eyl's blog

The main purpose of this vox is to share pics and rambles about the trips my sister and I do around the world... Add a bit of our fandom craziness and you have it ^^

Our trips till now

Here I am again, with new pics and rambles about another trip! ^__^v
This time, the chosen destination was Scotland, place of legends, fairy tales... and whiskey XD.
We stayed in Edinburgh for three days, visited Stirling, and then we went on a tour which included the north of Scotland, Skye Island and Loch Ness, of course.

Firstly Edinburgh
This city is beautiful although a bit clammy. It's quite different from the cities I had visited till now. It has the same old city spirit that has Florence or Venice, but definitely... more english-ish. I don't know how to describe it better, you will have to see it with your own eyes ^__~
Anyway it's a very enjoyable city to visit and you can spend hours looking through the Royal Mile's shops searching for a cute cashmere scarf or any other souvenir that you can imagine.
Here are some pics

In second place... Stirling!
This is a small but cute city with a interesting medieval feeling. It's castle is very well preserved and has exceptional views. To eat I'd recommend a small pub near the castle that has very good food and is lovely decorated... Sadly I don't remember its name but fear not because It appears int the globetrotter guide of Scotland... I think.

Skye Island
A must if you visit Scotland!! It's really beautiful and has superb scenery... My pics doesn't make it justice at all. I liked it a lot!

Loch Ness
I have never seen a lake with such calm waters in all my life... nor even a wave the day we visited it... O_o  Nessy, are you sure you are there? ...
Our tour guide told us that if you take a picture that truly proves the existence of Nessy you can win one million pounds!!... We failed miserably... maybe next time ^__~

North Scotland
These are pics from other various places of Scotland. As you can see, Scotland is a beautiful place with amazing landscapes... And not only that, it's full of folktales and war battle stories and friendly people that made your visit unforgettable... Now I'm talking like a touristic guide... Well, It's true!! XD

The thing I found more remarkable from this journey... To see men wearing kilts on the streets! XD. The ones they use for wedding ceremonies are beautiful!

Two posts ago... I lied, I have to admit it... I said I was going to post about our journey to Italy before we go to Scotland... And I didn't! Gomen!! m(_ _)m ... But I'm still proud of myself XDXDXD.

Well, jokes apart, here is the post about our last trip to Italy!  *trowing confetti*

We are very fortunate, because Ryanair allows us to travel to Italy for a incredible cheap price! \^o^/ ... Of course we have made use of that wonderful circumstance to know this country better (actually, this is our second trip to Italy).

And with this, to the trip!  ^__^
The first time we visited Italy we went to Florence, Bologna, Venice and Bergamo. This time, we went to Venice again (last time, we only stayed there for one day) and visited Trieste and Padova too.

Venice
This city is beautiful! Although some of its buildings are damaged by the sea damp, the palaces, the mansions and the water canals are worth of it. We recommend to go for a stroll in the city, we are sure you will enjoy it ^__^ (but go before dusk... because Venice's street layout is a bit confusing at night... and there are few street lamps XD).

Here are some pics from Venice:

We visited some of its islands too: Murano, Burano and Lido (wonderful beach ^__^b). The place I liked the most... Burano Island. This place is very charming. All the houses are painted in bright colours and it conveys a happy feeling... maybe the same effect as the Arashi rainbow? XD
Here are some pics:

Previous: Souvenirs

Our crazy fandom:
And to finish the posts about our journey to Japan, my favourite of them all... Chan chan chan!!! Our best pics of every advertisment with a japanese actor that we love/like/recognize XDXD.

It was really fun, something like "gotta catch them all" from pokemon series XD... and it helped us to forget the hot weather ^__^v. Yeah, we are crazy like that! ... And I would do it again!!!

Our best catches (mostly of SMAP, some of Nagase Tomoya, a little of Ikuta Toma, others (Chiaki from Nodame Cantabille!!!)... and only one of Arashi.... WHY!!!!! TT_TT):

 

Previous: Japanese Food

Goodies:
It has been a long time from my last update, ne? Well, to repent of my sins I'm going to post three new post today! I'll finish the journey to Japan and my last trip to Italy, all in one day!!  I'm so proud of myself XDXD.

