StringGrrl sees the World

StringGirl visits an old shrine in Tokyo Visiting Tokyo you get to see the old and the new: sometimes in harmony and sometimes not. In this case the Temple shown here is relatively intact in the middle of some prime real estate (near some big hotels and many office parks). Shrine shown with the Tokyo Tower in background The modern and the ancient sit side by side here. Beautiful temples and shrines, sqeezed in between office parks, hotels, and busy neighborhoods all add to the bustle that is the Shinbashi area. This tree just inside the gate was planted in 1879 by US president Grant Ulysses S. Grant stood at this site and planted this Nepalese Cedar. Through the gates you can see one of the busy streets in the area. In fact just about 1/4 mile further down the street the original outer courtyard gate still stands, spanning the street and still being frequented daily (just outside the Starbucks). The Tokyo Tower at night, over the grounds of the Prince Hotel

An appetizer of Sashimi before Kobe Beef StringGirl gets a treat of Kobe Beef Shabu Shabu in the Shinbashi area of Tokyo. Kobe Beef: Marbled and rich For those not familiar with the meal it is one of those highly ritualized and extravegant meals that Japanese are famous for. Essentially take the highest quality meat (Kobe Beef excellently marbled) and shave it as thin as possible. Using clean chopsticks you delicately swish it through a steaming pot of stock, until it is cooked just this side of raw. Dip in either a soy based or sesame based dipping sauce and eat. Yum! Shabu Shabu set-up: Hot stock, Sauces, vegetables, and BEEF AutoForm Japan General Manager Marco sets the order for Kobe Beef Highly enjoyable meal: Great food and good theater as the hostesses perform their elegant rituals of preparation of the Shabu Shabu, serving of the Sake, and make one feel like the Emperor himself.

Octoberfest .... in Tokyo? That's right, Oktoberfest in Japan. The folks here in Tokyo have decided to celebrate the hops harvest just like they do in Bavaria with a good old fashioned Biergarten and Octoberfest. AutoForm Japan and Sumisho Computer Services got together for some Bavarian Barley Pops not far from the office in Minato Ward of Tokyo, in the shadow of the Tokyo Tower. Taki-san Delivers some pils to the crew Brian, Intaek, Taki, and our partners from SCS StringGirl tries to sneak a sip of Bier

Of the many events at Zurich Fest were several aeronautical displays, including this one with stunt planes (propeller driven-The jet display was a little too fast for my feeble camera). Apparently, they pulled out all the stops, even making sure to get clearance from France, Germany, Italy and Austria so that they knew the planes may be making fly overs during the show. The juxtaposition of the planes flying amongst the grand old buildings like the GrossMunster Kirch was pretty cool to see, though i feel the video cannot do it justice.

Bellinzona, Switzerland sports three significant fortifications from medieval times. StringGirl paid a visit to one "Castel Grande" in the center of Town. Only a few minutes from the train station, this main portion of the central fortification of the town still has a large section of the city wall intact. You can still walk on the top of the ramparts, or in the tunnels underneath across the width of the city. View Larger Map Access to the Castel is through a set of stairs carved into the rock Lush green grass atop the wide and long rampart leading away from Castel Grande The rest of the Bellinzona fortifications seen from the top tower

For most of us when we picture Switzerland we never picture palm trees, unless most of you are from Canton (state/province) Ticino in the south of Switzerland. The view from the Train Station at Lugano Boasting the sunniest peaks in the Swiss Alps this Italian Canton in Switzerland is an absolute treasure if you are having a foggy/rainy/cloudy day in the Northern part of the Alps.  Only a 3 hour train ride from Zurich HB, you will be treated to a fantastic trip through the Gottard Pass, and eventually get spit out onto what is often the only sunny spot in Switzerland. The walk uphill from the base of the Funicular to the train station Lake Lugano We managed to go swimming in Lake Lugano on a day that peaked at 70 degrees in Zurich (with rain) having pure sunshine at 85 degrees in Ticino. In the left of the photo above is the small beach (Lido) where we swam. Just inside the Civic Park. Sheri = HOT (let's see if she notices this picture) StringGirl and the girls strip...

This ancient tower one of the oldest remnants of Roman Culture in France. Dating back to the second century BC this Roman Guard tower stands high atop the hill over looking Nimes. This tower can be visited by taking 140+ steps up the interior to stand at the observation deck. Affording the visitor a grand view of the city. The view from the "Le Tour Mange" Don't look....but that is a coliseum just down the street The Coliseum in Nimes is still very much an active part of the town, hosting concerts, events, and bull fights still throughout the year. The day we were there a stage for a concert was set in the center of the arena, which is the oldest and best preserved of the ancient Roman Amphitheaters and Arenas.

The boat ride tour out to the Calanques was pretty good overall, though now I wonder if it would have been better to rent a boat outright and explore independently. The tour was in French so the narrative was pretty much lost on us, but the sights were universally great. The sea has carved many of the fissures in the rock into magnificent tunnels through the rock that our boat could not manage, but a brave kayaker might be able to paddle through this hole in the rock. The water here was so clear that divers in 40 feet of water could be spotted easily swimming through the underwater formations and against the rocky and sandy (alternatively) bottom.

Just short drive north east from Aix we visited the Gorges of Verdon (acclaimed to be the Grand Canyon of France). There we partake in a short hike (3 hours) from an area of the Col de Olivier. Starting from a small roadside parking area you can hike 300 metersdown from the road to the banks of the river Le Verdon. View Larger Map The Rue de Saint-Maurin hiking path takes you from the Col de Olivier over varied terrain to the river below. The hike was fairly family friendly, allowing those with reasonable shoes or boots to make the hike without too much trouble. We came across some families with flip-flops who may have struggled more than we had to. The vistas afforded us along the hike made the 3 hour trek all worth it.

StringGirl visits the Ochre hills in Provence. Area of Luberon in Rousillon, France. The Ochre hills really feature some unbelievable colors, that unfortunately will be done little justice by this poor camera and photographer. Mixed in with the ubiquitous red rock, were bright streaks of yellow, purple, and blues; as the chemistry of the rock includes greater or lesser amounts of specific compounds. We get to take a walk directly into the ochre and a whisked away into a Technicolor canyon.

A short visit to Bavaria for a day on StringGirls latest whirlwind tour of Europe. So far in the past 60 days, she has hopped from US to Germany to Switzerland to Germany to Switzerland to Spain to Italy to France to Switzerland and back to Germany. So much travel so far that the blog posts are terribly out of date. She will have to make an effort to post after the fact just to catch up. The trip was made by Train. From Zurich to Munich by way of the EC190. Which by the way stops in Austria just long enough to make it possible for them to charge you 10 bucks a person on top of your RailPass.  Danke Schon Ostereich. But in the meantime it should be noted that it meant that we got to visit Uncle Alex while he works on his thesis in Germany (the day before Dad visits him as well). So we should stay positive after all, it is not everyday that we get to visit our family, and certainly not everyday we visit them in another country.