You can now see all my pictures in my blog. I also changed the layout so it doesn't crop them.
You can click on the images to get a larger version and you can use the "Blog Archive" to read my older posts.
Hope you like it :)
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
November 2nd (San Francisco and Montreal)
Today we left San Francisco to head back home. We thanked Rachel and took a taxi to the airport. There's nothing special to say about this day. Everything went smoothly. We got safely home around 10pm and undid our luggage.
Our trip has been really great. My dream as now come true. I'll go through my pictures so I can update my posts with them and add links on my older posts as I update them.
I'll try to do it all at once and then put up a post to tell those of you that are reading my blog to recheck my updated posts.
Our trip has been really great. My dream as now come true. I'll go through my pictures so I can update my posts with them and add links on my older posts as I update them.
I'll try to do it all at once and then put up a post to tell those of you that are reading my blog to recheck my updated posts.
November 1st (San Francisco)
We got up late, around 11am I think. It was pouring outside and we were hung over a bit (me more then the others) so we decided to go eat breakfast, rent a movie and take a nap before going out for supper.
And that's what we did. The movie we rented ended being REALLY shitty. What ever you do, don't rent "The Happening". The only good thing about the movie is the concept. The rest is total crap (bad acting, bad dialogue, bad story, bad characters, etc). I should have taken my nap during the movie :P
The restaurant we went to that night is called The House. The food was so good. I had steak on home made wasabi noodles! Everything I tasted was great. Joining us for supper was Marie-Claude and Patrick which is a Montrealer that's been in San Francisco for almost 2 years. I know him from Microids and Ubisoft and Nath knows him from Ubisoft. So we spoke french the whole evening.
After supper we went to a cool bar were we talked over a drink. Pat left us eventually and we left to walk in San Francisco a bit since the rain had stopped. We passed through Chinatown and walked a bit downtown (or wherever we were :P). We left Marie-Claude at a subway station and walked a bit more. I wish I had taken my camera but when we left it didn't seem like I would need it. There was a nice lighting to the city with the fog and night.
We took a taxi back home, watched Saturday Night Live that was really funny this time, talked, browsed the net and went to bed.
And that's what we did. The movie we rented ended being REALLY shitty. What ever you do, don't rent "The Happening". The only good thing about the movie is the concept. The rest is total crap (bad acting, bad dialogue, bad story, bad characters, etc). I should have taken my nap during the movie :P
The restaurant we went to that night is called The House. The food was so good. I had steak on home made wasabi noodles! Everything I tasted was great. Joining us for supper was Marie-Claude and Patrick which is a Montrealer that's been in San Francisco for almost 2 years. I know him from Microids and Ubisoft and Nath knows him from Ubisoft. So we spoke french the whole evening.
After supper we went to a cool bar were we talked over a drink. Pat left us eventually and we left to walk in San Francisco a bit since the rain had stopped. We passed through Chinatown and walked a bit downtown (or wherever we were :P). We left Marie-Claude at a subway station and walked a bit more. I wish I had taken my camera but when we left it didn't seem like I would need it. There was a nice lighting to the city with the fog and night.
We took a taxi back home, watched Saturday Night Live that was really funny this time, talked, browsed the net and went to bed.
October 31st (Tokyo and San Francisco)
Today we left Tokyo. We got up not too late so we could have breakfast at the hotel and there was nothing that we felt we really wanted to see before we left so we decided to make our way slowly to the airport. We got there 5 hours in advance... but we shopped to get rid of our final yens and ate lunch. We took the time to take our time.
In the train to the airport
For the first time in my life (even though I've flown a bit) I took a plane that had individual screens on the seat in front of you. You can listen to like 20 satellite radio stations but more importantly, you can choose which movie you want to see, in the order you like and you can actually see something!
I chose to watch "The Incredible Hulk" first which was really good. There's a joke reference about Hulk's purple pants in the original comics and I'm pretty sure the actor who played the Hulk in the TV series has a small role in the movie!
The second movie I chose to watch was "Get Smart" which I think is based off an old TV series. It's a comedy/espionage movie. It's not a must see but if you liked "Austin Powers" or comedies in general, I think it could be worth a rental or download.
Once we landed, we went to pick up the car I had rented so that we could go meet our friend Rachel (she used to be Nath's roommate) at Google where she works. She gave us a tour and we ate at one of the many different cafeterias.
