Lunch at Kyu-Ouchi-tei

SI took her neighbor and me to Kyu-Ouchi-tei, an hour drive from Kurume, to have lunch.

This is a historic house in which the restaurant opens only during weekends. SI loves the food there. She is right. They serve course menu, which is loaded with local vegetables and mildly seasoned. Fantastic!

Rapid Growth

Amazing, plants grow fast! I transferred those plants to larger pots before I went to the U.K., and now they are huge with new leaves (see and compare with the photo of July 10).

I'm A Tourist in London

The first thing that I did as a tourist in London was to go and get tickets of a musical. So, I went to Piccadilly Circus. Actually, I'd better get off tube at Leicester Square, which is right close to the official ticket office (tkts). Anyway. It was a hard decision to make. I wavered a lot among Billy Elliot, The Phantom of the Opera, and Enron (play). But, at the last moment, I changed my mind and bought tickets for Hair because I just want to have fun! My previous choices sounded fantastic, but at the same time, serious. I don't want to feel sad after a musical this time.


From Leicester Street, I walked through the city toward River Themes. Along the way, there are a bunch of tourist attractions such as ... St. Paul's Cathedral ...


... and Big Ben.




Making the best use of my student status, I bought a student discount ticket to enter the Tower of London. It is a discount ticket but still expensive (₤14.50!). At the ticket booth, I showed my student ID with the name of my American university. The lady at the booth stared at my ID and said, "That is ... all right." My university name may not be familiar to her, and she probably wondered if I'm a real student, hee hee hee. I'm a professional student as SB calls me :P


In the Tower of London site, I joined a guided tour by a beefeater (not a person who eats beef, but a royal guard). It was fun though stories and history the beefeater told us were cruel. Who and how many were executed, tortured, prisoned, and so on. The history of the U.K. (well, every country by and large) is bloody anyway.

Fleet Street

Fleet Street is a must place to go, hem, as a newspaper researcher though newspaper companies do not exist on this street anymore, for instance, the headquarters of the Financial Times is located in the south of River Themes :P




I found a plaque of Edgar Wallace on the corner. He worked for the Daily Mail before he became famous as an author.

Hair the Musical

Hair turned out to be fantastic entertainment (the ending is sad, though). The show was interactive with actors moving around in the audience and a lot of fun!

10-Minutes Presentation

I know conferences are ridiculous, but students are usually eager to attend because they are told that a history of presenting papers at conferences looks good on their CV. So, as a student, I also spent a lot of money to get here to present a paper for only 10 minutes. How expensive 10 minutes are, ha! But it’s OK because the main purpose of my trip is to go and see my friends in the U.K. (unfortunately, I don’t have any friends in Portugal).

Presenting a paper is just like a ritual. No one is interested in your paper, maybe some are. If you are lucky and your topic is interesting enough, you will be asked questions after your presentation. But if you are in a big group of speakers, and the question time is set after all presentations, and what is worse, you present your paper earlier in the session, you are highly unlikely to get questions. So, you are totally bored during the session.

But I was lucky that I had someone (a professor from Colorado) tell me my paper was interesting. He made my day.

Walking Around Braga

After my session at the conference, I went back to town to walk around. Braga is full of churches and historic buildings. It is sad to see graffiti on those historic buildings (actually, a lot of graffiti), but it is still nice to feel “Ohhhhhh” and “Wow” looking at old, beautiful, delicate buildings and decorations.


Because there are a bunch of similar gray historic buildings, unfortunately, I don’t remember which is what though I tried to keep track of names on the map.

Café Theatro Circo

It is nice to walk around, but the strong sun easily made me tired. So, I dropped in a nice-looking café to take a rest and have a meal and wine. Yes, wine, because I’m on vacation!

The first waiting person didn’t understand English at all, and the café didn’t have an English menu or a menu with pictures, which I could point a plate with my finger. The first waiting person gave up and called a person who speaks English. Phew to both the first waiting person and me!

After walking around under the strong sun, I didn’t feel huge appetite. Asked for a small dish, the second, English-speaking waiting person recommended me a salad. Mm, salad again, I thought. But, the salad he recommended turned out very nice. It was made of lettuce, goat cheese, slices of apple, mushrooms, raisons, pine seeds (?), and vinegar-based dressing. Simple, but yummy. I love goat cheese, anyway.


