22 Thu-
Packed this morning.
We took the bed and the lamp to the english guy and continued our chat. It's such a shame we never met earlier. We would have chatted for hours.
Sabine and I went to the uni town centre for checking the internet. When walking back Sabine went into the leasing office. I went back to the flat and took the Hummingbird feeder down and cleaned it. Sabine came back and found out the leasing office have free internet in there. Plus, they have found a tenant to take over the flat on a brand new lease from July 16th! He/she just needs to sign the contract their end.
We only had to pay for 15 days worth of rent. WOW! So using my computer we went back to the office area, sitting in the outside space, and payed online. We also made sure to pay for a few more kilos on the luggages just in case.
Hummingbirds kept coming for the feeder that we took down. That was sooo sad! :'( :'(
We dropped the final load of things to the guy downstairs in his flat. Then we finished up by taking our luggages outside and waiting for the Super Shuttle which Sabine booked for 1.50pm.
That arrived about 10mins later. On the way to LAX it picked up a few people and even went to John Wayne Airport.
The super shuttle dropped us off outside the Norwegian Air check in area. There was nobody in the queue and our luggages went through within minutes.
The queue for the security entrance was very long and kinda stupidly organised, but we made it through. Unfortunately the duty free area was kinda basic for its size. It was huge but nowhere to go to get a decent savoury lunch. If you want sweet things then fine, you were spoilt for choice. Savoury however, well, not so much. Sabine wanted eggs and bacon, American style. The only place that did anything like it said that they couldn't serve it. Unbelievable! We went for a pizza instead.
Take off time was 8.37pm. One hour later than scheduled (typical). The choice of things to watch was exactly the same as last month. I only watched one episode of Friends as there was nothing else worthy to watch. I didn't get much sleep, if at all. I just was dozy.
23 Fri-
Touchdown was on time at 1.50pm UK time, about 9 hours later. We went back via train (public transport! Hurrah!).
Dad has completely redecorated what was my old bedroom and has made it now the main guest room. Its stunning. It's like a hotel room! Also, the old guest bedroom is now guest room number 2, with my old single bed in it. The layouts for both rooms works so much better now!
Saturday 24 June 2017
Thursday 22 June 2017
America: 21st June 2017
Today I skyped mum wishing her a happy birthday.
We had to walk miles to a shopping centre where the nearest internet store is. Here we gave back the rented internet hub with all the wiring. It was a very long walk in the sun, but we did spot Roadrunners. After that we decided to hang out in the university town centre to use their free WiFi a couple of times.
Back home we threw stuff out. Some people overheard us throwing out things and decided to come out of their apartment to say they would gladly take it off our hands.
We bumped into them later on too. The husband is from Melton Mobrey, England. He also is a J2 waiting for his EAD card. Damn. My second to last day here and I've only just met someone I could have called a friend. He was here the whole time!
Once Upon A Time. End of season 5.
We had to walk miles to a shopping centre where the nearest internet store is. Here we gave back the rented internet hub with all the wiring. It was a very long walk in the sun, but we did spot Roadrunners. After that we decided to hang out in the university town centre to use their free WiFi a couple of times.
Back home we threw stuff out. Some people overheard us throwing out things and decided to come out of their apartment to say they would gladly take it off our hands.
We bumped into them later on too. The husband is from Melton Mobrey, England. He also is a J2 waiting for his EAD card. Damn. My second to last day here and I've only just met someone I could have called a friend. He was here the whole time!
Once Upon A Time. End of season 5.
Wednesday 21 June 2017
America: 20th June 2017
We have ants on the Hummingbird feeder! Boooh! Sabine cleaned it out and we made sure to top it up with water on top of it which is actually designed this way to prevent ants.
A older lady came to the flat today with a 3 month old baby. She bought things off of us on behalf of her daughter who runs an AirBnB.
She bought:
Cutlery set- original price $10, sold for $3
Cooking cutlery set- original price $20, sold for $10
Pans with lids- original price $20, sold for $8
Dinnerware set- original price $30, sold for $15
Airbed- original price $24, sold for $17
5x coat-hanger set sold for $3
Tupperware- original price $10, sold for $3
We went for a walk in the park. Its another hot and sunny day. maybe a bit too hot however i've heard its crazy hot in the UK, with temperatures above 30ºC.
We then went to Albertsons for milk and plastic cups which we will try and use for hot chockys and coffee/tea. it was only $3.
