What I Ate in Japan

Dear D,

What can I say, the food in Japan is oiiiiishiiiii~~~

I ate a lot of ramen and noodles in general.. this one's with a miso/fish-based broth.

Also ate a ton of raw fish. Welcome to your new home in my body, mercury! ..but worth it?

Soba.
Swanky McD burger with avocado!

I ate that eyeball.

I included my hand to show just how enormous these suckers were.

Udon and tempura!

More ramen!

Box dinner from convenient store.

Appetizers from the first night!

I'm game to go back whenever you want.

love,

L

Temple Fair at Ritan Park

Dear D,

Over Chinese new year, I decided to take part in a popular custom by attending one of Beijing's many temple fairs. During Spring Festival (aka Chinese new year) Beijing clears out, which turns the bustling city in to a surreal, ghost town that feels like D.C. So, I was a bit taken aback when a 20 minute bike ride dropped me in the biggest crowd I'd ever seen:

Tickets were 10 RMB per person. Someone was making a fortune.

Once inside I realized that all the flower/fruit/cartoon turd - topped sticks were selling well because friends and families didn't want to lose one another in the crowd.

Prizes begging to be released from their saran wrap prisons.

A happy prize winner.

Posing with a tiger. A bit disappointed, since it's the year of the dragon.

Tastes from the middle east (...?)

And crammed between stalls selling ancient Chinese weaponry and traditional handicrafts: PvZ is really big here.

"Fake paws, come and get your fake paws!"

Korean glutinous rice things.

CHURROS.

All in all a worthwhile experience, even if I left after an hour due to hyperventilation and anxiety. One can only push through so many crowds, be stepped on so many times and knock over so many grannies. Happy year of the dragon!

Love,

L

I'm back to the blogosphere!

Dear D - How's it looking on the protest front? It must be getting cold...those protestors can't stay out there on the sugar block much longer!! I just realized I meant to write <1% on that sign. I guess I use < too much for hearts and what not wiiink

It was a cold and clear day today, so I did a lot of walking. I also bought the first season of Mad Men, finally jumping on that trend a few years late.

I was trying to figure out why there were no new movies in the DVD shop ("someone's must've filmed this in a Russian theater by now...where's my DVD??"), and I realized it's because the Chinese people working in the black market movie market must be taking vacation for Spring Festival! Curses.

love,

L

More Goteborg

Almost..

Fotografiska in April

Lonely Moon

I miss you

Dear D,

Love,

L

A train ride to Goteborg

Spring in Stockholm?

It's almost too good to be true...Spring? Is it really here in Stockholm?

The signs are all over the place!

The tentative crocus blooms...

Pretty, overnight flower carpets...

A weekend of sunshine!

A dearth of ice floes in the city...

More and more pedestrians...

Overjoyed Swedes relishing in the need for sunglasses...

And perfect weather for mini Renaissance fairs! (Or Viking fair...if you will)

Headgear, past and present.

There were even some battling knights for everyone's amusement.

Check out that leather skullcap.

The first weekend of spring seemed like a good time to grab a meal at Max Burger, where you can choose your burger based on its cost in CO2.

I decided to skip the guilt and order from the Climate menu! Minimal CO2 emissions when you make falafel I guess.

A less environmentally friendly meal, but just as delicious. Maybe more..?

Semla buns (cream bun on the right) are delicious, by the way.

We took a walk around the piers near the Royal Palace.

And attended the Lust & Vice show at the National Museum--a collection of erotic art through the centuries. This terrific pixelated nun's butt points directly at the front of the Royal Palace. Some curators somewhere are sharing a big chuckle.

The square in front of the Nobel museum, and site of Stockholm's Bloodbath in 1520.

...they say the rain water sometimes still runs red here....

It's great that Sweden holds no delusions of tropical warmth and instead provides blankets for everyone. So practical.

In Gamla Stan. Beautiful old city built on medieval trash!