Shin and Akane’s wedding was the official reason for coming to Japan and the reason we had to leave Winnipeg so quickly. It was easily the best wedding I’ve been to – the food was amazing, the program wasn’t too long and it was dominated by their friends so it was fairly entertaining to boot.
I’m back-dating stuff because it’s taken me so long to get in front of a computer and don’t want to lose chronology.
Because my mom was going to be in town for graduation we figured it would make the most sense if her flight was at the same time as ours so that we could all go to the airport together and no one would have to wait by themselves for too long. So when she was getting her tickets my mom called me up to find out what time our flight was. I told her it was around 8am so she should book her return for the same time. Unfortunately I was thinking about the time for a different flight and ours actually left around 10:30 – in other words we had a bit of a wait ahead of us.
Even getting to the airport was a hassle. Because there were three of us with two suitcases each, a normal taxi wasn’t going to do it, we needed a van. So the previous night I called around and reserved a taxi for the next morning. Come the appointed time and we rush to the hotel lobby to check out and the taxi wasn’t there. We wait a few minutes, still no taxi. I call the company and they say they have my reservation and that the cab is running a bit late. We wait some more. Finally the cab pulls up a good 15 minutes late and we make our way to the biggest line I have ever seen at the Winnipeg airport. We begin to panic as my mom’s flight is supposed to leave fairly soon, but I see on the departures board that the flight is running late and that we have time. So we wait patiently, not worrying about a thing until we get to the counter where the counter-person lets us know that the flight is boarding and that we need to rush my mom to that plane ASAP. Cue frenzied rushing through the airport and a painfully slow trip through airline security resulting in me waiting outside the gate wondering if my mom made it on to the plane or not. After a few minutes without any pages over the intercom or calls to my cell phone I figured she got on OK and made my way back to Tomoko so that we could start waiting for our flight.
Because the tickets together were $800 cheaper with Northwest we decided to go with them. Sadly their flight to Kansai airport was booked solid so we had to fly out to Nagoya instead and then take the bullet train to Kyoto. But before that could happen we had to change airplanes a few times. First we flew on a tiny Canadair jet to Minneapolis. Then we waited in the airport for a few hours, doing some shopping and killing time (and checking out some very impressive vending machines – iPods, PSPs, digital cameras) before getting on our plane to Tokyo. The flight was alright and I spent most of it talking to the person seated next to me – a marine who was making his way to Okinawa for his first assignment. He knew nothing about Japan or the language beyond what his Lonely Planet guide told him and had no one waiting for him in Japan, he was just expected to report for duty in two days time at his new base. When I first heard this I thought it was pretty harsh, but the dude is a marine so he should be able to handle himself. Once we arrived in Tokyo we waited around for a bit and then got on our final flight – a short hop to Nagoya.
When I left Japan I didn’t surrender my alien registration (gaijin) card because it meant filling out paper work, and as I was going out on a return ticket they had no reason to expect I wasn’t coming back. So on this trip I was slightly apprehensive that my previous laziness might cause me some problems at immigration this time around. Thankfully there were no questions about previous stays, or anything else, and I was safely in Japan.
After some misadventures with the airport ATMs we got some cash, bought our bullet train tickets and 40 minutes later were in Kyoto where Shin was waiting to pick us up. Our 20 hour trip was over and we could move on to the business of preparing for Shin and Akane’s wedding.
Opening myself up to comments over my instant noodle consumption here is a review of the one I ate today.
Picture will be placed here later.
The first thing that impressed me about the noodles was the price. I’m pretty sure they cost something in the neighbourhood of 50 cents, which is pretty damn cheap. Opening it up I find that it has noodles (the wheat kind), a soup packet and a chili oil packet.
The soup is pretty hot. Definitely hotter than yesterday’s. It also has less sweetness and maybe more sour to it. There is no hint of coconut milk in it (real or otherwise). Still, it is a pretty good tasting soup, and would be a good option if you find Thai food to be too sweet.
The noodles scared me. They were the thin wheat noodles that I don’t like. The package states that they are air dried instead of fried, and maybe that’s the difference because as I ate them their texture didn’t bother me.
Soup: 7/10 – A bit of a simpler soup, which while done well would do better as a hot and sour soup instead of a Tom Yam soup. I expect a bit more from a Tom Yam soup.
Noodles: 7/10 – While they were the thin wheat noodles, they were done well.
Overall: 7/10
It’s worth keeping in mind that these noodles cost 1/2 to 2/3 as much as yesterday’s. If I were really broke then I’d prefer these ones for sure, as it is Tomoko can afford the extra 40 cents so I’d take yesterday’s instead.