Sabines 3 suitcases that were shipped to the UK were STILL in Europe. Germany apparently, also 'on hold' waiting for the next shipment. However having JUST now checked this towards the end of the day, they are now in London Heathrow. Possibly could be delivered tomorrow UK time (21st June UK time).
A older lady came to the flat today with a 3 month old baby. She bought things off of us on behalf of her daughter who runs an AirBnB.
She bought:
Cutlery set- original price $10, sold for $3
Cooking cutlery set- original price $20, sold for $10
Pans with lids- original price $20, sold for $8
Dinnerware set- original price $30, sold for $15
Airbed- original price $24, sold for $17
5x coat-hanger set sold for $3
Tupperware- original price $10, sold for $3
We went for a walk in the park. Its another hot and sunny day. maybe a bit too hot however i've heard its crazy hot in the UK, with temperatures above 30ºC.
We then went to Albertsons for milk and plastic cups which we will try and use for hot chockys and coffee/tea. it was only $3.
Sabines 3 suitcases that were shipped to the UK were STILL in Europe. Germany apparently, also 'on hold' waiting for the next shipment. However having JUST now checked this towards the end of the day, they are now in London Heathrow. Possibly could be delivered tomorrow UK time (21st June UK time).
Tuesday 20 June 2017
America: 19th June 2017
Today a woman came to the flat. We sold her:
Kettle- original price $20, sold for $10
Washing basket- original price around $3, sold for $1
Drying rack- original price $10, sold for $5
We went to Albertsons for Bananas.
Kettle- original price $20, sold for $10
Washing basket- original price around $3, sold for $1
Drying rack- original price $10, sold for $5
We went to Albertsons for Bananas.
Monday 19 June 2017
America: 18th June 2017
We had to talk to the leasing office about some questions our prospective flat leasing buyers are saying. We started by going to the Ambrose office then we went to the main office across the road. To be honest I've enjoyed chatting to those guys whenever we've gone in.
After that not much to say. We have given up with our so called 'Garage sale'. Its still listed as happening online but we went for a burger again and later went to the park.
After that not much to say. We have given up with our so called 'Garage sale'. Its still listed as happening online but we went for a burger again and later went to the park.
Sunday 18 June 2017
America: 17th June 2017
We officially had a garage sale today. There are two online sites where you can sign up and post where and when you are selling stuff.
Nobody turned up today.
Sabine and I had everything on show in the front of the flat and kitchen area. Nobody bothered.
Half way through the day we had an inspection from a guy from the Irvine Company. Even then we had to go into the leasing office to remind them that we had booked someone to come this morning. But no, they forgot. This chap arrived around 2pm and was here for a maximum of 5 minutes. He didn't inspect anything other than the carpet and the bathtub. He looked at the walls but wasn't thorough.
Seriously, one thing I have noticed is that nobody seems to care over here about the upkeep of the apartments. I have yet to see scaffolding anywhere on these apartments or homes. In the UK its a normal thing to see in everyday life. Over here theres nothing. No builders up keeping anything. Next door moved out today and the Irvine cleaners just went in the place and cleaned it like there was some type of mad rush to do so. But what I'm curious about is the structural integrity of the buildings themselves. Sabine noticed on day one a huge crack on a pillar of a building here. Why don't they repair it? And another thing, why do the leasing people know us by name and apartment number? we are just one flat in over 200 of them. Are we really the only ones causing such a fuss over broken things?? Maybe the homeless guy has the answers.
Other than that, we couldn't really do much, at all. Same goes for the next 3 or so days as our garage sale continues.
Once Upon A Time. I went to Albertsons to get snacks between watching episodes. Sabine has a lot of correspondence from students interested in the flat today. But they all seem none the wiser about how Sabine and I are leaving the flat and need them to take on our remaining lease.
Nobody turned up today.
Sabine and I had everything on show in the front of the flat and kitchen area. Nobody bothered.
Half way through the day we had an inspection from a guy from the Irvine Company. Even then we had to go into the leasing office to remind them that we had booked someone to come this morning. But no, they forgot. This chap arrived around 2pm and was here for a maximum of 5 minutes. He didn't inspect anything other than the carpet and the bathtub. He looked at the walls but wasn't thorough.
