Toyko

I am on reserve in July.  This means that I don't
choose where I fly, the company sends me where they need me.It seems that Narita, Japan is my official holiday destination.  This is a very senior trip, and I am very junior, at least with the company.  That means that I don't get to go there very often.  I hadn't been there since last Thanksgiving Day, and I was assigned the trip again on Independence Day.  Neither day is a big event in Japan, but you lose it anyway when crossing the international dateline.

I flew with Monica, a flight attendant that I had never met before, and I liked her instantly.  A thirteen hour flight gives you ample time to get to know a person better. She was going into town, after we landed, to look for some Japanese clothing for her young grandaughter.  I asked to tag along, so we headed into Narita together to do some shopping and get some dinner.

Narita is a beautiful little town, with a lively business district. The main street is easy to get to, and very interesting to walk down and explore.

The entrance to the Narita Cemetery is on the main street,

with beautiful monument

and well attended and

honored ancestors.

The thing I really enjoy the most about Japan is the appreciation for aesthetics.

The Japanese
 bring a
creativity,a
sense
of design,
proportion,
and beauty to
every task.

Everywhere you look
on the street, there is
a fountain, a plant, a
statue or display,




















creating
something beautiful
to enhance the area.

We saw many school children on their way home.  These little girls were delightful to watch.

We found an adorable outfit for Monica's grandaughter, then stopped at the noodle shop for dinner. I loved this artfully 

trained tree.  I guess it is a bonsai, even though it is larger than

most I have seen.

Before we left the next day, I walked through the beautiful
garden and around the koi pond at our hotel.  There was a
low mist and a mystical feel to the morning.  

Maybe I will be back again on Thanksgiving.  I hope so.

Lazy Honolulu

I had two more Honolulu layovers in June, and they were as pleasant as the early part of the month had been.  The weather is hot this time of year, but the island trade winds were blowing for a welcome cooling effect.



I walked for awhile toward Diamond Head, past the statue of the legendary
Duke Kahanamoku

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Kahanamoku

welcoming visitors to his beach.

                                                                                                  

I walked back to Waikiki and stopped for dinner at Duke's, to enjoy all the historic photos, and the ocean view.  Duke's is right on Waikiki Beach between the Moana Surfrider and the Royal Hawaiian.  I got there before the dinner crowds arrived, as it gets pretty crowded as evening and sunset come on.

http://www.dukeswaikiki.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=22

I love their seafood luau in coconut cream sauce, but the menu has something for everyone's taste.




I made a reservation on this catamaran, on the beach directly in front of Duke's, for a sunset sail on my layover next week.

I sat on my balcony after dinner and enjoyed all sights and sounds of Waikiki at night.

The next day I was on a mission to find manapua on Waikiki Beach.  I had tasted the baked manapua on my last layover here, and I wanted to find the steamed kind.  I was repeatedly told that I would have to go to Chinatown to find them.  Since I had already been there this month, I really wanted to stay here on the beach.

I went to the Royal Hawaiian Center, weaving in and out of the grounds of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

I stopped in at the beautiful Abhasa Spa to snap a photo of their new outdoor massage area.   They offer so many different massages.  My favorite is the Lomi Lomi Hawaiian style massage with a sea salt foot scrub.

This is absolute heaven, to me at least.  It is an expensive indulgence, when you really feel the need to be pampered.

http://www.abhasa.com/E/spasalon.html

I stopped at Panya, a bakery and cafe in the Royal Hawaiian Center, for a bacon, ham, onion and cheese roll.  I wanted a little snack to take with me on the flight home.  As usual, I ended up with several delicious pastries.
http://panyagroup.com/pastries-menu.asp

A young man in the bakery told me that I might find manapua here in the center at the Beijing Restaurant.

I went upstairs to this beautiful, authentic restaurant with lovely views out over the grounds of the Royal Hawaiian.  Most pleasing was that they had exactly what I was looking for on their menu, steamed pork dumplings or, as called in Chinese, cha siu baau.