Before I left, I used the bathroom that was located in the basement. The basement was dark to me who came in from the sunny outside. I managed to climb down the stairs, turned around and found the whole basement is designed just for one toilet. What a luxury!

Frigideiras do Cantinho

Well, according to my little guidebook that I obtained in the conference kit, Frigideiras do Cantinho was founded in 1796, which is the oldest café in town. Then, why not!

The building looks not that old, but it is obviously historic because you can see Roman ruins through the glass flour, which is really cool but I couldn’t take a good photo of it. Geez, Roman ruins are much older than 1796!

Again, according to my guidebook, “frigideria” is the specialty of this café as the name of the café shows, so, why not! Frigideria is a flat pastry in which meat is stuffed. It was salty and oily, and tasted good halfway through, but it went along with wine. Actually, I had a couple of glasses of wine with the simple frigideria. And the total price for tonight’s dinner was 4.20 euros! What a tourist-friendly meal!

Punctual British Train

It was surprising that my train left on time and arrived on time. Wow. Because I planned cautiously in case that trains would be late and in the worst case that I would miss the flight, but my train arrived as scheduled, I arrived in Gatwick way early. The British railway systems are as unpredictable as the British weather.

easyJet

I totally forgot that traveling with easyJet is that stressful, but now I remember it was and it is. If you want to have a seat that you like, you have to be at the gate early and wait in line until the gate opens because seats are not assigned in easyJet flights. Yeah, I remember this, and waiting in line is such a pain in the ass.

easyJet is a cheap airline so that I know I can’t complain, but it is stupid or ridiculous that the airline doesn’t allow passengers to bring a handbag or a purse with them if they have another carryon. I had a carryon and a bag. At the gate, I was told to put my bag in my carryon. It was OK because my carryon barely had space for my bag. It didn’t only happen to me but many other people. While we were waiting at the gate, people pushed their extra bags in their larger bags, which must be an unpleasant activity before a tiresome flight.

Porto

Man! I don’t understand the language here! Well, I can guess because Portuguese is similar to Spanish that I am kind of familiar. But it is stressful to ask directions, buy tickets, and so on. But, but, but, the weather was absolutely beautiful, which made me feel thrilled. I love southern Europe!

Braga

Even though I have language difficulties, it was quite easy to get to Braga with trains. Also, it was only an hour and half from the Porto airport to Braga. The map of Braga that I have is so simplified that I couldn’t find my hotel straightway. I was helped by a couple of nice local people who don’t speak English for directions, and I could check in my hotel in no time.

Café Vianna

It was around 7:00 pm when I realized. No wonder why I was hungry (I had lunch around 11:00 am). I hopped in one of the nearest cafés from my hotel, which turned out Café Vianna, an a-century-old café. Though there was no English menu (or Japanese menu), I am proud myself that I could order a glass of white wine and a refill later and a salad with sardines. The food and wine were not excellent but OK, but the atmosphere was great. I was sitting at an outside table, listening music playing at the outdoor stage in front of the café and watching people passing by. Ah, a very much European atmosphere!

Personal Guided Tour in Norwich

AMT is an excellent tour guide of Norwich! She knows a lot about why some churches are missing sculptures, what wall patterns of houses mean, why houses along particular streets shape that way, why 800 pubs existed in Norwich long, long, loooooong time ago, and the list goes on and on. It is amazing that this little town (oops, city) has such an amazing (and very long) history!


We had lunch at the Belgian Monk. Yes, the combination of “Belgian” and “monk” means ... beer! I looked through the list of beer, but all beers contain high alcohol. If I drank a pint, I would give up walking around the town and waste the lovely afternoon. So, with a strong will, I refrained from drinking, even though AMT whispered one particular beer is really good and almost like a dessert. What a pity!

What a Day!

I slept until noon and ended the day with a headache. What a day!

Tracey Brand

ET has his own branding iron (cool!), and served his branded burger during the BBQ this afternoon.


It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon. We walked to a near park, and found a cricket game on. Cricket ... is one of sports that I never understand. Very British, lasting forever, with a lot of tea breaks (British!).

Purple

It was great to see you SB after four years. Four years since we graduated from Cardiff University, man!

