kyoto, kyoto

So much to love about this place. The quality of light. The jazz that wafts out of every restaurant and café. The way people seem to want to engage. And the beauty in the simplest of things.

21_21 design sight (tokyo)

I didn’t really know about 21_21 Design Sight before visiting it. I learnt that the building was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and the museum was created by Ando and fashion designer, Issey Miyaki. The building is at the edge of a quiet park where families stroll and children play on the grass. The…

perfect day

The best part about traveling for me is not really having an agenda. I have almost five weeks of Japan exploration ahead of me. I don’t make a list of places to see or experience. I just meander. Yesterday morning while walking to an exhibition, I passed a beauty salon. It wasn’t flashy but rather…

waiting

There’s a lot I could tell you about this trip back to Japan. The never ending flight, for instance, or the silent dual for a shared armrest on the plane, dreaming of checking in and finally having a hot shower — or just a good cup of coffee for that matter…but I won’t get into…

portugal (lisbon) day 14

Market Day! Weekend Farmer’s Market. Fresh, mostly organic produce, bread and other baked goods, jams and honey can be found here. Cardoons, which I had to look up. I wonder if they’re prepared like artichokes. Broccolini – a relative of cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts – has a pretty white flower. Colour everywhere….

portugal (lisbon) day 9

Street art / social commentary images taken on a walk around Lisbon. This illustration perplexes me a bit, though. Is it a hanging eye-ball, head? This broke my heart. A lot. A ubiquitous image, I know. The Portuguese sailing ship sits on almost all street lamps. I wish I knew the symbolism of the flower…

portugal (sintra & cascais) day 7

Today we decided to visit Sintra. I’ve been to Sintra before and thought the place was quite beautiful so I wanted my mom and sis to experience that too. Sintra is a beautiful old town high in the mountains. It has its own microclimate and as such, experiences a lot of rain. A few years…