Google is really big. There's around 8000 employees so the area looks more like a campus with its many buildings. Everything is free on the campus: food, drinks, gym, etc and there's a lot of other perks. We were pretty impressed with what we saw and what Rachel was telling us about the corporate mentality.
Rachel left work early to come with us. We were staying at her house for the weekend. We dropped off our luggage, brought back the car and took a cab back to a pharmacy near Rachel's house. Since it was Halloween and we were planning on going out, we wanted to try and find cheap costumes. Nath bought a witch hat and I some make-up.
Rachel rents a really nice apartment not too far from Fisherman's Wharf. She had set us up a really comfortable inflatable bed in the living room. After 3 weeks of Japanese beds, which were mostly hard, this bed felt like paradise! We took a 2 hour nap so we wouldn't be too tired after supper. I hadn't slept on the plane and Nath had for only an hour.
So, the nap over, we dressed up. Rachel "80ies style", Nath "witch style" and me I just drew some freaky marionette style make-up in my face. We took a cab to the restaurant named Dosa. There we were meeting 2 of Rachel's friends, Pam and Oliver, and Marie-Claude which is Nath's friend who just moved there 3 weeks ago for her post-doctorate.
Nath and Rachel
The food was really good and the wine also. I suggest you try it if you ever get the chance but I think it's better to make a reservation. When the supper was over, Oliver left because he had a show to go to. The rest of us moved to a bar to go have a drink.
There were a lot of dressed up people and the ambiance was really nice in the bar and on the streets. We stayed at that one for a while and then moved to another so we could dance. It was an African bar with "baobab" in it's name (my favorite word !). We were pretty drunk. We talked with everybody and had a lot of fun.
Funny thing about bars in San Francisco, most of them have only one or 2 toilets... for the whole bar ! And people drink which makes them want to pee more. You end up having huge line ups. Really weird...
Around 2 am we decided to head back home. I think most bars were closing but I'm not sure because I was too drunk :P It was IMPOSSIBLE to get a taxi so Rachel just asked a couple that stopped at the light to give us a lift in exchange for money. They accepted. So we got into their SUV and they drove us close to Rachel's house. Pam was still with us (Marie-Claude had left earlier) and she lived farther so when we spotted a cab, she left the SUV in a hurry and since we were close to Rachel's apartment we did the same. Thing is Rachel dropped her wallet in the the couples car.
We headed back home and Rachel started to call to cancel her cards, just in case, even though the couple seemed very nice. And they were ! Just after Rachel canceled her debit card, they called. They had found Rachel's business card in her wallet. Nath Stayed home to go to bed and I accompanied Rachel to go get her wallet back.
The couple lived more in a suburb of San Fran. We had to take the highway to get there. The taxi ride cost 55$ (go there, wait as Rachel gets her wallet and then back). We went to bed around 4am.
In the train to the airport
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
For the first time in my life (even though I've flown a bit) I took a plane that had individual screens on the seat in front of you. You can listen to like 20 satellite radio stations but more importantly, you can choose which movie you want to see, in the order you like and you can actually see something!
I chose to watch "The Incredible Hulk" first which was really good. There's a joke reference about Hulk's purple pants in the original comics and I'm pretty sure the actor who played the Hulk in the TV series has a small role in the movie!
The second movie I chose to watch was "Get Smart" which I think is based off an old TV series. It's a comedy/espionage movie. It's not a must see but if you liked "Austin Powers" or comedies in general, I think it could be worth a rental or download.
Once we landed, we went to pick up the car I had rented so that we could go meet our friend Rachel (she used to be Nath's roommate) at Google where she works. She gave us a tour and we ate at one of the many different cafeterias.
Google is really big. There's around 8000 employees so the area looks more like a campus with its many buildings. Everything is free on the campus: food, drinks, gym, etc and there's a lot of other perks. We were pretty impressed with what we saw and what Rachel was telling us about the corporate mentality.
Rachel left work early to come with us. We were staying at her house for the weekend. We dropped off our luggage, brought back the car and took a cab back to a pharmacy near Rachel's house. Since it was Halloween and we were planning on going out, we wanted to try and find cheap costumes. Nath bought a witch hat and I some make-up.
