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On my last jaunt through Thailand I stopped in Prachuap Kirikan to visit my good friends Alain and Sunan. They now have full solar power in the main house. The guest bungaloo is not yet a priority for solar adaptation. They have a new dog, a stray that stays due to the abundance of food from her generous hosts.
Hokkaido Enjoyment includes food, walking around and traveling the countryside by car. You should be aware that in 5 years, as I was told, many of the local trains will be discontinued. This means car and bus will be the new major modes of rural transport. But the rental car companies seem to have things prepared in English pretty well so renting a car is pretty easy. My experience renting a car in Japan is very consistent. The rental companies are pretty honest and so are not trying to make extra money by charging for things that aren’t your fault. However, taking photos of the car before driving it as well as the gauge cluster showing milage and gas amount is still advisable.
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Relaxing Landshut is close to Munich and a less expensive community to park youself. Enjoy some of the very nice Italian and German restaurants here especially Ristorante Rossini at the foot of the castle. The make the best Olive Oil/Peperoncino spaghetti I have ever had. The recipe includes pine nuts and next to you on the veranda outside is some fresh basil growing you can use to garnish the flavors.
I happened to arrive in Japan just at the right time. A group of Cornell students were in Japan for a study course, one month, and a lot of beautiful cherry blossoms were coming out. Cornell graduates in Japan were about 10 in 1976 and now more than 76.
Yesterday I had a nice cold ramen in Kashiwa for $6.80. That seems to be close to the low end of the price range but it was pretty good. Japan Food Varieties will amaze you. You can go from raw to deep fried food in the same restaurant or in speciality restaurants. You can get everything from vegan to almost every kind of meat, even bear. By now you probably know Japan is famous for whale and horse meat. And some of their world famous Italian restaurants are here as well. Every part of Japan has it’s own special foods you should try. Go from Hokkaido for excellent ocean foods to fatty pork in Okinawa to baby bees in Matsumoto. And, heads up, there is no tradition of tipping in Japan so the price you see on the menu is the total you pay except for places that have table charges (OTOSHI) with a small snack or those that don’t include the sales tax in the menu price.
The key to Japan enjoyment is to just relax, take your time and don`t be pressured. There are so many little things to enjoy while bopping around the country. Take the opportunity to look at the smallest of things to understand how things work. You will love the places you visit if you take your time.
When you travel around Kyoto and Tokyo it’s always good to be with friends but even if you can’t remember there are some interesting places that even a person traveling by themselves can enjoy and can find somebody to talk to. I found myself having a fairly long discussion with a couple from Holland at the Ryoanji temple, the one temple I always visit when I go to Kyoto.
I have to clarify “Busy Lyon”. I was told by a Paris resident Lyon is a French food capital. It is! The restaurants were packed. I didn’t try a lot of the local food since I was not willing to eat the large portions presented (still on my strict diet). But It all looked so delicious. If you are into food and are in France I think you should visit Lyon. It is an interesting city, though expensive during this tourist season (June).
The quality of food in Turkey is generally very good. I was surprised how consistent the quality is across all areas of the country. So it is so easy to become A Turkish Foodie. Just point to what you want if you can’t understand what the food is called. Venture in to almost any restaurant and you will find something you will probably enjoy.
You wouldn’t think Lyon in France is where you would find one of the largest cinema museums but it is indeed here. Here are some things I found interesting at the Lyon Cinema Museum. All of the items here are from the actual movie productions. This museum is also housing many miniature movie sets that are really fascinating to see. It is well worth the entry fee if you are interested in movie memorabilia.