I returned to my room, where
I sat on the balcony and enjoyed the rewards of my hunt!

If I have to say whether I enjoyed the baked or the
steamed manapua the most, the baked win my vote.





These steamed treats were really wonderful.  It was the same sweet barbequed pork inside, and the dumpling was light and tender. I am just more of a bread person, so the baked rolls were more my style.

When I returned for
my last layover
of the month, I walked
along the beach almost
to Diamond
Head where
I met up
with my
friend,
Chris,who
lives here
and has
a kayak.







The walk
along the
beach is
always
interesting.
















Diamond
Head was
beautiful
against
the blue
sky and
clouds.


I have only paddled alone, and Chris has a two man kayak, so I was a student from here on.
We went quite a way out from shore, and the views were spectacular. I couldn't take my camera with me, since it is not waterproof.  Next time I will buy a sports camera........maybe one of the disposable ones.  I learned a lot about kayaking as a team.  It is really a bit of work, but well worth the effort.
I learned how to get out of the kayak into the water, and how to get back in.  Not as difficult as I thought it would be.  I don't think I disgraced myself.
I didn't take the sunset cruise that I booked on my last trip, since I was going out on the water in the kayak.  I'll save that for another trip.  I'm watching all of the youtube kayak instruction videos, and looking forward to the next time I am in Hawaii.

A Different Side of London

What a fun time I had in London........again!

It started with a ride into our hotel in the most psycedelic bus I have ever seen.  If we had any ideas of sleeping on the way, well..........









The first day I took a nap, then headed out for a walk in the
neighborhood around our hotel.  I stopped by at Waitrose, for
a few groceries.  I encountered a cheese flavoured with Marc
de Bourgogne, a favorite of mine from the Burgundy region of
France.  Of course, I had to have some.

I returned to my room to enjoy my purchases,

and the view from my window of evening falling over London.










I was flying with my friend, Mary Jane, and she invited me to come with her and see her houseboat at a boatyard in Chelsea.  I was really excited to be invited, as this is a part of London and the Thames, that I am not familiar with.


We walked there
through many
neighborhoods
that I had never
seen before, with
interesting shops,

and homes with beautiful gardens
and balconies.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea,_London

We passed this interesting building on King's Road, which is an Italian restaurant, and I stopped to take a photo. Mary Jane said that the somewhat hidden gateway to the left was the entrance to a Moravian Church and graveyard.


When we entered the cemetery, it looked vaguely familiar, then Mary
Jane began to tell me a story about two young men who used to play
there with their pet lion.

I asked her if she meant Christian the loin. She didn't know, so I looked it up later. It was the very same lion, and I had seen video from the early 1970s of him frolicking in this cemetery with his owners.


If you don't know this incredibly touching story,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1161255/The-lion-lived-flat-The-incredible-story-flatmates-raised-cub.htmlub.html

or haven't seen the youtube videos, you should check it out.  The clip below is one of many, showing a reunion with Christian after he had been in the wild for an entire year and formed his own pride.
It also shows a lot of footage of Christian as a cub playing in the Moravian cemetery.

We continued our walk to the Chelsea Dock and Boat Company at Cheyne Pier.

We walked along the pier and checked out Mary
Jane's boat, and many other interesting floating
homes.

http://www.cheynepier.com/


We continued on our way down Cheyne Walk to the Chelsea Physics Garden where, lucky for me, Mary
Jane has a membership.  I had never even heard of
this lovely spot, and what a pleasure it was to explore.

Hidden within walls,
in a neighborhood in
the heart of Chelsea,

the garden is surrounded by
classic homes.










We stopped for a
glass of sparkling
wine on the
terrace.