Seriously, one thing I have noticed is that nobody seems to care over here about the upkeep of the apartments. I have yet to see scaffolding anywhere on these apartments or homes. In the UK its a normal thing to see in everyday life. Over here theres nothing. No builders up keeping anything. Next door moved out today and the Irvine cleaners just went in the place and cleaned it like there was some type of mad rush to do so. But what I'm curious about is the structural integrity of the buildings themselves. Sabine noticed on day one a huge crack on a pillar of a building here. Why don't they repair it? And another thing, why do the leasing people know us by name and apartment number? we are just one flat in over 200 of them. Are we really the only ones causing such a fuss over broken things?? Maybe the homeless guy has the answers.
Other than that, we couldn't really do much, at all. Same goes for the next 3 or so days as our garage sale continues.
Once Upon A Time. I went to Albertsons to get snacks between watching episodes. Sabine has a lot of correspondence from students interested in the flat today. But they all seem none the wiser about how Sabine and I are leaving the flat and need them to take on our remaining lease.
America: 16th June 2017
Servicemen arrived to fix our tap this morning. They were here for a while then left after saying the problem was fixed. However it started dripping again not long after. Sabine went to the leasing office saying its still ongoing. she came back with a muffin and macaroons that we shared. The leasing agent always have snacks on offer for residents if they wish to come in and take any.
Proper plumbers arrived to fix the dripping bath tap. They were dealing with it for ages until they realised the problem was happening from behind the stop. The whole valve needed replacing.
They left again to say that they would need permission from Ambrose to turn off the water supply for the whole building. Say what now? At a minimum that is 10 flats!
The plumbers came back after an hour or so and said they got the parts needed and they also had the go ahead.
OH MY GOD the work involved! They used a very loud machine to strip out the wall covering about a laptop sized chunk out of the shower wall! The noise and the vibrations caused were horrendous. There was another guy constantly hoovering away any debris whilst the other guy fixed the new shower pipes in. It was kinda shocking all this work going on just for a dripping tap! There was no water for at least 3 hours!
In the end they put a whole new shower mechanism in which covered the laptop sized hole. We just had to wait an hour for the sealant to dry. This was 8pm at this point.
We watched Once Upon A Time then had showers at 9pm.
Proper plumbers arrived to fix the dripping bath tap. They were dealing with it for ages until they realised the problem was happening from behind the stop. The whole valve needed replacing.
They left again to say that they would need permission from Ambrose to turn off the water supply for the whole building. Say what now? At a minimum that is 10 flats!
The plumbers came back after an hour or so and said they got the parts needed and they also had the go ahead.
OH MY GOD the work involved! They used a very loud machine to strip out the wall covering about a laptop sized chunk out of the shower wall! The noise and the vibrations caused were horrendous. There was another guy constantly hoovering away any debris whilst the other guy fixed the new shower pipes in. It was kinda shocking all this work going on just for a dripping tap! There was no water for at least 3 hours!
In the end they put a whole new shower mechanism in which covered the laptop sized hole. We just had to wait an hour for the sealant to dry. This was 8pm at this point.
We watched Once Upon A Time then had showers at 9pm.
Friday 16 June 2017
America: 15th June 2017
One week to go.
We finally got a chance to skype Alex today!
After that we got bored until Sabine suggested we go have a burger. So we went there only to find everything overcrowded. We turned back.
This afternoon I pulled together a bunch of relationship proof between myself and Sabine. NZ will be needing as much as possible for my Visa application.
After that we went back to our burger place. I had a yummy Bacon Burger. I love american style bacon; its so crispy.
Our bath tap is broken again. This time its not a drip and more like continuously flowing. I had to phone the emergency repair services number and called someone out. Thankfully a guy turned up not too long later.
Straight after watching Once Upon A Time, Sabine read an email that her 3 suitcases sent to England are in need of a security inspection. After phoning around, it turns out they never even left Irvine. A security inspection was flagged at the very first port of call along their journey. Sabine had excellently wrapped them and was phoning around to see if they can be wrapped in a similar fashion after the inspection. Unfortunately due to security reasons she was never disclosed any further details. She has now sent them the TSA lock codes in order for them to open them up. :/
We finally got a chance to skype Alex today!
After that we got bored until Sabine suggested we go have a burger. So we went there only to find everything overcrowded. We turned back.
This afternoon I pulled together a bunch of relationship proof between myself and Sabine. NZ will be needing as much as possible for my Visa application.
After that we went back to our burger place. I had a yummy Bacon Burger. I love american style bacon; its so crispy.
