alilou's Adventures in Wonderland 2 - all over the map

[Alilou]

I have a new blog post ready - my second day at the mind-blowing Kurayami Festival in Tokyo.

Ohmygosh Omikoshi! Shinto festivals in Tokyo.
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[skatesindreams]

"Mind-blowing" is an appropriate description!

 

[Alilou]

"Mind-blowing" is an appropriate description!

OMG SID it was one of the most amazing festivals I've ever been to. The energy would have lifted the roof of if it had been indoors (not that you could ever get that many people indoors!). Also it was really good energy - focused, powerful, sacred, and fun all at the same time.

 

[Alilou]

I've just published a new blog post.

I spent two days in rural Japan. It was heaven! I went to two of the historic villages in the mountains that still have traditional farmhouses. So quaint and beautiful.

Where time stood still – the Gassho house villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama.
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[skatesindreams]

Thanks for introducing me to an area of Japan totally new to me.
And, those flowers!

 

[Alilou]

Thanks for introducing me to an area of Japan totally new to me.
And, those flowers!

You're welcome. I was so happy there - such a beautiful place, and such lovely people. It was 2 days of peace in the middle of a mad sightseeing blitz in Tokyo and then in Kyoto.

 

[Alilou]

I have a new blog post ready - the glorious Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa and meeting a fellow blogger IRL.

Gardens and Gold in Kanazawa
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[Alilou]

I've just published a new blog post - about the hiking I did in China on one of the four Buddhist sacred mountains there.

Climbing the Sacred Mountain – China’s Emei Shan
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[skatesindreams]

I have a new blog post ready - the glorious Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa and meeting a fellow blogger IRL.

Gardens and Gold in Kanazawa
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Another amazing - and beautiful - adventure!

 

[Alilou]

Another amazing - and beautiful - adventure!

Thanks SID. Yes it was. Japan just keeps on giving.

 

[Alilou]

A new blog post! I know. It's been a while.

It is about two iconic, and beautiful sites in Japan. I fell in love with japan

The Red and the Gold – Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Golden Pavilion.
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[Alilou]

A new blog post is up: about the crowds, about the kimono-wearing tourists, about geishas, about traditional weddings. So much beauty and colour in what people were wearing!

Kimonos-Weddings-Geisha: the streets of Kyoto
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[Alilou]

I have a new blog post ready - the streets of Old Kyoto - such a beautiful city.

Japan’s Imperial Heart: walking the streets of Kyoto
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[Alilou]

Finally a new blog post. I travelled with a group of 7 other people plus a tour guide for 3 weeks in China. This is an article I wrote for Intrepid Travel about the advantages of being on a small-group tour. So glad I did a tour, otherwise I'd have been doing a lot of miming

Travelling with a small-group tour in China
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[Alilou]

New blog post. The title says it all. OMG they're so cute

Shooting Squirrels in the Park: a Montreal nature hunt
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[Alilou]

New blog post: More about Kyoto - the fabulous market full of (mostly) unrecognizable food, and a beautiful, solemn, colourful festival parade.

The Ordinary and the Extraordinary: Kyoto’s Kitchen and the Hollyhock Festival
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[Alilou]

I have a new blog post ready. This one is about the town of Arashiyama on the western edge of Kyoto - a temple, a garden, a bamboo forest, a kimono forest, and monkeys! And missing Don

What’s my problem?! Arashiyama is touristy but still has much to offer.
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[skatesindreams]

I love the contrast of these two blogs; contrasting experiences usually known mostly to locals, with something appealing to visiting tourists.
I'm delighted that you can appreciate, and share, both.

 

[Alilou]

Thanks so much SID, and you're welcome! I only had 5 days in Kyoto but I seemed to have covered a lot of ground. I'm going back in March - with Don yay - and will have 2 whole weeks to explore. We're planning on getting to some of the more out of the way places.

 

[Alilou]

Just published a new blog post. This one is about Yangshuo, China - one of the most spectacular places I went to there, and definitely one of the highlights of the tour.

Why You Should Visit Yangshuo!
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[Alilou]

A new blog post - about a stunning shrine in Nikko, about 140 km from Tokyo. It's decorated with richly coloured paint and gold leaf and carvings. So gorgeous. Also another beautiful Japanese garden.

The Gorgeous Golden Heart and Soul of Nikko: the Tōshō-gū Shrine
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[skatesindreams]

Thanks for continuing to share your amazing adventures and glorious photos.
It is a joy to discover people and places which would be unknown to me, otherwise.

You have a wonderful gift, Allison!

 

[Alilou]

Thanks for continuing to share your amazing adventures and glorious photos.
It is a joy to discover people and places which would be unknown to me, otherwise.

You have a wonderful gift, Allison!

Awwww thanks SID. I'm so glad you're enjoying my stories. Japan was really wonderful. I just loved it, and we're going back there next month.

 

[Alilou]

I have just published the final post about the 18 days I spent in Japan last April/May. It's the untold stories plus why I fell in love with Japan

Japan – the Untold Stories
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[skatesindreams]

An amazing series of posts; about an even more amazing country!

 

[Alilou]

An amazing series of posts; about an even more amazing country!

Thanks so much SID. It feels good to have finally gotten to the end of all I wanted to say about my time there. It was labour of love that's for sure. And commitment. Japan pulled me in and opened my heart. I'm so glad we're going back.

Now I have the stories and photos of 4 weeks in China to share. With any luck I'll get it finished before it's been a year since I was there

 

[Alilou]

It's been such a long time, but finally! A new blog post - the first about Beijing.

The Forty-Dollar Cup of Tea – and other tales from Beijing
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[kwanfan1818]

Those flowers are

 

[Alilou]

I have a new blog post ready - about the old old old quiet backstreets of Beijing that have been there for hundreds of years and have somehow managed to escape being razed to the ground to make space for high-rises and roads. People still live there in much the same way that they always have for the past 600 or so years.

The Quietly Beating Heart of Old Beijing – the living hutongs
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[Alilou]

At last, a new blog post - about the extraordinary Forbidden City in Beijing. And emperors, and eunuchs, and concubines, and the things they got up to.

The Unbidden Truth of the Forbidden City – Beijing’s palatial heart.
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