Reims is a pretty interesting ciy to visit, the place where French kings were crowned for many centuries .
The roman wreath for crowning kings in Reims is what the lady is carrying The old city centerMany train stations in France have pianos for people to play some music, a very interesting and enjoyable idea.
not Steven Colbert!A typical streetNice architecture. The roof identifies it as FrenchAn ancient carouselThe church where the king were crownedA main plazaLouis XVStill carrying my Lao garment bagNice coffee but not my best cigarJohn Wick’s Continental Hotel?Didn’t ask if he stayed here
I made an emergency trip to the US landing on July 4. After taking care of necessary issues I traveled to see some friends in bad health and stop by my old hometown to check out how things changed.
Near Phoenix airport there is this Arizona style pizza place with a South of The Border flavor selection. It was delicious. Try out Mama’s.My favorite kind of breakfast, a quesadilla with guacamole and crema. A good way to start out the day.A meeting place near the EmbarcaderoOld style archtectureSome old buildings remainNot an announcement but some very interesting information about he past came to light. I got this cookie at my favorite chinese restaurant. Did you know this fortune cookie tradition was started by a Japanese restaurant owner in San Francisco for kids many decades ago Mispelled but an interesting way to present ONIGIRIChinese style noodles near my hotelUS style TARDISThey have new owners but a pretty nice diner in the city, retro styleIn the diner my favorite carThis is THE famous Marylin photoOur doctor’s office, Dr. Cook who became the county coroner The former Corner Market where I worked as a delivery and bag boy for the ManteganisThe house my parents built in Tiburon in 1967Part of the view from out house bay windows. We could see the fog rolling in over the Golden Gate bridge and over SausalitoThe bakery was Mr. Taylor’s barber shop where I had one of my first jobs at 9 years old sweeping the floor an shining customers’ shoes.Belvedere where we used to go clamming St. Steven’s where I was an acolyte and was confirmed so I could drink the wine on Sundays Behind the tree is the rest room for he Belvedere park where I almost fell from the roof to a disastrous fate. I grabbed the gutter on the way downOur former house on Bayview Avenue. I talked to the new owners who didn’t even know they had an extended garden area in the back. The plum tree in front has been replaced.Strange offerings near SacramentoCheap alcoholic drinks in round containers. Interesting MarketingLemon juice from sicilyLook at all the bagelsSelf driving taxiNot so much taffic on Market streetFamous clam chowder in Boudin’s sour dough french breadThis is everything I own. Yes, it is all carry on.A Mexican style pizza with lots of jalapeñosMon’s grave.A huge lunchThey look delicious An even huger mealMy preferred breakfast in Maricopa
Taiwan is becoming quite a tourist attraction for Asian populations. The one group I saw and heard the most of is from the Philippines. Of course there is somewhat a language barrier for non Taiwanese (one Chinese dialect plus some original indigenous people’s words) but most people I met spoke enough English to assist me or were just kind enough to use gestures and simple words in Chinese to get the message across. My Chinese is limited to food and a few phrases I learned long ago. Looking around town I understand most of the signage with the similarities with Japanese Kanji. This page on Taiwan (link here) will give you more information that might be helpful for visiting.
Taichung is a fairly quiet city and it seems the busy city center has moved away from the train station, to the west, so you might want to concentrate time there.
The old train tracks are a fun place to sit, have a coffee or tea and think about old times, or whatever. You can buy all sorts of things on the old platformHere is one of the older trains for people to view. You can see this generation train still used in Thailand on the very slow route from Bangkok to the Malaysia border.This is the new statioThis restaurant has inexpensive but tasty food variety on a plate. It is a well known with localsA famous Japanese Anime made into a TV series recently. Taiwanese people are crazy about everything Japanese. You probably know Taiwan was a Japanese colony for decades until 1945. However both countries are really the closest of friends.
The old train stationDelicious noodles with some WAN TANThis Thai restaurant has some good food. The cabbage order should have been made with NAM PLA (fish sauce) but I asked and they made it the Thai way for me. I think the owners are Vietnamese.Good coffee and excelent Mango cake is in a very hard to find coffee shop which you can find with the reference below.Your seat here is an old elementary school desk. The entrance is through a hall that looks like one for a janitor, then up steps to a locked door you need to knock on for the young lady to let you in. I asked the owner why this kind of setup. She explained the rent was low. An old construction from a past Chinese imperialist occupation.Hot pot with an old friend. It was very popular, not expensive and very fresh and delicious ingredients.
One of my very favorites, a gyoza type fried dumplings with SUI GYOZA. This shop is very popular and very delicious.Sometimes it is a challenge not being deflected to the street to walk around due to the over abundance of motorcycles parked in the way on the walkway. This part was ok.Would you eat at this Sushi restaurant? I waited to get back to Japan.When I was a kid there were very foamy “Ding Dongs”. These are different . Motorcycle parking lot. Reminds me of Vietnam.Taiwan style Italian Pesto Spaghetti with broccoli which was delicious.
A mural at an old shopping streetOld Chuan has a sour attitude but his food is so delicious. This SUI GYOZA was so delicious.This duck restaurant was not with the highest recommendation in Kaoshiung but it was very good. It was 2 dinners and one breakfast in one duck. The rest they did Taiwan style with the rest quick chopped, thrown in a wok and cooked up with spices, pepper and some sauce. The whole duck cost NT$500 ($17). Kids dressed up for an event in the underground metroThe main eventThis night market was huge.Kid’s gamePin ball parlor with old fashioned Japanese PachinkoTaro and Apple pieDeep fried seafoodJapanese style squidMore deep fried seafoodGrilled food on a stickSweet potatoes were easy to grow in your yard and became the sweet delicacy in Japan at the end of WWII since rice was hard to get. It is popular throughout AsiaSUI GYOZA (boiled gyoza)Busy night marketTaiwan style ODEN (boiled food)Fried riceUnlike Thailand, in Taiwan the fresh fruit smoothies are not made with sugar, something I appreciatedLook at all the 7-11sOld style pachinkoAn old temple