The food looked wonderful, but we had other plans for lunch. As it turned out, we should have
followed our inclination and stayed here. Below is more information about these amazing gardens,
and a website about Chelsea and Cheyne Walk.

http://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/luxuryhomes/6281818/London-property-Why-Chelsea-still-rocks.html

We continued along Cheyne Walk and the
Thames, past the London Peace Pagoda
with it's statues of Buddha in four poses.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2008/09/25/battersea_pagoda_feature.shtml

 
We passed the Battersea Power Station, an unused
reminder of the past, with an unsure future. I have
seen various proposals for it's use, but I don't know of anything that has been decided.

It is one of the landmark symbols of the 2012 London Olympics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battersea_Power_Station

We took a cab to Somerset House,
"an inspiring space for art, culture,
and creative exchange". You could
spend the day here easily.


We chose to view the exhibit called "City
Living".  The link below will give you
a sampling of all that is offered here.

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/default.asp

We had planned on eating lunch on the river at Tom's Terrace at Somerset House.  We were sad to learn that we were too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so we made do with olives and nuts to accompany our wine.

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/plan_your_visit/eating__drinking/668.asp

We made a quick stop for an "old wood tawny port" at Gordon's Winebar, then caught a cab back to one of Mary Jane's favorite places,  the Mona Lisa Cafe in Chelsea for dinner.  

http://london.myvillage.com/place/mona-lisa-cafe-and-restaurant-chelsea-london

We finished the evening with a brandy at the home of a friend in the area, then returned to our hotel for a good night's sleep. I am looking forward to returning to this area and exploring the many places we saw, but didn't have time to visit.

I'll never live long enough to know this city as well as I would like.

Honolulu

I have four Honolulu trips this month, with a London sandwiched in the middle.  I am just kicking back and enjoying the warm Hawaiian weather, and appreciating the cooling tradewinds.  I have had my favorite room for the first two trips, overlooking the beautiful Moana Surfrider Hotel.  The best sunset views on Waikiki Beach have been from my balcony.

I always enjoy walking along the beach, and something about the light this month has made for spectacular photos.  All of my beach shots look like postcards!

Everyone was out enjoying the sunshine and the water.

The flowers were actually more colorful than they appear in this photo.








I had planned on taking the trolley to the Farmer's Market at Kapi'olani Community College, erroneously thinking that it was there on Sunday.  I guess I missed the part about it being the Saturday Farmer's Market.  Duh.

http://www.kapiolani.hawaii.edu/object/farmersmarket.html

I decided to take the bus to Chinatown instead, and check out the markets there.  I went early on Sunday morning, but the streets were still very crowded with shoppers.  I took the #2 bus on the way there, and returned on the #19 bus.  The way home was much more scenic, passing by the Ala Moana shopping center, and much of Waikiki Beach.  The #2 bus seemed to pass through the industrial part of town, without much of interest along the way.  It does pass by the Asian Cultural Plaza, which would be interesting to check out sometime.

My friend, Erika, who grew up in Hawaii, had told me to sample  the delicious manapua.  I had no idea what these were, so my side mission was to discover what they were and where they were available.  I had searched them out online, and discovered that they were part of the Chinese heritage of Hawaii.  This is probably the best website about their history on the islands,

http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/dining/manapua/

and, of course, Wikipedia has more info about the baked version which I purchased in a Chinese bakery in Chinatown.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_siu_baau

The Hawaiian baked version is larger than the original steamed dim sum types, but filled with the same sweet delicious pork.  I guess there are other fillings, but I didn't see any.  

I loved the soft, sweet type that I ate, but I will look for and try the steamed version on one of my next trips this month.

I sat on my balcony before our Sunday evening pickup,  and ate the manapua, with a glass of guava ginseng green tea.  I watched the surfers and sailors enjoying the waves.  I saw at least a dozen beautiful Japanese brides and their tuxedoed grooms arrive, pose for photos on the entrance steps to the Moana Surfrider, get married (I guess) and leave in identical white limos.  It seems to be the thing to do, as I see the same parade every weekend. 

I will be back again on 24 June to repeat this drill, and do something more energetic........or not.