Yesterday at Sun Wah Tomoko and I went a little overboard in the instant noodle section. After unpacking everything at home we resolved to make notes of the noodle’s we got so that we’d know which ones were worth getting again so today I tried my first one.
First looking at the package we can learn many things:
Opening it up I am amazed by the number of different packets inside: noodles, soup powder, soup paste, chili oil and dried vegetables (including mini dried shrimp). But following the directions I just empty everything into my bowl, add hot water and wait. Three minutes later it is ready to be eaten.
Before continuing, a word on Tomyum flavour instant noodles. The Tomyum noodle is based on the Thai soup of the same name. The soup is spicy, sour and slightly sweet (from whatever they have in place of coconut milk). Not everyone likes the taste (Tomoko doesn’t) but I do. In Japan there was a brand of Tomyum noodles that I loved which used regular instant noodle noodles. The one I bought yesterday used bean vermicelli, aka glass noodles.
The soup itself isn’t very strong coloured (the one in Japan was a colourful mix of white and red). Picking up some of the noodles in my chopsticks (instant noodles taste better with chopsticks, and are easier to eat too) I don’t see a lot of the soup on the noodles, but I’m hoping that what I can’t see I can still taste. I’m right, the noodles have a good amount of the soup flavour on them. The soup is a good balance of spicy, sour and sweet. Not as spicy as the one I liked in Japan, but that’s a good thing.
That being said, I’m not a huge fan of the noodles themselves – they’re a bit too chewy, but that has more to do with the type of noodle than anything else. Plus they’re straight, and I prefer the wavy shape used by instant wheat noodles. While I’d prefer wheat instant noodle noodles, these ones were still much better than the ones used by Mama brand instant noodles which while being wheat noodles, are too thin and have a strange mouth feel.
I’d give the soup a 9 out of 10. Tomyum is a difficult flavour to make instant noodles out of and these guys did a great job.
For the noodles they get a 7 out of 10. While I would have preferred standard wheat noodles, the bean vermicelli makes a fun change, and definitely isn’t out of place in the dish as a whole.
So the final verdict is an 8 out of 10. A very good instant noodle product that could easily join Shin Ramen as the choice “can’t be bothered to make anything” component of a well-balanced diet.
Previously: Madrid
Because we were already in Spain while it was going on, I decided that we had to go see the Running of the Bulls.
Long story short, Pamplona smelled like a washroom in a dodgy club and Tomoko and I really wanted a bull to injure someone.
With the show over by 10am, people get ready to binge drink through another day.
And with that we leave Pamplona behind and make our to Barcelona.
While I’m sure that there are lots of neat things to do there, Madrid was pretty much just a stopover between Granada and Pamplona. This was made worse by having lost our guidebook. But there was one thing that we did want to do, visit the Prado museum (it’s name in Spanish is Museo del Prado – the Prado Museum, but it’s really an art gallery). So we put our things in a locker at the bus station and then made our way to the museum.
The Prado is a renowned gallery and houses lots of great works. Here’s a link with some of the more famous ones. Sadly, the first thing we did when we got there was use their washrooms (so much better than the one at the bus station), and then had some breakfast in the gallery cafe.
But after that we got serious about art. Half-way through we realized that there was a simultaneous Picasso exhibition going on and that we really wanted to see it. The exhibition was to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the repatriation of Guernica and was actually split between the Prado and Reina Sofia museums. Sadly to see it, we had to re-enter the museum (but didn’t have to pay extra). So we took in the half at the Prado and then gave ourselves a lunch break.
Whenever we eat out we spend far too long deciding on where to go. Basically we veto everything we see until we are far too hungry, tired and/or angry to look any more and then settle on the first thing we see. This was no exception. We happened upon a restaurant that was having a really cheap lunch special and decided to give it a go.
The food was really good. We decided to get gazpacho for our appetizers (it was our first time having it) and were hooked. I miss gazpacho. The main was tasty and filling, and then came dessert. I ordered something called a Crema Catalan in the hope that it would be similar to crème brûlée. It was 🙂 and was sooo good.
After that we made our way to the Reina Sofia museum, but on the way I gave a euro to a really shady dude with some made-up story of woe because he spoke English. Tomoko was pissed off at me about that for a long time after. Checked out the museum, saw the regular collections as well. The Reina Sofia houses all the 20th century art while the Prado has the older works. Between the Reina Sofia and the Tate Modern, I’ve got to say that I like modern art more than the classical stuff.
After a few more hours of art we both had enough and wanted to see a bit of Madrid, so we made our way to Puerta del Sol, because hey it’s the centre of both Madrid and Spain (in that all distances were measured from there) so why not? From the museum to the metro we walked through one of the coolest train station ever.