Rachel rents a really nice apartment not too far from Fisherman's Wharf. She had set us up a really comfortable inflatable bed in the living room. After 3 weeks of Japanese beds, which were mostly hard, this bed felt like paradise! We took a 2 hour nap so we wouldn't be too tired after supper. I hadn't slept on the plane and Nath had for only an hour.
So, the nap over, we dressed up. Rachel "80ies style", Nath "witch style" and me I just drew some freaky marionette style make-up in my face. We took a cab to the restaurant named Dosa. There we were meeting 2 of Rachel's friends, Pam and Oliver, and Marie-Claude which is Nath's friend who just moved there 3 weeks ago for her post-doctorate.
Nath and Rachel
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
The food was really good and the wine also. I suggest you try it if you ever get the chance but I think it's better to make a reservation. When the supper was over, Oliver left because he had a show to go to. The rest of us moved to a bar to go have a drink.
There were a lot of dressed up people and the ambiance was really nice in the bar and on the streets. We stayed at that one for a while and then moved to another so we could dance. It was an African bar with "baobab" in it's name (my favorite word !). We were pretty drunk. We talked with everybody and had a lot of fun.
Funny thing about bars in San Francisco, most of them have only one or 2 toilets... for the whole bar ! And people drink which makes them want to pee more. You end up having huge line ups. Really weird...
Around 2 am we decided to head back home. I think most bars were closing but I'm not sure because I was too drunk :P It was IMPOSSIBLE to get a taxi so Rachel just asked a couple that stopped at the light to give us a lift in exchange for money. They accepted. So we got into their SUV and they drove us close to Rachel's house. Pam was still with us (Marie-Claude had left earlier) and she lived farther so when we spotted a cab, she left the SUV in a hurry and since we were close to Rachel's apartment we did the same. Thing is Rachel dropped her wallet in the the couples car.
We headed back home and Rachel started to call to cancel her cards, just in case, even though the couple seemed very nice. And they were ! Just after Rachel canceled her debit card, they called. They had found Rachel's business card in her wallet. Nath Stayed home to go to bed and I accompanied Rachel to go get her wallet back.
The couple lived more in a suburb of San Fran. We had to take the highway to get there. The taxi ride cost 55$ (go there, wait as Rachel gets her wallet and then back). We went to bed around 4am.
October 30th (Tokyo)
Today we went to visit the "Ghibli Museum"in the city of Mitaka (30 minutes by train from Shinjuku). Studio Ghibli is an animated movie production house that produced some of my favorite animes like "Princess Mononoke", "Nausicaä of the valley of the wind", "My neighbor Totoro" and the Oscar winning "Spirited away". It's Japan's Disney.
To visit the museum, you have to buy the tickets in advance at specially designated stores for a specific date. We had bought ours before we left at a travel agency in Toronto. I think there's only one other distributor in Vancouver and that's it for Canada !
The museum is made for kids (and adults who still have an inner child :P). There are no set routes, only themed rooms that you can access by climbing spiraling staircases or going through small doors. It's just one big magical house that stimulates your imagination. You're not allowed to take pictures inside on the pretext that "the museum should be experienced through the eyes and not though the lens of a camera or camcorder. I would have loved to take pictures inside but I agree that my experience of the museum wouldn't have been the same.
The only picture I took inside in the main entrance
I took the opportunity to buy some Ghibli merchandise which is hard to find (and much more expensive) in Montreal. This visit has also been a strong moment of my trip.
We had a rendezvous around 6pm with a colleague from work named Guillaume that is renting an apartment in Tokyo for 1 month but we had a bit if time on our hands so we strolled through a park next to the museum as we made our way back to the train station. We also shopped a bit in Shinjuku in a couple of it's "depato" (department stores).
Tree near the park
Shinjuku at night
If you'd like to Bling something for a special occasion...
We didn't have trouble finding Guillaume and we went to a kaiten-zushi in Shinjuku. The food was really good but there was a lot of weird dishes like crab brains and cod "uterus" filled with eggs. Nathalie ate the latter :S
After supper, we went to Guillaume's apartment building to drink some beers on the roof, hehe. One of his friends from Montreal and his girlfriend also joined us (the 3 are making the same trip and are living in the same building) and we talked about our experiences in Japan and other things.