Our bath tap is broken again. This time its not a drip and more like continuously flowing. I had to phone the emergency repair services number and called someone out. Thankfully a guy turned up not too long later.
Straight after watching Once Upon A Time, Sabine read an email that her 3 suitcases sent to England are in need of a security inspection. After phoning around, it turns out they never even left Irvine. A security inspection was flagged at the very first port of call along their journey. Sabine had excellently wrapped them and was phoning around to see if they can be wrapped in a similar fashion after the inspection. Unfortunately due to security reasons she was never disclosed any further details. She has now sent them the TSA lock codes in order for them to open them up. :/
Japan: 20th Sep 2015
There was this french girl sitting next to me on this flight. She was visiting Japan for only a week. We were chatting for a while, comparing notes of our two holidays. After the plane took off we were allowed to set up the entertainment screen which was housed in the arm rest. We helped each other out trying to get it sorted. She also helped me find the USB charger for my phone. I remembered to take the charge cable this time so I allowed for the battery to run dry at Osaka airport when texting Alex. I watched Alex Garlands' Ex Machina which was a pretty good film.
Breakfast was served around 7:30am Japanese time. It stayed pitch black outside as we were chasing the night time as it moved across the earth. Not too sure what time it will be in Dubai when we land.
Landed about 9:25am Japan time, Early morning Dubai time say 4:30am but not sure.
I hung out with the French girl at Dubai airport when we were both in transit. We looked at all the duty free stuff and even tried to say things in each other's language dialects and making it funny. She couldn't say 'desert' without it sounding like 'dessert'. Lol. She left to go find her terminal. I was in Area A and she should have been in Area C but she had more time to kill so that explains that.
I next hung out with Mark and Caroline waiting at the gate. They ended up sitting behind me on the plane, along with a rocker type blonde chick who got chatty with me when noticing my Japan T shirt I was wearing. After getting to know her, she is a german girl who came from living in Japan with her boyfriend for 4 years and is now going to be studying at Northbrook College in Worthing for her 2nd year.
Finally taken off at 1:36pm Japan time, 5:36am UK time.
I watched the 2nd Spongebob movie whilst having to pause it multiple times for a snooze. When I was more awake I watched Tomorrowland. The woman I was sitting next too must have been addicted to coffee. She asked for it multiple times and even refused to drink the ones she was served for different reasons like they were "too milky" or 'didn't have enough sugar'. Her type of coffee was jet black with the slightest hint of milk with about 4 sugars. Yuck. She was also really fidgety.
Arrived back at 12:35pm UK time.
Bloody gatwick airport. I was in a queue for fucking ages at passport control. I even queued up in the supposedly quicker Electronic Photo Passport control queue but it wasn't faster at all, it was slower. Stupid UK inefficiency.
I talked to the blonde chick when queuing and added to Facebook too. We split ways after I visited the toilet. When I came out there was a sea of people so i didn't see her again. I did text her about how annoying the queue was.
I went home via Brighton. I had no idea that today is the day The Amex host a Rugby World Cup match. USA v Samoa apparently. The train was packed.
As I mentioned I followed Mark and Caroline all the way back to Gatwick. Mark is actually going to the All Blacks match in Wembley later today!
Ending theme song is: L'Arc~en~Ciel- Driver's High
Breakfast was served around 7:30am Japanese time. It stayed pitch black outside as we were chasing the night time as it moved across the earth. Not too sure what time it will be in Dubai when we land.
Landed about 9:25am Japan time, Early morning Dubai time say 4:30am but not sure.
I hung out with the French girl at Dubai airport when we were both in transit. We looked at all the duty free stuff and even tried to say things in each other's language dialects and making it funny. She couldn't say 'desert' without it sounding like 'dessert'. Lol. She left to go find her terminal. I was in Area A and she should have been in Area C but she had more time to kill so that explains that.
I next hung out with Mark and Caroline waiting at the gate. They ended up sitting behind me on the plane, along with a rocker type blonde chick who got chatty with me when noticing my Japan T shirt I was wearing. After getting to know her, she is a german girl who came from living in Japan with her boyfriend for 4 years and is now going to be studying at Northbrook College in Worthing for her 2nd year.
Finally taken off at 1:36pm Japan time, 5:36am UK time.
