, and so went out to have coffee at Peet's Coffee, my old time hang-out during my time at Harvard. The place still retained the usual feel, including the educated homeless reading newspaper outside.

When I got back, Moran and Liron were up, and announced that it is going to be a very hot day, and thus we should get somewhere cool. They decided to go for the Boston Harbour Island. We took a boat from Long Wharf (next to the Aquarium) to Spectacle Island.

On the way we saw the USS Constitution, a famous old navy boat parked in Boston.

This was a small Island that went through periods of industrialization, and then served as a dump for various wastes, and eventually was rebuild with mud removed during the Big Dig.

Some people used the opportunity to sunbath, although it was very hot day.

Returning to the dock we saw birds, boats and sky writing.

 

From there we took a water taxi (a boat that used to be a school "bus" in Florida originally) to another island that is totally occupied by an old fort. Here we enjoyed the water, and then joined a guided tour. The tour guide was so bad we deserted from the tour and did explorations on our own.

 

 

Coming back from the water we felt the heat raise with every step inland. By the time we got the Quincy Market it was steaming, and so we stopped for an ice cream and saw street performance by two athletic guys.

After returning to the flat (which was burning hot) and reviving ourselves in the A/C for a while, we went to find a spot for the main event - the 4th of July fireworks. It takes place on the Charles River. The fireworks take off from a float in the middle of the river, and so the best place to sit is somewhere on either bank or on the two bridges. Since the roads around the area were closed, it turned out non-trivial to get there. We finally to a cab that brought us as close as it could, and from there we took on foot.

Many people came in earlier in the afternoon with camping chairs, food, drinks, and games to catch a spot. The river was a mass of boats of all shapes and sizes (from yachts to kayaks) that formed a flotilla around the perimeter of safe distance from the floats (the police was actively enforcing that). When we came in all the sidewalks on the river side were totally occupied and also much of the street.


We had friends from the Broad who were already in place, and so we went searching for them. (Try finding someone who reports that he is sitting across from a specific building on the other side of the river :-) Eventually, we caught up with them. We sat down on the street and chatted. At few times we noticed a bare spot closer to the water, and improved our position. There were large speakers that broadcast the Boston Pops performance (which in my taste was not so great).

And eventually at 10:30 the fireworks started. The show was for 30min and was very impressive, especially that we were that close to the source.

Taking pictures of fireworks without a tripod is a bit of a challenge, but sometimes the errors are fun to watch.

We then walked back home among throngs of crowed. Later I heard on the news that there were close to 1/2 million people in the area (!).

Connecting through Frankfurt

Sometimes travel does not work out as planned. I started the day at 5:30, getting a cab from St. Anne College to the Oxford central bus station to catch the 6am bus to Heathrow. Didn't have coffee, and so by the time we arrived in Heathrow I was thirsty and cranky. Run all the way to the terminal to find that check in for Lufthansa (and other star alliance members) is in a new part of the terminal. There it turns out that there are many kiosks and few agents. Good for the airlines, but slow for people (as they stood in the wrong lines, had troubles with the kiosks etc). By the time I got my luggage checked in it was an hour to the takeoff.

I quickly passed security and saw that I have 15 min to get coffee. Found the British equivalent of Starbacks and ordered coffee and something to bite. As I was drinking I realized that I don't have anything to read. So rushed to the bookstore to find a book. Settled on the "Girl with the dragon tattoo" (turned out to be a great book). Run back to the screen to see which gate I have to be at, and then there was an announcement that the gate will be known in 10min. I am too antsy to sit down and pace the shops. The screens changed for "some delay" for my flight. After 20 minutes I go to the agent and ask what is going on, and they tell me that it will be 5 more minutes. About 10 minutes (or more) later the gate was announced. I rush there and discover that we have to sit and wait until they fill the hall. Only then we did board buses that took us to the plane.

In the end we were more than an hour late. Landing in Frankfurt the pilot asked passengers to selected flights to contact an agent upon disembarking. Boston is not on the list. I check my ticket and see I have less than 50 min to take off. Then there is announcement that passengers to few cities (including Boston) were re-assigned to new flights. I will spare you the next 1/2 hour of running around. But in the end I find that I am on a 6pm flight to Boston.

I decide to go rest in the lounge instead of pacing the halls. It took 20 minutes to get to the gate area and find the lounge. It is located on the 5th floor of a "tower" overlooking the runway. Outside there is a heatwave and lounge windows are hot... There is plenty of space and food and drink and so I sit to write a bit. I end up playing with photographing planes that keep landing and taking off every few minutes.

At some point the Germany-Argentina match starts. Everyone sits to watch, while I continue to read. I hear the crowd roar after a while. And sometime later go buy to photograph and see the 2nd goal.
On the way to the plane while waiting in queuer to board I see the third goal, brining my total watching time in this Mondial to new heights.

The flight to Boston was fine, if a bit empty. I finish the book as we land. I get out to see the last minutes of daylight on the river.

Oxford (revisited)

I landed in Heathrow and took the "airline" bus to Oxford. A very nice service with a bus driver that seemed as though he came out of a Monty Pyton movie.

After about an hour I was in the bus station in the middle of bustling Oxford. Turns out that this is the time when prospective students come to check the different colleges. The city was full of young people, sometimes towing their parents along.

I took a cab to where I stayed, the St Anne College. I imagined a Harry Potter like building, and it was a slight disappointment to get to a new and modern glass-steel-wood building. The college is rather young and still has few hundred years before it develops its own atmosphere.

I landed the bags in the room, switched to sandals, took the computer and camera, and went out to find a place to eat and work and see the city in between. I landed in a pub on the main thoroughfare that had good beer and decent food. Sat down and finished comments on one article and answering some emails. Then I went out for a stroll. The city is full of old buildings, and the sky had wonderful textured clouds, so got myself a whole lot of HDR photographs.

Came back to the College and waited at 7pm for the planned dinner outing. Only one person showed up and so we went to the put to talk about science and diving. After a whole lot of text messages (sms) we managed to meet the rest of the party at a hip restaurant. By the time we finished dinner I declared that I was too tired to go to the pub with them.

Most of the next day was spent in a meeting room inside the Welcome Trust Genome Center, a rather large modern building in a science campus outside the heart of the city. We had good talks, lots of coffee and rather disappointing food for lunch and for the breaks. I gave the last talk and so had to keep the audience awake (partial success).

From there I walked by to the college with Gioacchino, an Italian collaborator, and one of his students. The day that started cloudy and cold turned to be hot and humid, and by the time we made it to the college (45min walk) I was over-heated. I told Gio that we must not miss the photo-ops on the way and managed to get some snaps on few of the sites we passed.

Since we had a special dinner at the college planned, I guess most of us expected to be in some Harry Potter like dinning hall. Instead we were on the main floor of the college meeting hall, which felt like eating in the middle of the lobby of a hotel. I am not sure if we paid extra for the treat, but if I had I would have been disappointed.

After dinner we went to a pub next door and had heated discussions about recent advances in molecular biology. It was actually good to refine my point of view about some of this stuff.

Today started out with a light rain, and so I took my jacket with me. The whole day was a "closed door" session of the PIs on the project. It turned out to be a rather interesting discussion as to where we can take the project, and I actually felt that I contributed.

At 4pm we disbanded, I walked back to the college, and again turns out that the afternoon is very hot.

Got back, took a shower, and searched for a local place to have a beer and some bite for dinner. Turned out that reasonably close was a nice pub/beer garden. On the way I passed a street I already photographed last time I was here, that once again presented interesting possibilities.

Now I am closing down as tomorrow I have to leave here at 5:30am to get to the airport on time.