Category Archives: Travel

We Are In Japan, But Jetlagged

Japan, Travel
The view from our window.

I love Tokyo. If I had to eat only in one city for the rest of my life, Tokyo would be it. Anthony Bourdain

Toyko is the perfect mix between tradition and modern culture. Kazuo Ishiguro

Here in Tokyo, they’re not just hard-working but almost violently cheerful. Down at the Peacock, the change flows like tap water. The women behind the registers bow to you, and I don’t mean that they lower their heads a little, the way you might if passing someone on the street. These cashiers press their hands together and bend from the waist. Then they say what sounds to me like, “We, the people of this store, worship you as we might a god.” David Sedaris

We left San Francisco at about noon Sunday. We flew for almost twelve hours above the clouds in daylight to land at Narita International Airport slightly before four o’clock Monday afternoon. An hour and ten minutes later, by express train, we were in Tokyo. By the time we got to our hotel, it was dark, and we were beat. We stumbled about six blocks to a small restaurant whose name I don’t remember and had a couple of very nice snacks, like oysters on Mapo vermicelli and fried chicken with lots of green onions. Then we stumbled back to our hotel and crashed. 

The 29th started cloudy and ended rainy, with a forecast of one to two inches of rain. We are in the spin-off of Tropical Cyclone Kristine, which is plowing through the Philippines. We spent most of the day inside, much of it looking for a replacement lens shade that I somehow lost. The first place that we went was a six-story super Fry’s that had everything camera related but lens shades. We finally found one in another camera store several subway stops away.

If all this sounds dismal, it would be except that the food is so good and the people are so delightful. Michele thought it would be more convenient if she reserved a wheelchair for me when we landed at Narita, and the only reason I could think of was to say, “No.” was to save my pride. I was wheeled through the airport and around gates by two women and one man. All three were adorable, and they acted like I was doing them a big favor.

Tokyo is huge. California, the most populous state in the US, has a population of 39,128,162; Tokyo has a population of 37,115,035. Here is a subway map to give you an idea of its size.  

But the kicker is that the city works so well. It is clean, really clean, safe, and friendly. It may be my favorite city after only two days. Here are some pictures; more later.

Apple’s corner of calm amid the choas

A Couple Thoughts while Leaving Paris (not for long, I hope)

Cousins' Trip, Travel
“Everybody leaves Paris for the Summer, nobody is there but tourists” almost everybody I talked to about going to Paris in the summer. First, a couple of caveats: we are not actually staying in the Paris of the guidebooks, we are one stop on the Metro – subway – past the ring road that defines the edge of the tourist Paris, and eight stops from the Bastille station. Every morning, we walk a couple of blocks, get on the Metro, and get off somewhere near an amazing monument or museum and every day, no matter what the hour, the Metro is crowded with a mix of tourists and locals (mostly locals). I was prepared to be intimidated by Paris, having been told that it is pretty formal, that nobody wears shorts, but the July Paris, this July Paris at least, is less formal than San Francisco (I brought a blazer and slacks that I’ve never even taken out of the suitcase). At first, I thought it was just the tasteless tourists that were wearing shorts, my mind got changed when  we were having dinner in a nice restaurant near the Pompidou Center and a local couple comes in with the guy in cargo shorts (we knew they were local because they kissed the owner on both cheeks).  
A First Thursday Gallery opening in the shadow of the Pompidou Center
At first, Paris seemed impossibly huge but, walking around, it seems to me that it is not so much huge as dense. I have no idea how many museums are in Paris but we hardly scratched the surface and didn’t see several that we were near the top of my list, like the Musee National Du Moyen Age that Linda Melton recommended or the Musee des Arts et Metiers or, or, or….
Institut Du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute’s Museum)
It may be impossible to get a lousy meal in Paris but a truly memorable meal is not that easy and certainly not very cheap.
Second to last course in a memorable five course dinner at Restaurant Claude Colliot
Michele enjoying excellent Dim Sum at Chez Ann
Travers de porc rôti au Miel et Romarin, Purée de carottes – one of the best ribs and carrots I’ve ever had –  in the foreground with Filet de Loup de Mer, PoèLèe de lègumes in the background    
 After French, the language we heard on the street the most was English which is certainly not a surprise, but it was a surprise that the third most heard language was Chinese. There are Chinese tourists everywhere and not just in groups, there are lots of Chinese families in Paris, I’m thinking they are the new Americans. 
One surprising thing to me – although it shouldn’t have been given the number of bombings – is the strong, militarized, police presence (usually one of them is carrying an assault rifle) 
Two last things, the Parisians are very serious about both cars – many of which we can’t get here – and graffiti.  
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A week in Lyon is probably not enough, but a week in Paris is crazy not enough.