I watched the 2nd Spongebob movie whilst having to pause it multiple times for a snooze. When I was more awake I watched Tomorrowland. The woman I was sitting next too must have been addicted to coffee. She asked for it multiple times and even refused to drink the ones she was served for different reasons like they were "too milky" or 'didn't have enough sugar'. Her type of coffee was jet black with the slightest hint of milk with about 4 sugars. Yuck. She was also really fidgety.
Arrived back at 12:35pm UK time.
Bloody gatwick airport. I was in a queue for fucking ages at passport control. I even queued up in the supposedly quicker Electronic Photo Passport control queue but it wasn't faster at all, it was slower. Stupid UK inefficiency.
I talked to the blonde chick when queuing and added to Facebook too. We split ways after I visited the toilet. When I came out there was a sea of people so i didn't see her again. I did text her about how annoying the queue was.
I went home via Brighton. I had no idea that today is the day The Amex host a Rugby World Cup match. USA v Samoa apparently. The train was packed.
As I mentioned I followed Mark and Caroline all the way back to Gatwick. Mark is actually going to the All Blacks match in Wembley later today!
Ending theme song is: L'Arc~en~Ciel- Driver's High
Thursday 15 June 2017
America: 14th June 2017
So today we had to wait in all day until UPS and Send My Bag arrived. Send My Bag arrived first, around lunchtime. That got rid of 3 suitcases to be sent to the UK again (thank you Mum and Dad!).
Next we had to wait for UPS to arrive. Unlike yesterday, he arrived! It was about 3pm though. But still, he was willing to take away the chairs! Still not 100% sure whether it was organised in the end by the seller or if he didn't know himself how many boxes he was taking away, but its really good that they are now gone. All we need now is the 100% refund and we will be happy.
Now we only need to sell everything else, including the flat. Fun times! Not.
We had dinner at 'Asian Box', a restaurant near Albertsons. Its not asian food per se, not Chinese food that you would expect from the UK at least. I still really fancy a nice Chinese and I thought I was going to get one today. However this is America, and this 'asian food' is "USA asian food", not "UK asian food". To me it tasted 100% American. I was very disappointed.
After that we visited the park and spotted a cormorant. Sabine even caught him on camera, fighting with a fish! Wow!
Next we had to wait for UPS to arrive. Unlike yesterday, he arrived! It was about 3pm though. But still, he was willing to take away the chairs! Still not 100% sure whether it was organised in the end by the seller or if he didn't know himself how many boxes he was taking away, but its really good that they are now gone. All we need now is the 100% refund and we will be happy.
Now we only need to sell everything else, including the flat. Fun times! Not.
We had dinner at 'Asian Box', a restaurant near Albertsons. Its not asian food per se, not Chinese food that you would expect from the UK at least. I still really fancy a nice Chinese and I thought I was going to get one today. However this is America, and this 'asian food' is "USA asian food", not "UK asian food". To me it tasted 100% American. I was very disappointed.
After that we visited the park and spotted a cormorant. Sabine even caught him on camera, fighting with a fish! Wow!
 |
| "USA asian food"....... not what I was expecting |
Japan: 19th Sep 2015
We visited a sake brewery museum today. It was only slightly interesting but Yumi bought us a travel sake bottle afterwards which was nice. I learnt that decent sake goes off really quickly. A new bottle needs to be consumed within 2 weeks. That explains why I hated it in the past.We next visited Fushimi Inari-taisha, a home of the mythical white fox and location of the Thousand Torii Gates which was a location used in The Memoirs of a Geisha. I bought more trinkets and more takoyaki.
We were dropped back at the hotel and assigned slots for a courtesy room. I opted out in favour of finally getting my chance to visit the Manga Museum just down the road.
It was more like a library for Manga. There were people reading manga everywhere. Because it was so much like a library I was miffed at the entrance fee. I found the english translation section and read Yotsuba& volume 4 in its entirety.
Around 5pm I left to meet the others at the hotel lobby. We left around 5:30. On the coach to the airport it said on my phone that it was only 10am in the UK on Saturday. Considering I'm due to get home through the door somewhere around 4pm Sunday that mega sucks. 30 hours travelling :/
I've arrived at Kansai airport and am now in a queue waiting for Emirates check in to open. The time is currently 7:48pm.At check in I was upgraded to a seat with leg room which was cool. I walked a lot around the terminal texting Alex via messenger. Also bought a green tea flavoured Kit Kat. Wasn't bad.
At the gate I decided to queue last and was one of the last on board. I love my seat it's awesome. Take off time was 11:40pm.
