The First Few Days

…seem to roll into one long period of naps and much wandering without purpose, but then that’s one of the reasons I’m here – to relax. I’ve noticed that I’ve no problem at all getting back to sleep should I wake up, as I’ve nowhere in particular to be… My plans are very loose!

One of the must-dos on my list was to visit Dandelion Chocolate in Kuramae. It is mentioned rightly in a number of articles on independent coffee shops that stand out. Dandelion buy and process their own chocolate on-site and it’s a sight to behold. I’ve only ever been to one other coffee shop attached to a factory of sorts and that was in Sydney, when friends brought me to a place in Balmain (I think!) which had a bakery on-site.

Dandelion

The staff kindly let me take a few pictures while I was there. It’s an impressive operation and the hot chocolate and chocolate oatmeal cookie I had, were outstanding. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Yesterday evening (Wednesday), I went out for a walk down towards Akihabara. Sensibly, the Japanese work on their roads during the night and construction crews were everywhere. I spotted a very shiny truck parked and the front reflected the traffic lights behind me. An artistic thought struck me – doesn’t happen that often. I took this:

Driver! II

Then I noticed the driver having a doze in the cab:

Driver!

He must have heard me clicking away because then I got this:

Driver! III

Nice friendly chap! More pictures from last night and today here:

Flickr Album

 

 

Discovering Belfast

Last year, during my world trip for my 50th birthday, I met up with a number of Blipfoto members in Australia when I was staying with Trish and Adele. They were all very welcoming and friendly. Among those Blippers was Christina (Puggle) and this week, she visited Belfast with her friend, Luisa. I was delighted to be able to show them around the city and environs over two days. We managed to include the Victoria Square viewing platform, the City Hall, Queens University’s Lanyon Building, the Botanic Gardens, Sandy Row, Belfast Castle, Scrabo Tower, the Crown Bar, the Europa and the Opera House, Carrickfergus Castle, various political murals in the east and west of the city, Donaghadee (where we ran into Tim Lawrence, Princess Anne’s other half), Bangor, St Anne’s and St Peter’s Cathedrals, the Thompson Dock and Pump House, the Nomadic, viewed the Tesco Metro’s beautiful ceiling and a fair bit more. I think we may have overdone it a little!

I spent most of my time talking rather than photographing the sights, but I have included some of my shots below:

Merchant Banker (Tesco Metro)

Banker I

 

NOTA!

NOTA!

 

Thompson Graving Dock

Thompson I

 

Scrabo Tower

Scrabo I

 

St Peter’s Pews

StPeters III

 

St Peter’s Tiles

StPeters II

 

The Needle

SP-2

 

Amazing weather too! Hurry back, Christina and Luisa.