oooOOOH…SAKA!!! — Osaka, Kinki, Japan...

Osaka, Kinki, Japan

The next morning we had a very peaceful walk along the water and ate breakfast and watched the fisherman.

After a relaxing time we took the train toward Sannomiya again this time all the way to Osaka. Once there we had a lot of time until we could check in, so we decided to try to do stuff kind of, on the way. Luckily right near the Osaka JR station was Umeda Sky Tower, maybe my favorite spot in Osaka. It is an amazingly constructed futuristic 173m high set of towers connected at the top by what they call the “Floating Sky Garden.” It is incredible in all ways, from the way it looks from the outside, to the sleek design of the inside, to the black lights at night and the beautiful gardens and parks surrounding it.

Anyway, we spent quite a while there and ended up eating at the fancy restaurant there with an amazing view of the city. There is not a lot to say about it, except it is just a neat place to be and see and it has a fantastic 360 degree view of the city.

After Umeda, we were getting pretty sick of our packs and decided we should find our hostel and see, if we can’t check in, if we could just leave our bags so we could walk around more freely. Luckily for us our hostel allowed us to check-in early. The lady who greeted us was incredibly friendly and the hostel itself was very cool. I would highly recommend it to anyone staying in Osaka ( assuming you are ok with the whole hostel experience ).

After settling in and having a brief nap, we decided we’d check out this Mexican place Jess had read about in Shinsaibashi. Little did we know at the time, Shinsaibashi is one of the neatest and most popular locations in Osaka. Right at the top of the subway station was a major intersection surrounded by huge lighted billboards for major designer stores such as Channel, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Cartier.

We found the Mexican restaurant with surprising ease and had a wonderful Mexican meal. It was really nice to have Mexican again and it was actual Mexican food too, the chef was even Mexican.

After some food we thought “why not check out this area?” and it turned out to be one of the coolest places and surprisingly few tourists. My guess is even though it is very interesting, there isn’t really actually any attractions. It’s really just a massive area filled with narrow streets, cool shops and funky bars and restaurants, but it was very enjoyable. A few of the major streets were lined with so many colourful signs and bright lights, it was overwhelming. The area around the canal was also very interesting.

I am afraid, I wasn’t really in a picture taking mood that night, and wanted to just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere, so no pics! But I’m sure you can find pictures of it on google, if you’re interested.

Once we had browsed ourselves silly, we headed back for some sleep after a very long day.

A Pool Weekend — Orlando, Florida, United States...

Orlando, Florida, United States

Rusty had received an offer to stay at a bluegreen resort in Orlando named The Fountains (http://www.bluegreenonline.com/explore/resortDetail.aspx?ResortID=14). The resort has a 75,000-square-foot pool with two twisting water slides, a zero-entry pool, and interactive water fountains, which the kids loved.

Immediatelly after work I picked up Rebecca and Chris from their school and we drove up to Grandma and Grandpa’s where we met up with Rusty and Hubert. We had dinner there and then made our 3 hour treck up to Orlando. The kids managed the trip well thanks to a portable DVD player and Spongebob Squarepants )  On arrival at the resort we were accomodated in a very nice 2 bedroom suite.

Saturday morning Rusty attended a three hour sales pitch from the resort (part of the offer terms) while I took the kids to breakfast and thereafter it was pool time. We spent the entire day at the pool, and the kids loved it. There was a small water fountain park built within the pool and two moderate sized water slides. Well after almost seven hours of being in the pool we all looked like prunes. During lunch there was a three year old alligator being displayed to the resort guests. While Hubert and Rebecca where reluctant (at first) to hold the gator Chris grabbed right on to the poor animal. He wanted to bring it home and keep it as a pet  )

We settled on having dinner at the Olive Garden, and we were all terribly dissapointed with the quality of the food. This is the second bad experience I have at this restaurant. Anyway, as we were ready to leave the restaurant a torrrential rain came down that was set to last for a couple of hours. I had to swim out to the car and then drive it up on the sidewalk along the main street where Rusty had to run the kids out one at a time. Kids thought this was hilarious. On the drive back to the resort all three kids started dozing off – it was a long day for them.

Sunday morning we found ourselves back at the pool till noon when we had to check out of the resort. After a quick lunch we made our way back south. Once again “thank you SpongeBob”.

That night was the first night Rebecca and Chris stayed with me at my new home. The place was still a mess as I had boxes lying all over the place and furniture still not put in their place, but the kids were really excited to be staying there. Rebecca was already planning where her High School Musical poster should go and where she wants her things placed. Chris just wanted to play with his cars, but then told me “Daddy, your house is pretty”. How sweet is that?  )

the first of many long distance bus journeys — S...

Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

so after finishing our fantastic trip to the Amazon rainforest, we had a morning to kill in Manaus before our flight back to Sao Paulo. Manaus is an industrial town built mainly around its port (that being the main route in to the place apart from through the small airport) and the export of its important raw materials. More recently its taking advantage of the tourist boom and a government initiative that has made it a tax free zone for industry. All in all it makes it a grim place that suffers from a lot of pollution, is quite run down, but is the typical spot people use as a base to see the rainforest.

Daniel, the guy who met us at the airport, insisted we had a look at the Manaus opera house at least, so thats what we did in the morning before our flight. Its quite nice, but doesn’t really redeem Manaus as a worthwhile place to visit apart from as a good base for jungle trekking! We then set off with our bags, in the stifling mid day heat upwards of 35 degrees C, to catch a bus to the airport. Needless to say we were hot and tired but, we made our flight in good time, and upon landing in Sao Paulo at 9pm, we decided to try and make the 11.30pm overnight bus to Campo Grande (a city of the Pantanal region, to do some MORE wildlife spotting!), mainly because we had no real desire to see much of Sao Paulo. We luckily caught a connecting transfer bus to the coach station pretty much immediately after collecting our bags, and made it in time to get our tickets and get on the coach.

This was the first of many LONG coach journeys we’ll be taking in South America. At 16 hours its by no means the longest but it was still pretty horrible! Luckily the coaches out here are a lot more comfortable for longer journeys than the ones in the UK. The seats recline a long way and there are pull down leg rests so we slept a fair bit, and despite there being nothing of note but scrubland and the odd town between Sao Paulo and Campo Grande, all in all it wasn’t too bad a start.

We arrived in Campo Grande just after 3pm local time a little bit dazed from our 24hrs of travelling, at the local bus station and stumbled across the street to the hostel we’d looked up. Turns out they do excellent and well priced tours of the Pantanal wetlands region, so we’re booked on one to leave tomorrow morning for 3 nights! Its all a bit non-stop at the moment, but after showering and eating a proper meal we’re feeling a lot better.

Amazon Rainforest Adventure Day 2 — Amazon River...

Amazon River, State of Amazonas, Brazil

After a fitful nights sleep, scared of being attacked by giant insects, we were woken at 5.15 am to go out birdwatching. We witnessed a beautiful sunrise over the rainforest from the lake, then saw a number of different species of birds, including lots of hawks, kites and kingfishers, and also some pink dolphins in the lake. After returning to the lodge for breakfast, we changed our boat for a motorised canoe so we could investigate some of the “canals” in the area around the lake. Once we’d got to the mouth of the canal, the motor was stashed in some trees, and it was all paddling and hacking with a machete from there!

Without the motor, you got a real sense of how peaceful and quite the jungle is during the day compared to when it comes alive at night. The gentle paddling also allowed us to see some more species of bird, and Ceciliano to show us how the locals go about catching their fish. He set up a long net across the breadth of the canal, at the start of the canoeing, which had a about 6 fish trapped in it when we came back, and also showed us some spear fishing. At one point he stood up on the front of the canoe, nearly tipping it, and fired a spear from a bow, and managed to spear a large catfish… needless to say we ate well at lunch!

Following our morning activities and lunch, we packed up camp and headed off by the motorised canoe, deeper into the river system, to a more remote part of the jungle. Once our guides had found somewhere suitable looking we set up camp. After an hour or so we had our hammocks up, covered by mosquito nets, under a palm leaf roof! We ate dinner at dusk surrounded by mosquitos, and headed straight to bed after at only 7pm, after seeing what might have been quite a dangerous snake when we were brushing our teeth!

Once we were in our hammocks, Herman told us some folk stories about the jungle to pass the time, but I think we were both content just listening to the sounds of the rainforest, which comes alive at night. The loudest things were the many types of frogs and the screaming of howler monkeys. A number of times we heard some loud rustling noises close to the camp and our guides got up a few times to investigate, but we survived the night, in part due to Ceciliano’s loud snoring probably scaring the animals away!

Day One of Trip To South Korea — Seoul, Korea Re...

Seoul, Korea Rep.

Located in the heart of the city, Lotte World is the perfect spot for entertainment and sightseeing. It is a theme park filled with thrilling rides, an ice rink, different kinds of parades as well as a folk museum, a lake, and much more. About 6,000,000 visitors are welcomed every year, and about 10% of the visitors are foreigners. The structure inside makes use of the natural sunlight, and it is open for visitors all year round, regardless of the weather.