Wednesday 14 June 2017
America: 13th June 2017
This morning I unscrewed and packed the two chairs I was using. The seller is weird and kinda stupid. They may have forgotten that they are picking up the table AND chairs today. It depends on what UPS expects now later today. I have to say the seller is not doing themselves any favors with their company. Very shoddy all round.
I continued with my online TEFL English course, Passing module 10 at 84%
I went out twice today. Firstly to post a letter, then secondly with Sabine to the UPS store to complain about the failure of todays pick up. We were waiting all day for the UPS delivery guy to turn up to collect the table. There was always someone in the flat at the time. However in the afternoon, Sabine looked up online (manually, logging in to get this info) with it saying that they "tried to deliver but we weren't there". We were both in at the time of 2:55ish. Its a tiny flat, we can hear the door very easily. So at the UPS store we asked them what that was all about, and the guy told us this sort of shoddy behaviour happens all the time, and that he could do "nothing about it but give us a phone number". Well we already rung before going in.
Maybe America is so bad that with some customer services, you would ring them up only to be told to ring another number. What is it about the USA and phone calling? Oh and the options! Everything phone related you get a stupid voice who talks slowly telling you how long their phone calls are going to be due to 'updates' before you actually even get to the options menu! Its like a parody but in real life!
What was it Sabines supervisor was saying the other day? America has ""minor issues"". aye yai yai.
The hummingbird feeder is very active all the time today. Every few minutes its being used.
Oh yeah, earlier when I posted the letter I thought it was about time I tried an American version of 7UP. Well I went to the nearest superstore today and found absolutely no soft drinks section. That store is weird anyway as its all veterinarian/glutenfree/makeupsomethingherethatsoundshippy/organic rubbish. Next I tried any store. the nearest cafe had no coke or soft drinks section. the next didnt have any either. What the hell? Is this pleasantville or something?! The Twilight Zone!? This isnt the America it should be...
I know Albertsons sell bottles of soft drinks, but that store was too far away for me today.
---
OK so after I uploaded this blog, I took a shower and Sabine read it. She saw how much I wanted 7UP and decided to walk to Albertsons to get me some! Whatagirl! <3<3<3 I was right, it DOES taste different! Its more lime tasting than lemon. I knew it would taste different here in the states!
I continued with my online TEFL English course, Passing module 10 at 84%
I went out twice today. Firstly to post a letter, then secondly with Sabine to the UPS store to complain about the failure of todays pick up. We were waiting all day for the UPS delivery guy to turn up to collect the table. There was always someone in the flat at the time. However in the afternoon, Sabine looked up online (manually, logging in to get this info) with it saying that they "tried to deliver but we weren't there". We were both in at the time of 2:55ish. Its a tiny flat, we can hear the door very easily. So at the UPS store we asked them what that was all about, and the guy told us this sort of shoddy behaviour happens all the time, and that he could do "nothing about it but give us a phone number". Well we already rung before going in.
Maybe America is so bad that with some customer services, you would ring them up only to be told to ring another number. What is it about the USA and phone calling? Oh and the options! Everything phone related you get a stupid voice who talks slowly telling you how long their phone calls are going to be due to 'updates' before you actually even get to the options menu! Its like a parody but in real life!
What was it Sabines supervisor was saying the other day? America has ""minor issues"". aye yai yai.
The hummingbird feeder is very active all the time today. Every few minutes its being used.
Oh yeah, earlier when I posted the letter I thought it was about time I tried an American version of 7UP. Well I went to the nearest superstore today and found absolutely no soft drinks section. That store is weird anyway as its all veterinarian/glutenfree/makeupsomethingherethatsoundshippy/organic rubbish. Next I tried any store. the nearest cafe had no coke or soft drinks section. the next didnt have any either. What the hell? Is this pleasantville or something?! The Twilight Zone!? This isnt the America it should be...
I know Albertsons sell bottles of soft drinks, but that store was too far away for me today.
---
OK so after I uploaded this blog, I took a shower and Sabine read it. She saw how much I wanted 7UP and decided to walk to Albertsons to get me some! Whatagirl! <3<3<3 I was right, it DOES taste different! Its more lime tasting than lemon. I knew it would taste different here in the states!
Japan: 18th Sep 2015
Today was officially a free day. However myself, Mark and Caroline from the group had pre-booked a half days bike ride tour. We all assumed that it would be something more than advertised though, as it was advertised as a "cycling tour through a bamboo forest".