Train station + jungle = all kinds of amazing
Tomoko was less than impressed (although the humidity in there may have had something to do with it).
Lots of people hanging out there, lots of shops too. We did some shopping. We also made use of the bookstores by looking through their guidebooks to get information on accommodation for the remaining legs of our trip.
After the shops were all closed we went off in search of food. This took a very, very long time (I guess we weren’t exhausted enough yet), but eventually we found somewhere that was just too compelling to not go to – Kono Pizza.
Pizza in a cone, what could go wrong?
The guys working the counter were quite friendly and helpful in explaining our menu options to us. Tomoko thinks they were gay (I guess we’ll never know). After finally deciding on our order we sat down and waited for the pizzas to be made (they use a conveyor oven deal similar to the Quizno’s sub-toasting set-up).
Then came the moment of truth.
It was pretty good. After eating it I was still hungry, so I had a salad pizza (ie not cooked) with basil, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella which was even better. If and when they make it to Canada I recommend giving it a try.
We made our way back to the bus station to get the overnight bus to Pamplona.
By the time we got to Granada from Córdoba we were fairly bored of seeing the sights. We had our tickets for the Alhambra for the following afternoon but for our first day we went shoe shopping.
From before we left Tomoko had been looking for shoes to wear on the trip. I kept telling her to get something comfortable like a sport sandal or some Birkenstocks. She kept looking for cute sandals that would give her foot no support and prematurely cripple her. By the time we had gotten to Granada her sandals and feet were in pretty bad shape so it was necessary to get something. Eventually she settled on a pair of Birkenstocks, but not without a fight.
In the evening, after dinner. We had the best ice cream I have ever had. One scoop of Ferero Roche and one of coconut. It was amazing.
There were lots of Arabs in Granada, so it was pretty neat. The city had a feel that it was still inhabited by the Moops.
The following day we just wandered around the city, ending up near a monument to Lorca, but didn’t actually get to it. After lunch we started our trek to the Alhambra.
The thing to realize is that the Alhambra is a fort. So naturally it would want to occupy the high ground. This meant we had to walk up to the higher ground, which was just a bit long.
To keep it from getting too crowded, only a certain number of tickets for the Alhambra are issued in a day. Furthermore, your ticket specifies a half-hour window to visit the Nasrid Palaces. You must enter the Palaces in that time, but are free to stay for as long as you want.
When we got to the Alhambra there was only about half an hour before our allotted time so we were suggested to go straight to the palaces. But we had time to look around the on the way.
Then we had to wait in line to get into the palaces. Because they let everyone in at the same time, the first few rooms were really crowded as we hadn’t all been separated by our differing paces yet.
Generally we take more time than other people because I always take a lot of pictures. I took way too many here.
But eventually they kicked us out because they were closing for the afternoon.
When we got back from the Alhambra I realized that I couldn’t find our guidebook. If it were just a Spain guidebook it would be OK, but it was a Europe guidebook, which meant that it had our itinerary for the rest of Spain, France and England.
That evening we were heading out to Madrid so I had one last chance to have the ice cream. Sadly we couldn’t find the place so we had to leave without having it.
Leaving Seville by bus, we made our way through Andalucía to Córdoba. The bus ride was really nice as we got to see lots of sunflower fields. Sadly, most of the sunflowers looked like they were dead or something. I’d say they’d been harvested, but I have no idea how they would harvest the seeds (I’m thinking it would be easier to cut the flowers down and then have the seeds removed mechanically in some machine, but the flowers were still there so I don’t really know what was going on). The bus ride wasn’t all that long, 2-3 hours maybe so we were in Córdoba by early afternoon.
The first thing we had to do was find a place to stay. We settled on the local youth hostel because a) they had availability and b) they were cheap. The main sight in the city is the Mezquita, a mosque containing a seemingly infinite number of arches in which a cathedral was inserted into the middle (which most people seem to think was a crime against aesthetics). We decided not to go there on the first day because we didn’t want to rush things. So instead we took a bus out to Medina Azahara, a Moopish palace that had become ancient ruins.
One nice thing was that the place was pretty empty. Maybe 15 tourists in the entire palace.
That evening we ate some Paella and watched the World Cup 3rd place game between Germany and Portugal. The restaurant where we ate the Paella had a sign saying they were showing the game, but there were “technical difficulties” and the game didn’t show. The paella wasn’t all that great either. While we were eating it, we got into a conversation with a Canadian girl who was traveling by herself. She told us about how she was robbed in Barcelona, and that we should be careful when we go there. After finishing the paella we went in search of any place that had the game on TV and eventually found ourselves watching the second half in a tiny bar that had its own Germans.
