Breakfast French style:
le Louvre:
Outdoor market: Rue Montorgueil:
Galerie Vivienne and Passage du Grand-Cerf:
La Bourse:
Mo’ Paris
July 30th, 2016Paris 2016
July 29th, 2016
We’re in the fabulous ‘City of Lights’ with our beautiful granddaughters to explore and see all the wonderful sights in Paris.
Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter:
The Pantheon and the famous Crypt:
Shopping and eating on rue Muffetard:
Sunset over the River Seine:
We walked through the Tuileries Garden and took a relaxing ride on les Bateaux Mouches:
We stopped at a bistro on rue Cler for lunch then took the Metro to le Tour Eiffel. The lines were short so we rode elevators all the way to the top of the tower!
Paris at night:
Last Day in Kyoto, Japan
March 30th, 2016Wednesday – March 30, 2016
We had a very busy last day in the Arashiyama district of Kyoto thanks to our wonderful local guide, Ayano Inami.
We entered the beautiful Sogenchi Garden at Tenryu-ji Zen Temple which was founded in 1339 and is a World Heritage Site.
We took the purple tram to the last stop and then took a taxi to the Kyoto Handicraft Center.
We made a few purchases then rode a taxi back to the hotel to prepare for our farewell dinner in the Gion District.
It was a pleasant evening and we walked around the district admiring the Sakura – cherry blossoms. We waited two weeks for “Hanami” – the Japanese custom of viewing cherry blossoms. It was said that hanami began more than one thousand years ago when aristocrats enjoyed looking at the beautiful blossoms and wrote poetry.
We strolled and mingled with tourists and locals to admire and photograph the delicate pink flowers. It was a perfect way to celebrate our last night in Japan.
Kyoto Markets
March 29th, 2016Tuesday, March 29, 2016
We had a leisurely morning to ourselves and walked to the local market. Like markets around the world, this one was lively, colorful, and full of people.
Later in the evening we went to the home of a couple who are teachers and masters of traditional music to hear them play traditional Japanese instruments.
We had a delicious Japanese dinner in the busy Gion district which was home to geishas, tea houses, and many restaurants.
Historic Nara
March 28th, 2016Monday March 28, 2016
Today was our day to visit Nara which was the first capital of Japan from 710 to 794. It is located about an hour from Kyoto. Our first destination was the important Shinto shrine – Fushimi Inari Taisha. We made our pilgrimage up the steep hill:
The bus drove us to a residential neighborhood with little shops and restaurants. A bride and groom were posing for professional photographs.
We had a Japanese lunch of noodles and tempura:
After a tasty lunch, we continued on to Kasuga-taisha and Shin-en Garden famous for its thousand lanterns.
We went to Todaiji Temple, which means big eastern temple, to see the world’s largest bronze statue of the Buddha. Construction of the Great Buddha Hall began in 728. It was rebuilt twice after fire and the current building was finished in 1709.
The Great South Gate was constructed at the end of the 12th century:
We returned to our hotel in time to rest and prepare for dinner. Jeff found a “Gyoza” restaurant nearby so we shared Chinese ‘pot stickers’ for dinner. Yum!