We left not too late because we were taking the plane the next day and we thought we had to get up early (finally the plane was at 5pm). We also wanted to pack before we went to bed. So that's what we did and we also watched some Japanese TV and ended up going to bed around 1am.
In this I wanted to show the color of the ramp of the escalator. It's the same color as the train line. I was also sad to notice that it wasn't constant but I still think it's cool :)
Great name for a drink (sounds more or less like: "drink piss" in french)
To visit the museum, you have to buy the tickets in advance at specially designated stores for a specific date. We had bought ours before we left at a travel agency in Toronto. I think there's only one other distributor in Vancouver and that's it for Canada !
The museum is made for kids (and adults who still have an inner child :P). There are no set routes, only themed rooms that you can access by climbing spiraling staircases or going through small doors. It's just one big magical house that stimulates your imagination. You're not allowed to take pictures inside on the pretext that "the museum should be experienced through the eyes and not though the lens of a camera or camcorder. I would have loved to take pictures inside but I agree that my experience of the museum wouldn't have been the same.
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
The only picture I took inside in the main entrance
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
I took the opportunity to buy some Ghibli merchandise which is hard to find (and much more expensive) in Montreal. This visit has also been a strong moment of my trip.
We had a rendezvous around 6pm with a colleague from work named Guillaume that is renting an apartment in Tokyo for 1 month but we had a bit if time on our hands so we strolled through a park next to the museum as we made our way back to the train station. We also shopped a bit in Shinjuku in a couple of it's "depato" (department stores).
Tree near the park
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
Shinjuku at night
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
If you'd like to Bling something for a special occasion...
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
We didn't have trouble finding Guillaume and we went to a kaiten-zushi in Shinjuku. The food was really good but there was a lot of weird dishes like crab brains and cod "uterus" filled with eggs. Nathalie ate the latter :S
After supper, we went to Guillaume's apartment building to drink some beers on the roof, hehe. One of his friends from Montreal and his girlfriend also joined us (the 3 are making the same trip and are living in the same building) and we talked about our experiences in Japan and other things.
We left not too late because we were taking the plane the next day and we thought we had to get up early (finally the plane was at 5pm). We also wanted to pack before we went to bed. So that's what we did and we also watched some Japanese TV and ended up going to bed around 1am.
In this I wanted to show the color of the ramp of the escalator. It's the same color as the train line. I was also sad to notice that it wasn't constant but I still think it's cool :)
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
Great name for a drink (sounds more or less like: "drink piss" in french)
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
October 29th (Tokyo)
Today we decided to go see the "National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovations". The museum is situated next to Tokyo Bay. A bit like Montreal's Old Port.
To get there by train, there's only one train available and it's totally computer controlled! And since there are no driver booth at the front or end of the train, you can sit in the front as if you were the one driving and see the track and have a really nice view of the city as the train makes it's way between downtown Shinjuku and Odaiba (the name of the district where the museum was). Odaiba is also home amusement parks and many other entertainments.
Building in Shinjuku before taking the train
The museum is kind of like the science museum we have in the Old Port but 1000 times better because you can see Asimo (a robot made by Honda) in action :D We were very close to him and we didn't have to wait in line to see him !!! This was one of the strongest moments of my trip. I was so excited. This is one of the most human like robot that exists. It can climb stairs, walk and even run ! I wish I could have one :)
Asimo!
Asimo running!
There were other robots on display that we didn't get a chance to see in action. Many displays about nanotechnology (I even controlled some nano machines!) and electromagnetic technologies were also on display on the first floor we visited. On the second floor there was a small set up that represented a part of the space station orbiting earth. It was very interesting to learn how astronauts do a lot of things. We quickly went through the rest of the floor because we didn't feel like learning more about biology and DNA.
Electromagnetic train concepts
Nathalie driving a mug
The museum cafeteria had different sized tables and chairs :)
We left Odaiba and headed for Asakusa for some souvenir shopping and to see if I could find myself some cheap tabi socks. As we were riding the automated train, the sun was setting and we had a very nice view of Tokyo.
When we got off the metro in Asakusa, we were right next to one of it's main attractions, the Asahi Breweries LTD building and the golden flame building next to it. The Asahi building looks like a glass of beer and the flame looks more like a golden spermatozoon... A took a picture of it nonetheless :P
Our destination, Nakamise street, was one street over. It was lined with souvenir shops on both sides for 250m and it ended in front of Sensoji Temple which is said to be the oldest in Tokyo (built in 628). Those shops are also pretty old and date all the way back to the Edo period (1603-1868) . I could imagine myself how it must have been like 300 years ago when people would shop as they headed for the temple. It must have been as busy a street then as it is now.
