Japan on a rainy day

Even the storm drains have artistic covers

Kyoto Japan, a simple tea bowl

Kyoto, Japan  2016

Japan is well known for hand made items that are simple yet beautiful.   Walking the streets of each town vs taking a tour bus allows me to stop and see both local stores and small treasure troves of local life.

I stopped at the doorway of a small, dark store that sold tea bowls, tea pots and other ceramic items.

I met the owner of the shop who was just as happy to sell me a small, inexpensive tea bowl as one of the tea posts priced at over $600!    We could not talk with each other because I do not speak Japanese, but a smile goes a long way.

Simple displays highlight each piece for style or color.

My single bowl was very carefully wrapped.  The owner knew I was a traveler and took extra care to wrap the bowl in bubble wrap.       I found the tatami platform he worked at (after removing his shoes)  so Japanese!

Just down the street was another ceramic shop.     This shop featured tables of items by price.  An interesting alternative approach.

NY Cheese cake beware there is competiton

The Uncle Testu location in Sydney, Australia

Who is Uncle Tetsu?   

I thought Italian cheese cake was the historic best

Walking in Sydney, Australian I found a crowd outside of a restaurant or was it a store?    The line was similar to a group waiting to enter a club or a major sale in a high end store.   All ages and all sizes.   

They are lining up for the opportunity to purchase ONE cheesecake.

I had to do some research to find out WHY this cheesecake was so popular

$17.99 for a smallish cheese cake.  Not too expensive but how does ONE person eat an entire cheesecake?    There were  no alternatives to purchase a slice or 1/2.

The space is not that large to produce hundreds of cakes but there is a well trained army of workers, each with an assigned task:  from cutting butter into slabs,mixing batter or pouring into pans.

History of Uncle Tetsu Cheese Cake  I have found online since I could not speak with any of the employees here, they were all behind glass!   see http://uncletetsu-ca.com/our-story/

"Helping in his parents 'sweets business' since the age of 5, Tetsu worked in the food industry for decades.   Among other restaurants and bakeries  Uncle Tetsu created cheesecake in Hakata.  The article notes that Tetsu started to use an Australian cheese to bake his cakes."    Perhaps this is why the line in Sydney was so long!

"The cakes are described as super soft, rich and flavorful". 

Their web site lists location in Toronto so I may have another opportunity to try one...

Have you had this Japanese cheesecake?

Boon Hall outside of Charelston, SC

 Boon Hall Plantation
Off season you won't have crowds but most of the venues will NOT be open.

Everyone visits this plantation to see the driveway with 100 yrs odf oaks and the moss

Looking forward to the renovation that will be a reastaurant?

Take a ship if it costs less than the plane

Returning to NYC................have done this several times and it is always amazing even if you must wake up at 4:30

Australian cities have arcades

Boats, Planes and Trains: Round the World Travel

A Round the World trip has always been the dream trip for me

After many difficulties I was able to take a portion of the dream trip:  Canada, Japan and Australia

Even traveling for two months there was NOT enough time!

Stories on the people I met and the places I found at each stop will follow but the photos may show you what words do not............

Melbourne, Australia

A large city with many different areas within the city.  Three days were not enough to see more than a small portion of the city.

A rainy day was perfect to walk the alleys and see the street art.

How do the artists paint such LARGE formats from the perspective from the street?

I could not obtain confirmation but was told, shoes over the wires originally marked a spot for street transactions

Solo Dining With a Twist: order take out to be delivered here

A story on line today by Jess McHugh in Travel and Leisure Magazine offers another way to eat out when you travel solo............... I wanted to share it with you.  
Although I object to being called a loner, this is a great new idea to be able to enjoy a variety of cuisines without sitting solo in each restaurant.   Sure beats eating in my room.....

Helsinki Pop-up Restaurant Takes Solo Dining to a New Level

By Jess McHugh January 27, 2017

"Hey, loner: eat here.

Fear not takeout lovers, a new restaurant in Helsinki wants to turn eating alone into a group activity.

The pop-up called “Take In” in the Finnish capital seeks to create a space for diners who are looking to enjoy a meal on their own, the Independent reported, allowing people to order takeout from 20 different restaurants and have it delivered to the restaurant. “We want to be a living room in the city,” Wolt’s Finland’s director told U.K. magazine Monocle.

While the restaurant has no food of its own, it has a fully stocked bar as well as wait staff to serve diners their meals. The pop-up may have been designed with singles in mind, but it also caters to friends who are constantly bickering over which restaurant to order takeout from—this way every one can order what they want.

Dining alone has often intimidated many food-lovers, but the trend has been on the rise over the past several years. According to Open Table, the number of reservations for solo diners increased by 62 percent in the period from 2013-2015.

Solo dining can carry some surprising health benefits, including allowing you to eat at your own pace and fully enjoy the sensory experience of the meal, Mic reported. There you have it: no need to fret over a solo meal again—it might actually be good for you."

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