There was also a big guitar festival going on in the city, lots of famous guitarists, but we didn’t feel like going to it.
The next day our plan was to tackle the Mezquita. But before going there we decided to check out the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (In Andalucía it seemed like every city we went to had a Mezquita and and Alcázar). It was nothing special, although the gardens were pretty nice. But it was really, really hot: 45° so we didn’t spend that much time in the gardens. For lunch that day we decided on Burger King because they had Superman toys in their kid’s menus and I wanted a Superman toy. I ended up getting a blue wrist-band.
One thing about Córdoba was the amount of beggars. There were tons of them. Women carrying their babies around, asking for change.
After lunch we made our way to the Mezquita, and spent a few hours inside. It was nice and cool in the building, very peaceful as well.
I actually didn’t mind the cathedral in the middle. It had a really impressive pipe organ inside. Besides, it was kind of like getting two attractions for the price of one.
Leaving the cathedral part, we just sat for a while under the arches. It was a good rest in a very peaceful place.
That night we saw the World Cup final match between France and Italy at our hostel. There were a whole bunch of French kids (maybe last year of high school/first year of university) on a field trip and they managed to get access to a TV with the game. It was fun to watch, although being amongst that many French people made me want France to lose (Were I anywhere else I’d be rooting against the Italians). It was fun seeing their expressions when France lost on penalty kicks.
The next day we bought our tickets for the Alhambra (you are strongly recommended to buy your tickets at least a day in advance), had some ice cream (the ice cream in Spain was great), and made our way to Granada.
From London to Seville we again flew RyanAir. If all you want to do is get from A to B then airlines like RyanAir are great. I wish we had airlines like that in Canada, although the distances involved would probably mean that the flights wouldn’t be as cheap as they are in Europe. What was really great though was leaving a city where the weather was cool and gray and arriving in when where even at night it was approaching 30°. It was also nice to look down on the fields of sunflowers from above.
Sadly this time there was no good luck at passport control as pretty much everyone had to go in the non-EU passport line. But besides the line there were no issues. Traveling with Tomoko makes airports much easier. Taking a bus into town, we then walked around for a while until we found a hotel to stay at. Then we walked around some more before going for dinner and eating that staple of Spanish cuisine – the pizza.
There was one coffee shop that had some amazing looking ice cream, but we didn’t get any because we were pretty full.
The next day we started off at Seville’s Catedral, one of the biggest cathedrals in the world (top 3 for sure).
Inside was the grave of Christopher Columbus. I’m pretty sure that he’s in the box being held up by these statues. It was pretty cool to see (and I didn’t have to worry about stepping on any graves, a worry I have whenever I visit a cemetery).
The cathedral is partially made up of the mosque that was previously there. One part that remains is the minaret, which was converted into a bell tower (they now call it the Giralda). We climbed to the top of the Giralda and could see pretty much the entire city. We could also look down at the courtyard of the cathedral which was another holdover from the mosque.
I guess due to the high ambient temperature and an apparent lack of chlorination, the water in the fountains was very, very green. But this didn’t stop tourists from washing themselves in it (a common sight throughout the trip which we both found pretty disgusting).
After this we went to the Alcázar, a palace built by the Moops.
It seemed like this area was set up for a viewing of some important person like the Pope or Evita. So I waited among the seats hoping someone would come. And to my luck someone did.
It was Tomoko.
In the evening we went to see a flamenco dance. It was good. Tomoko absolutely loved it, she was totally raving about it afterwards. I think that may have been the highlight of the trip for her.
Like most hot places, Seville is really nice in the evening. So we walked around a bit more, returning to the Catedral area.
Next up: Córdoba
Previously: Glasgow
Because I have been to London a few times there wasn’t much in the city that I wanted to see. Instead the main thing I wanted to do was go to Stonehenge. Sadly, because of the unpredictability of British weather we ended up going to the Tate Modern instead.
One nice thing about the museums and galleries in London is that almost all of them are free. I guess they make up for it at the gift shop.
We got hungry and noticed people eating from bento boxes. Following the trail we came to a sushi bar and decided to give it a shot. Like most food in London it was way expensive and crap. After that we went to a cathedral, maybe St. Paul’s.
After a bit we walked by the Old Bailey (a courthouse, it was blown up in V for Vendetta)
On our way back home I saw this sign on the underground.
I wish the head of the TTC would write an apology for unnecessary delays. Maybe he’d just leave the sign up all the time.
Next up: Seville
tariq.ca 