2008-08-25 Viva Las Vegas
Despite Rigatoni’s pleas we decided to go to Las Vegas. I can see his point, it’s not a pretty part of humanity, but it is fascinating and worth a look. We drove straight to The Stratosphere hotel...
View Article2008-08-26 Like a Phoenix
Many years ago on a very different journey of discovery I met two girls from New Jersey at Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls. We spent nearly 24 hours awake and talking (and running). It was the first...
View Article2008-08-28 Back to the start
On our way into San Diego I took a little diversion to show Tania a place that is going to stick in my mind for a very long time. The PCT’s starting monument on the border of Mexico and the USA is up a...
View Article2008-09-03 San Francisco
Our journey up the Pacific coast was quicker than expected. The first night ended at the roadside after finding five campsites were full and expecting the holiday weekend would mean the same story...
View Article2008-09-09 It’s all about who you know
We’re back in Japan and immediately being made to feel like honoured guests. In Nagoya we revisited Iizuka-san, with whom I stayed back in May, and her daughter’s family came to say hello. The seven of...
View Article2008-09-10 In a spooky graveyard
My previous visit to Koya-san was just a day trip. Lorraine and I took in the Kobo Dashi mausoleum and the graveyard and left. This time, thanks to a generous gift from her mum, Tania and I stayed the...
View Article2008-09-12 Shirahama
The white sands of Shirahama have been the subject of poems and guidebooks for hundreds and hundreds of years. “As white as snow” one particularly famous one proclaims. Unfortunately the tide changed,...
View Article2008-09-15 Kyoto Photo
[Editor: I overlooked some photos for 14th and 15th September. Here they are]
View Article2008-09-17 Going slow in Kyoto
This is the second time I’ve been to Kyoto this year and I’ve covered a mix of familiar and new things. Nijo castle, apparently the site of my first steps some 27 years ago, is still looking fine...
View ArticleThe Last Week
My last week in Japan found me winding down. After 5 months of traveling I’m exhausted. We took an all-day bus from Kyoto to Tokyo, considerably cheaper than the bullet train and thus much slower. The...
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