And it was also great to see SB still have purple hair with which I could easily find her in town :)

SB is such a sweetheart that she drove from Bristol to see me, with her boyfriend and almost in-laws (they are planning to get married in a couple of years). Seeing her boyfriend in photos, I had thought he is a sturdy guy. But, I was wrong. He is a little bit punk-looking but gentle and slim. I told that to SB, and she said that he always strikes pose in front of the camera and that's why he looks sturdy. Ha-ha, that's funny.

Yeah, I’m Not Surprised

I have heard a lot the British railway systems never operate on time. Yes, it is true. My train from Cardiff to London Paddington was almost on time, but my train from London Liverpool to Norwich was delayed 20 minutes. My train was originally scheduled to leave at 18:00 sharp. Before 18:00, it was listed on the electric board at Liverpool Station, but it disappeared right after it past 18:00, which panicked me because I didn’t know when my train comes and leaves and which platform would be. Finally, 10 minutes or so later, there was an announcement of my train, which was terrible to hear. I managed to catch the number of the platform and rushed there. After consulting the electric board at the platform if I came to the right train, I got on the train. Then soon after, the train left the station. Geez, I didn’t hear a bell or something to give passengers a notice of departure. What if I needed time to figure out where my platform was?! The British railway systems ...

This is Convenient

I found a very convenient thing at Marks & Spencer in London Liverpool Station. What should I call ... glassed wine? Wine packed in a plastic glass. Open the lid and drink it. Very convenient.

After Two Years

AMT is pregnant! What a great piece of news! She is expecting a boy, oh, well, she will be busy! That was the first thing that I was surprised when I saw AMT at the Norwich station. It was a nice surprise. I wish I had known about it before I visited her, then I could have brought something for her.

So, AMT changed (of course, she is expecting a baby!). But other than pregnancy, she hasn’t changed. She still do funny talk, hee hee hee, now with her husband, regularly, or frequently, hee hee hee. What a nice couple. Mew!

Little Village

The town (village?) where AMT and ET live is nice. There's an everyone-knows-everyone kind of feeling.


The church close to their place is peaceful. See this cute gate! Hobbits might come through.

Cardiff Bay

Sigh, I'm old. I usually walked to Cardiff Bay four, five years ago, but not anymore. Lazy Duck took the bus to get to Cardiff Bay, utilizing a 3-pound day pass (yay!).

I expected Cardiff Bay furhter deveploed, but not much. I saw a couple of buildings under construction, and that's it. Mm ... recession.


I love the flag of Wales. The red dragon gives a lively feeling to the flag :)

From Edward Elgar to Adam Smith

Before ...


and after.

I didn't know, but the Bank of England apparently issued new 20-pound notes in 2007 and announced that old 20-pound notes wouldn't be in use anymore after June 2010. What?! It's July 2010 already! Kind of in panic (because I brought old 20-pound notes and keep more old 20-pound notes in Japan), I went to a branch of NatWest to exchange my old 20-pound notes for new ones. An unsympathetic clerk told me that I have to ask my bank to exchange. Geez, I don't have a bank account in the U.K. Well, actually, I keep it with NatWest, but I don't have my cash card or account information with me this time, ahhhhhh! In addition, the clerk coldly said that shops in town will not accept old 20-pound notes soon (they currently do now). What the hell should I do with these old notes?!

At a loss for what to do, I went to Cardiff Bay anyway while the weather was good. There, I found another branch of NatWest. To take a chance, I went into the branch. A-ha! I was lucky. A clerk there was such a nice girl that she exchanged all my old 20-pound notes for new ones (I still have old notes at home though)!

Then, I remember that different people say different things in the U.K. It is worth trying things a few times, and at the end, everything will be all right. That is the British way.

Incidentally, according to the website of the Bank of England, the Bank of England will exchange them indefinitely. Phew.

My University

Yeah, my lovely school in Cardiff! I saw a bunch of Harry Potter (I mean, students in graduate gown) in and out of my school. I didn't know, but today was the graduation day. I didn't attend my own graduation ceremony back in ... when? 2007?

My major purpose to come to Cardiff is to see BF, "THE" BF. He is lovely and cheerful even when he talked about depressing current situations of the U.K. According to him, the British government will cut 25 percent of budget for higher education, which is not promising to me because the job market will further shrink. Ahhhh, my future is in the dark! But BF was kind of optimistic as usual because he is BF.

