Japan 2023

Sensou-ji
 

Pond near Sensou-ji

Azaleas (Tsutsuji) are everywhere in the landscaping around Japan. Lining sidewalks and parks everywhere.

Sky Tree, which was under construction when I first went to Japan.

View from the Sky Tree

National Art Center

Calligraphy on display

 

Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue

Vegan Food!

 

Rose Garden at the Shinjuku National Garden Park

Science and Innovation Museum. I didn't take pictures inside really, mostly looking at all the displays. It had a lot of interactive things about what's new in medicine and technologies for cancer treatments
and how climate change is impacting everyone, etc.

 Very windy day in Chiba

Fushimi Inari

Nara Park

Tanuki Lake. It was too cloudy to see Mt. Fuji though :(

 

Shiraito no taki

 Otodome no taki

In our own backyards

As many of you know, the world's most expensive spice is mostly grown in Iran, and distributed by Spain. However, you may not know that it fares quite well in the states, even in cloudy Ohio!

Here you see my aunt picking the sigmas. Most people just pluck the whole flower and pick out the stigmas later.

Belgium & London & Bath & Plymouth

Brugge

                                                                            Ghent

 Brussels

 London

 Katie's pics

 Our Eurostar meal (when I booked it, the standard *premier* seats were cheaper, so we got food :) )

 Belgium is famous for beer, here we had Kriek, or cherry beer

 I didn't like this beer.

 He looks like a doll...

 My pics again. This is the old wall to Bath

 The crescent

 @ the fashion museum

 The roman baths

 Plymouth. If I can't rotate these I might delete them. This is where the mayflower set sail

 old Elizabethian house

 Again, where the Mayflower set sail

 He didn't jump, but his friend did.