Lotte World is divided into a ”Adventure’ theme once you are inside the building, and outside is a ‘Magic Island’ theme next to Seokchonhosu Lake. Lotte World Adventure has certain districts representing different countries with various kinds of facilities and souvenir shops. You can enjoy watching parades, numerous films, laser shows, and a variety of international cuisines even during the holidays. Magic Island is situated outdoors, where the dazzling Magic Castle is located as well as thrilling high-altitude rides that you can’t experience elsewhere. Be sure to also check out the peaceful walking trail around the lake.

One of the major reasons tourists are attracted to Lotte World is the amusement rides. The Gyro Drop and Gyro Swing are the top pleasers- a steep drop with an altitude of 70 meters, or taste the thrilling sensation of being inside a tornado. You may need to take your shoes off before you get on since mostly likely they will come off during the ride. The Flume Ride is a long boat with a high-altitude wave, and the Spanish Pirate Ship swings at an electrifying 75 degrees. Besides the excitement of these rides, Lotte World also contains a variety of parades and laser shows.

The Tiffany Store in Columbus — Nanjing, Jiangsu...

Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Tiffany & Co. opened an approximately 6,200-square-foot store in Easton Town Center, an upscale lifestyle center in Columbus, Ohio, that was developed by The Georgetown Company and Steiner + Associates. The store occupies a prime corner location in a newly renovated area of the 1.7 million square-foot center that is noted for shopping, dining and entertainment, in addition to luxury residences, hotels and office properties with landscaped walkways, fountains and green spaces. The store here is providing various tiffany collections with exquisite tiffany designs.
As we all know, the jeweler??s Tiffany jewelleryspectacular diamondsElsa Peretti Open Wave ring were well represented by models in Tiffany Blue gowns by Angel Sanchez and in showcases filled with exquisite engagement diamonds, including the classic Tiffany Setting; patented Lucida diamond cut and setting; lavish Tiffany Legacy ring; and Tiffany Novo, a brilliant cushion cut. Customers may also choose from Tiffany Celebration rings, brilliant colored gemstone jewelry, watches, and the collections of exclusive Tiffany designers Elsa Peretti, Paloma Picasso, Jean Schlumberger and Frank Gehry.
A wide selection of sterling silver jewelry is available in the store, highlighting the jeweler??s reputation as master of American silver design. Among the collections are Tiffany Somerset mesh jewelry and iconic charms such as the Tiffany Blue Box, Atlas, 1837, and Return to Tiffany. In addition, an array of accessories and crystal gifts anticipate customers?? varied tastes and desires.
The store??s fa?ade features a flamed and polished black stone arch, combined with architectural elements of Tiffany & Co. bangleNew York flagship store, including Art Deco-inspired doors and metalwork in brushed stainless steel. Visitors enter the store through a gallery of rusticated stone that opens to a stylish interior with walnut paneling, brushed stainless steel showcases, custom furnishings in a neutral palette and hand-painted wall coverings that altogether create an elegant and welcoming environment. The store is another sale center of Tiffany & Co.

Well, Blow Me Down — Moab, Utah, United States...

Moab, Utah, United States

I went through drizzle, rain and hail before getting to Moab, Utah and Arches Nat’l Park.  The famous red color of the rocks is from iron oxidizing.  I passed an area of petrified sand dunes.  Imagine how much time that took. 

The famous Wall Arch, forming even as Egypt was beginning pyramids, proudly here when the Declaration of Independence was signed, finally succumbed to gravity and erosion on August 5, 2008 falling to the Garden of Eden area below.  

I undertook one pretty steep hike to photograph “Delicate Arch” and met a lot of people going and coming.  It was extremely windy and at the top of the trail it was so bad, I could barely keep my subject in the LCD screen.  It would be wonderful to actually camp among these spires, needles and arches and watch the stars at night and think of all that has gone before to form these wonders.

Back at the motel I sat in the spa and relaxed sore muscles while Charlie tried lapping at the bubbles.

what type of winter boots should i buy? — Putia...

Putian, Fujian, China

what type of winter boots should i buy?
I’m not sure what type of ugg boots to buy since I’ve never really worn cardy boots
and im moving to boston this year.. im not really into ugg boots sale because they’re uggly and almost every girl had them last year when i was visitingor or boots with fur and heels and stuff like that.. so if you have any suggestions im all ears
btw i only pretty much wear black or grey converse sneakers so im not really fashionable or anything.

Four foreign ninja’s raid Himeji! — Himeji...