We shopped a bit and I was lucky enough to find affordable tabi. We bought some gifts, went to see the temple and went back to the hotel to do some laundry before supper.
The temple
Souvenir shop
For supper, Nath's book suggested an "Unagi" restaurant. Unagi is eel and BBQed eel is supposed to be particularly good in Tokyo. The restaurant was indeed really nice. The waitresses were dressed in kimonos and our meals were served in real bento boxes. The eel was delicious and cooked to perfection. Everything else was also delicious except the sake that was a bit sub-par to what we had had up until now.
I don't remember when but I realized today that there are no pigeons and gulls in Tokyo which is kinda nice (I think they're annoying because there are too many in Montreal and they're always in the way). At the same time, Tokyo doesn't have enough animals probably because there aren't that many parks and it's such a huge city. Well, there are a LOT of cats. I think Japan is the motherland of cats. They're like everywhere (in the flesh, objects, drawings...maids :P).
To get there by train, there's only one train available and it's totally computer controlled! And since there are no driver booth at the front or end of the train, you can sit in the front as if you were the one driving and see the track and have a really nice view of the city as the train makes it's way between downtown Shinjuku and Odaiba (the name of the district where the museum was). Odaiba is also home amusement parks and many other entertainments.
Building in Shinjuku before taking the train
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
The museum is kind of like the science museum we have in the Old Port but 1000 times better because you can see Asimo (a robot made by Honda) in action :D We were very close to him and we didn't have to wait in line to see him !!! This was one of the strongest moments of my trip. I was so excited. This is one of the most human like robot that exists. It can climb stairs, walk and even run ! I wish I could have one :)
Asimo!
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
Asimo running!
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
There were other robots on display that we didn't get a chance to see in action. Many displays about nanotechnology (I even controlled some nano machines!) and electromagnetic technologies were also on display on the first floor we visited. On the second floor there was a small set up that represented a part of the space station orbiting earth. It was very interesting to learn how astronauts do a lot of things. We quickly went through the rest of the floor because we didn't feel like learning more about biology and DNA.
Electromagnetic train concepts
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
Nathalie driving a mug
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
The museum cafeteria had different sized tables and chairs :)
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
We left Odaiba and headed for Asakusa for some souvenir shopping and to see if I could find myself some cheap tabi socks. As we were riding the automated train, the sun was setting and we had a very nice view of Tokyo.
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
When we got off the metro in Asakusa, we were right next to one of it's main attractions, the Asahi Breweries LTD building and the golden flame building next to it. The Asahi building looks like a glass of beer and the flame looks more like a golden spermatozoon... A took a picture of it nonetheless :P
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
Our destination, Nakamise street, was one street over. It was lined with souvenir shops on both sides for 250m and it ended in front of Sensoji Temple which is said to be the oldest in Tokyo (built in 628). Those shops are also pretty old and date all the way back to the Edo period (1603-1868) . I could imagine myself how it must have been like 300 years ago when people would shop as they headed for the temple. It must have been as busy a street then as it is now.
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
We shopped a bit and I was lucky enough to find affordable tabi. We bought some gifts, went to see the temple and went back to the hotel to do some laundry before supper.
The temple
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
Souvenir shop
.jpg) |
| From Trip to Japan |
For supper, Nath's book suggested an "Unagi" restaurant. Unagi is eel and BBQed eel is supposed to be particularly good in Tokyo. The restaurant was indeed really nice. The waitresses were dressed in kimonos and our meals were served in real bento boxes. The eel was delicious and cooked to perfection. Everything else was also delicious except the sake that was a bit sub-par to what we had had up until now.
I don't remember when but I realized today that there are no pigeons and gulls in Tokyo which is kinda nice (I think they're annoying because there are too many in Montreal and they're always in the way). At the same time, Tokyo doesn't have enough animals probably because there aren't that many parks and it's such a huge city. Well, there are a LOT of cats. I think Japan is the motherland of cats. They're like everywhere (in the flesh, objects, drawings...maids :P).
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