We had to get a taxi to the meet up point, arriving at a hotel in the city. There we picked up our bikes. The 3 of us plus the guide took us for a tour of the suburbs. And you know what? It was brilliant! The suburbs are exactly what I see in anime all the time. In actuality it kinda reminded me of the anime FLCL. Like I was riding around the fictional town of Mabase or something.As well as riding through the backstreets of the suburbs, we rode through a paddy field. We also stopped off at a few temples and looking around the stunning gardens. We even rode next to the river which was at the foot of the mountains.
The advertised 'bamboo forest' was more like a short walk down one street. It didn't matter.
Our ride was one way only and our guide showed us to the train station.
We caught 3 trains to Nara where the most impressive temples are. There are deer that bow their heads at you for food. I fed them with biscuits you can buy for them. There was one really cool temple with a massive statue of Buddah. So big you can get about 10 people on the palm of his hand!
I finally found a place to buy takoyaki, oh and before I forget the 3 of us ate pork curry at Nara when we arrived.
I saw the Nintendo building from the train back to Kyoto.
There isn't a great deal to say about today, but it was enjoyable.
I may not have mentioned this but Japan has tiny diddy vehicles ideal for driving through the smaller backstreets. Its quite quaint.
I need to pack my suitcase now.
Tuesday 13 June 2017
America: 12th June 2017
Today we visited the bank to settle how to close our account appropriately and timely, then next we 'checked out' from the International Centre of UCI which we officially had to do.
After that we Skyped my parents, then after that we had lunch then visited the Wetlands. Today was a gorgeous hot day and we enjoyed our walk. There was a man in one of the lakes' islands. He must have been doing ecological work of some sort. However Sabine got jealous. There was a flock of Black Skimmers gathering in another of the lakes island. that was interesting.
Our Hummingbird feeder is really active now. However one of the little cuties with a red head has decided to claim it all for himself. He perches on the branch of an adjacent tree and sits and waits all day, until another Buzz Buzz comes along, then he chases that other bird away then flies back to his perch. There is enough sugar water for everyone! He's such a meanie. XD
After that we Skyped my parents, then after that we had lunch then visited the Wetlands. Today was a gorgeous hot day and we enjoyed our walk. There was a man in one of the lakes' islands. He must have been doing ecological work of some sort. However Sabine got jealous. There was a flock of Black Skimmers gathering in another of the lakes island. that was interesting.
Our Hummingbird feeder is really active now. However one of the little cuties with a red head has decided to claim it all for himself. He perches on the branch of an adjacent tree and sits and waits all day, until another Buzz Buzz comes along, then he chases that other bird away then flies back to his perch. There is enough sugar water for everyone! He's such a meanie. XD
Japan: 17th Sep 2015
We visited Nijo Castle this morning, walking directly from the hotel. It's only across the road. It was used by 5 of the 50 Shoguns overall.
We next visited another local temple which was some type of golden pavilion pagoda. It was raining and I was tired.
I was tired and fell asleep on the coach. When it stopped I noticed we were back at the hotel. I was very grateful for it. Yumi said that we were slightly early for the tea ceremony so she decided to use this time leisurely at the hotel. I shoved a hair dryer down my shoes and changed from shorts to trousers. My warm shoes worked so well I felt completely refreshed at 12:50 when we left.
We drove to the tea house district. We were invited into a small house especially built in the olden times for the tea ceremony. The lady was a tea ceremony master. Yumi translated everything about the small details needed to be performed so as to appreciate the tea. In the past, tea was highly expensive so this was what they did (pretentious) to appreciate it.
We next visited Kiyomizu temple. Its rather large and even recognisable in anime and manga for the humungous drop with balcony. There was a great superstitious feature where you have to walk 10m between two stones, with eyes shut, in order to do well in love. Some people didn't walk straight so failed, however I did! WooHoo!
We next visited the Geisha district. I saw 3 of them. Apparently this is quite rare. The area was packed with tourists.
In the evening after arriving back, I followed Mike and Caroline down to the station via the shuttle bus. I only wanted to walk up the sky garden staircase. I did just that. The views from the top were great. All of us had dinner here in a kebab restaurant named Koke Kokko.
I took out money yesterday but used it all up today. :/ I went to an ATM machine in a 7/11. The system was harder to use and I came away having withdrawn a lot more than I should have. I was bummed out but I will keep it to one side until the return trip to Japan.
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