Walking Around

Ohhhhh, Student Union! I remember I used to come here to read newspapers and have some beer. It is lovely that the university has a pub. British!


St. Mary's Street is remodeling. I assume that it is going to be more pedestrian-friendly.


Cardiff Castle!


I don't quite remember what arena this is. An ice hockey arena?


King's Cross! It is just like yesterday that we came here almost every Thursday. I really miss those days. The area around King's Cross has quite changed in 4, 5 years. New buildings have been constructed.


Exit is still there. Again, this was our weekly clubbing place (after a couple of drinks at King's Cross). Man, I'm nostalgic now.


Yeah, we lived in this hobbit house. We had lots of fun stuff here.

Dad's Army Marches On

To get right to the point, I couldn't get the story, even I slept around the end of the show. This show is supposed to be funny, and actually there were some scenes that made me laugh. But, other than that, it was not exciting. Well, I can't complain because the ticket was only 5 pounds (viva, student discount!).

Air China Part I

Yes, I expected the poor manner of passengers, so I wasn’t surprised, but I was pissed off.

Oh yeah, there’s one thing that surprised me. Before and during the meal, I had red wine (of course, I made the best use of my privilege of flying an international flight!). Toward the end of the meal, cabin attendants pushed through the drink cart. I asked the third one, and the same attendant who served me the first two paper cups of wine told me, “No, you’ve already had two!” Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?! Air China doesn’t serve the third wine?!

I asked another wine during the second meal, of course, this time, to a different cabin attendant. Luckily, I got it, yay.

Air China Part II

This may not be because of Air China, but I don’t remember when I first came to the U.K. with a JAL flight they did the same. Toward the end of the flight, cabin attendants sprayed pesticide in the cabin. Wow, I thought, this is disrespectful to passengers. I will check if other airlines do the same when I go and come back from Portugal next week.

National Express

I remember Heathrow Airport was chaotic, but it is not anymore, which is surprising to me. Well, it was right after the terrorist attempt when I used Heathrow Airport for the last time. There was no doubt that it was chaotic.

But, Central Bus Station at Heathrow Airport is still chaotic. I went to the bus station to get on a bus to Cardiff. It was easy to find the station and buy a ticket. Good. The problem was ... where is the bus stand?! The ticket lady simply told me, “Right out there.” It is the central bus station, CENTRAL, which means terminal, big, and lots of buses! I went OUT THERE anyway to wait for a while. I was wrong. OUT THERE where I was was the terminal of local buses. It was almost the departure time of my bus. Frantically, I rushed to another terminal to catch my long distance bus. Then, I remembered that I had caught a bus there when I first came to the U.K. five years ago. Anyway, there was no time to be nostalgic. I spoke to, again in panic, bus staff, “Where’s the bus to Cardiff? It’s supposed to leave at 6:05!” It was 6:05. Then, the guy said, “It’s late,” smiling. “Oh good. Which stand is the bus coming in and leaving from?” There are several (10?) stands at the terminal. The guy’s answer was, “Whichever,” smiling.

Yes, I clearly remember now that this is the British way. Public transportations never run on time, and many things are not strictly prescheduled. That’s just chaos to me (Remember, I’m Japanese). But, I learned by the end of my year-long stay in the U.K. that everything would be all right at the end. This is the British way. I’ve just started retrieving this sense of Britons.

Victoria Hall

Initially, I planned to stay at MA’s place while in Cardiff, but it turned out that he was out of the country this weekend. So, I changed my plan and booked a room of university flats. To be exact, this is not run by Cardiff University but by a private company. Anyway, Victoria Hall is the place where I will stay for a few days.


I could imagine my room because L used to live in Victoria Hall and I visited her several times here. But, wow, this is small! Because I’m living in a two-bedroom apartment in the States, which is relatively small from an American sense but big enough to little Japanese like me, this room is just the size of a Japanese one-room apartment, man!


And look at this sink. This is the most inconvenient sink in the world (but I know this is a widely used type of sink in the U.K.), with hot-water and water separated faucets. This is another inefficient thing in the U.K.


I think the typical unit bath applied to Japanese small apartments is better than this bathroom :P