The Last Post

223 days
20 countries
22-30 kilograms each in backpacks
48 different accommodation places
2 nights sleeping in airports
4 nights sleeping on transport
231 blog posts

phew...

Tokyo: People on the Streets

Tokyo: Signs, Rules and Regulations

Tokyo: The Streets

Tokyo: More From New Year's Eve

More images from New Year's Eve under a full moon at the main shrine in Asakusa, Tokyo. The first image of the decorations seem to be a good wishes/new year related object. They are found near the entrance of many things, from buildings through to construction areas.

Tokyo: From the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

The view from the 45th floor, looking out from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (in Shinkjuku) over Tokyo.

Tokyo: Harajuku

Harajuku is one of the main shopping areas in Tokyo, popular with young people mainly. This is the busiest street i've ever seen.

Tokyo: Sensoji Temple, New Year's Eve

After arriving in Tokyo slightly later than we had planned (The snow delayed take-off in Helsinki) we spent New Year's Eve at the Sensoji temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. The photos show the Kaminari Gate, to the temple and some of the food stalls that were everywhere in the grounds around the temple. Unfortunately the temple is undergoing renovations, so it wasn't very spectacular, but the atmosphere around it was great. After the midnight the Joyo-no-kane (New Years Eve bell) was struck 108 times, once for each human passion.

Out of Europe

I'm writing from the Helsinki Airport, after flying from Madrid this morning, we're waiting for our connecting flight to Tokyo at the moment. The picture shows the view from the plane's door as we stepped out to board the bus to the terminal. The temperature was around -5. As we boarded the bus people stopped to have a quick snow fight and stamp around in the snow, it's the first time we've been in snow for the whole trip (It didn't snow while we were in Svalbard, although there was snow on the ground).

George Orwell and His Blog

For those of you who haven't had a look at the George Orwell Blog it is worth a peak.

And no, he hasn't risen from the dead in order to experiment with the latest communication technologies. The blog is a direct transcript of his diaries (which were free of copyright last year), and matches the current date with the same date Orwell had wrote the entry, but only 70 years before.

I've finally been catching up with the posts and it has been good to read his interpretations of places we've been to, such as Morocco, with many of his comments describing similar experiences and things happening there today as it did those 70 years ago.

Barcelona: Advertising

These stickers are a very common sight in Barcelona, when the shops close they roll down their shutters, and they are covered in hundreds of these small colourful stickers, some text and a phone number. What are they promoting?
That's what i thought too, so i went to google translate...turns out they're advertisements for locksmiths. I imagine these would be very handy if you were shopkeeper and you couldn't get into your shop for some reason, but it's a curious thing that only locksmiths have devised this novel way of promoting their services.

Barcelona: Sagrada Famila

Designed by Antoni Gaudi, construction began in 1882 and is not expected to be completed until 2026. Gaudi reportedly said "My client is not in a hurry".
We've visited Barcelona before, and we had a better look at the Sagrada Familia then, queuing up and looking around inside, and climbing up the narrow spiral staircases for an amazing view out over the city. This time we were content to check on the progress of the building from the street, it has a few obvious additions, but the older sections remain the best.

Another Blog and John Cage Exhibition Post

I think I have caught the blogging bug and have started another blog looking at art and cultural relationships within the wider context.

There are some posts commenting on a John Cage exhibition we just saw in Barcelona and images of buildings, etc.

Parc Guell cat

Sitting in Parc Guell waiting for tourists to admire him, or feed him.

Barcelona: Parc Guell

Parc Guell was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, and is a remarkable achievement in landscape design and architecture. gaudi's style has become a symbol of Barcelona, and despite being unpopular early in his career, he is now regarded as an architect of genius and extraordinary creativity. The park itself is a world heritage site.
More details on Wikipedia

Winter sun in Barcelona

Christmas day in Barcelona, and the sun has come out. We packed a picnic lunch and walked up to Parc del Guinardo for a view out over the city. If you look closely at the first picture you can make out the curious towers of the Sagrada Familia. Happy holidays to all.

The Invention of Christmas

"There were no Christmas cards in 1843 England, no Christmas trees at royal residences or White Houses, no Christmas turkeys, no department-store Santa or his million clones, no outpouring of "Yuletide greetings," no weeklong cessation of business affairs through the New Year, no orgy of gift-giving, no ubiquitous public display of nativity scenes (or court fights regarding them), no holiday lighting extravaganzas, and no plethora of midnight services celebrating the birth of a savior. In fact, despite all of Dickens's enthusiasms, the holiday was a relatively minor affair that ranked far below Easter, causing little more stir than Memorial Day or St. George's Day does today. In the eyes of the relatively enlightened Anglican Church, moreover, the entire enterprise of celebrating Christmas smacked vaguely of paganism, and were there Puritans still around, acknowledging the holiday might have landed one in the stocks.
...
For the first several hundred years of Christianity's practice, and while the death and rebirth of Jesus were venerated upon the highest holy day of Easter, the birth of the savior was not celebrated. It was Pope Julius I who, during the fourth century, designated December 25 as the official date for the birth of Jesus, and scholars believe that he chose the date so that Christianity might attract new members by co-opting the lingering sentiments for the ancient festival of Saturnalia, held annually by Romans in honor of their god of agriculture. Beginning the week before the winter solstice (which occurs between December 20 and 23 each year) and for an entire month, Romans turned their ordinary world topsy-turvy and embarked upon an orgy of drinking and feasting, during which businesses and schools were closed, the government of the city was turned over to the peasants, and slaves were relieved of their masters".
An excerpt from "The Man Who Invented Christmas"(Dickens), from: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96909350

Barcelona

Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Christmas eve. Happy Holidays!

Farewell Collioure

If anyone is curious about where we've stayed while in Collioure, it's a little apartment called Studio Liberte (http://collioure.com.au/). We can both recommend it highly. It's quite compact, but comfortable and about a ten second walk to the beach, probably more handy in summer, but very nice to hear the waves as you fall asleep.

Relaxing in Collioure

Collioure is, at least in the winter season, a quiet town. The main activities for us have been eating, sleeping, fetching food from the bakery or the supermarket, keeping up with email and blogs etc and walking around. It has been a very pleasant couple of weeks, which is now almost at an end. We're heading off the Barcelona tomorrow, for Christmas and then onto Madrid.
The picture is of the entrance to the bakery which has kept us in delicious bread while we've been here.

Port Vendres

Port Vendres is the closest town to Collioure, it takes about 20 minutes to walk there. The harbour there is obviously better for large vessels, and it obviously has much more of a fishing industry.

Collioure: some more landscapes

Some pictures from around the hills, from a nice day for a walk with a camera.

ATP: A Few More

Here's a few more images of:

- Intense, to the point of scary (the drummer is wearing a mask), duo Lightning Bolt.

- Josh T. Pearson and his beard. He's worked with Warren Ellis of the Dirty 3. Here is an article with them both, beard against beard.

- De La Soul celebrating 20 years of their album 3 Feet High and Rising.

- Sun Ra Arkestra and their 'wizard' costumes (photo taken by Felix).