Himeji, Kinki, Japan

The four of us ( Me, Jess, Saffiya and Nichelle ) all made our way bright and early to Tarumi station ( near our hostel ) to catch a train to the main event of our little trip…or at least the inspiration for it: Himeji Castle. You see Himeji Castle is one of the oldest and largest and definately most famous castles in Japan and it was soon going to be closing for 4-6 years for restoration. Last week was what is called her “Silver Week” which means all the ALT’s get Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday off, so Jess decided to take Thursday and Friday off as well to get a whole week off! Nichelle and Saffiya opted not to, so they were going to be heading home later that day.

Anyway, so we took the train to Himeji City and crossed the main street right outside the station and there it was, at the top of a hill at the end of major thoroughfare, Himeji Castle in all its glory. We stopped at this really cute basement garden cafe for breakfast and we were off!

There is not much to tell about the castle ( you really need to see the pictures ) but it is an old castle, originally built in 1346, but destroyed and rebuilt many times. The current keep dates back to 1601 and many of the other buildings around are even older.

If you want to find our more, there is A LOT of info out there, just google it! But for me I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

After a few hours at Himeji, we caught the train back to Sannomiya and bid farewell to our comrades Saffiya and Nichelle.

Since we only had one more night in Kobe, Jess and I decided to retrace familiar territory. So we headed back down to the harbour and had a fantastic night.

It started out with the Maritime museum, which to be honest, wasn’t the most amazing place I’ve ever been. It was interesting, but not great. I was mostly drawn in by the amazing building it’s in!

By the time we were finished in there we were quite hungry and so headed over to this massive shopping center called “Mosaic” we saw the night before. We ate the most amazing buffet. It was a little pricey for what we have become accustomed to here, but pretty good deal for what you could get back home. It was 2500 yen each ( so about 29 CAD ) and you could eat as much as you wanted…and there was a lot. There was fresh crab legs, pasta, thin crust pizza, cakes, ice cream a chocolate waterfall, fresh fruit salads, boubibase, paella and more. So considering there is no tipping in Japan. ( and I don’t mean it’s optional, I mean you don’t do it ) it’s a pretty good deal for 30 bucks each.

After stuffing ourselves silly at the buffet, we spent the rest of the night hanging around the market, the harbour or the beautiful neighborhood surrounding. An interesting thing in Japan, is that they make shopping ( even if you don’t buy anything ) an experience in itself. It really is something just to go in the many flavors of establishments and browse the goods and check out the culture and people around. Consumerism is huge in Japan, but they pull it off in a much more enjoyable fashion then back home. It is entertaining to go shopping here.

Anyway, after a beautiful night down by the sea, we headed back to our hotel for one more night. The remainder of our adventure, would take place in Osaka.

The Tonquin Valley — Jasper, Alberta, Canada...

Jasper, Alberta, Canada

Another favoured hike is to the Tonquin Valley. The attractions are the woodland caribou, the spectacular Ramparts an area home to woodland caribou, but renowned for being wet, boggy, thick with mosquitoes and covered in snow until it is almost time for snow again. Hence we went late in the year, once the moquitoes had hopefully been killed off by the frost.

The are numerous campgrounds in the area, but we decided to stop at the closest one (Marmot), 19 km up the valley and about one kilometer before Amethyst Lake. This worked out pretty well for us, as when we emerged the following morning our only company in the camp ground greeted us with offers of hot water. Would we like a pancake? How about another one? And another? They had come in on horseback (plus a pack horse) and were laden with all the comforts of home – big tent, enormous inflatable mattress, plenty of food. All that plus the extended range horses give you!
 
On the way up the valley we were pleased to come across one of the woodland caribou – a beautiful dark grey beast springing through the undergrowth.

We had ambitious plans. We wanted to see Amethyst Lake and Moat Lake, but also get to the head of another highly rated valley. So we tried to cover the extra 4.5 kms to Moat Lake on the evening we walked in. This did not work out, we were tired and short of time and we repeatedly lost the only sporadically marked trail. As the late afternoon wore on, I was increasingly worried that we were getting into that time of day when seeing a grizzly (this is prime habitat) was likely. Much as I want to meet a grizzly, there is a time and a place. We turned back, having worn ourselves out for nothing.

Our breakfast providers told us that the hike were were planning (roughly a 30 km day) was not much fun, although they hadn’t made it to the end. So we contented ourselves with exploring the local valley and looking for wildlife. We didn’t see much. However, the yellow fall colours of the undergrowth against the Ramparts towering over Moat Lake and the Amesthyst Lakes are certainly worth the effort of getting into the valley.