In this post I'll speak about... yes! The souvenirs we bought!!! I couldn't possibly go to Japan and not to buy anything, could I? It would be almost a sacrilegy ... at least for me XD.

Here is a pic of some of the things we bought (the souvenirs we bought for our friends are not included... a pity because there was a My Fuji stuffed toy that I really loved ^^U)

The pic isn't very good TT_TT ... but the other pics were worst XD.
The list of things that appear in the pic:
- A SMAP's concert DVD
- A Tokio's concert DVD
- Three ps2 games! ... When I understand japanese I'm sure I'll love them ^^U
- An i-Cat speaker... I know it's just a speaker... but it was so cute that we couldn't resist the urge to buy it XD.
- Two charms from Kiyomizu-dera Temple... I don't remember for what  they were... happiness? ^^U
- Two fortune read panflet from the Fortune Forest atraction in Joypolis amusement theme park

We enjoyed ourself a lot getting this things ^__^

Next: Crazy fandom

Previous: Kawaguchi-ko (Mount Fuji)

Japanese food:
At first we thought we weren't going to like it. But the truth is japanese food is one of the tastiest and most delicious food we've ever tried... and it's incredible cheap too (in Spain, food is a lot more expensive than in Japan). And they give you all the water or tea you want... for free! O_o

Ice creams are wonderful too. Who would think that crushed ice with sirope would taste so good? ^__^. And that milk ice creams... yummy!

One thing we didn't like was the rice :S. We're not used to eat it in that way... maybe next time we'll like it better ;P

Our favourite were:
- Shabu-shabu
- Ramen
- Rice Omelette

Here some pics... I'm getting hungry XD

Ah yes!, We were very surprised to see a lot of food shops advertising their plates with fake food O_o... But if you think about it is a very good idea... plastic food is better than a photograph and always looks good.

100_0712

Next: Souvenirs and other goods!

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Versión en español

Al principio pensábamos que no nos iba a gustar la comida japonesa, pero la verdad es que es una de las más deliciosas y variadas que hemos probado... y está increiblemente barata!! (al menos comparado con los precios que hay en España). Además te dan todo el agua o té que quieras... gratis! O_o.

Los helados son fantásticos también. ¿Quién iba a pensar que el hielo picado con sirope iba a estar tan bueno? Y los helados de leche... deliciosos!!

Lo que no nos gustó fue el arroz :( Quizás es por que no estámos acostumbradas a comerlo con esa textura, si no más suelto... ya veremos si la próxima vez le cogemos el gusto o no.

Entre los platos que más nos gustaron :
- El shabu-shabu
- El ramen
- Las omelettes de arroz

Echamos mucho de menos la comida de allí TT_TT, pero la próxima vez probaremos muchos más platos!!

Otra cosa que nos sorprendió bastante fue la cantidad de tiendas que anunciaban sus platos con comida falsa O_o. Pero la verdad es que es muy buena idea, mejor que una foto y no se echa a perder :D.

Previous: Nagoya

Kawaguchi-ko:

Finally Kawaguchi-ko and Mount Fuji!. It was the place I liked the most :). Maybe because the weather wasn't as hot as in the other places we had visited, maybe because the tranquility, maybe the views... I don't know, but I really liked it.

Mount Fuji it's just amazing! (though it likes to play hide and seek behind the clouds, so our first day in Kawaguchi-jko, we kept searching for it, but we only saw small mountains that couldn't be Mount Fuji XD). It stands alone. There are no mountains around it, so you can apreciate its hugeness. We went only to the 5th station, but the views were incredible. I'm going to return for sure, and try to reach its top ^__^b. Furthermore, I want to buy one of those stuffed Fujis as souvenir... they are really cute :) (I bought only one for a friend TT_TT).

We went to Fujiyoshima's fire festival too. They carry portable shrines and light torches and bonfires. There are lot of stands too, some of the sell food (bananachoco!!), some of them sell toys, etc. We enjoyed the festival a lot ^__^   

Here there are some of the pics from Kawaguchi-ko and Mount Fuji.

Previous: Kyoto

Nagoya:

We only stayed in this city for three days but we liked it! Especially the big comercial towers near the train station.
At the 12ª and 13ª plants of one of them (maybe I'm wrong with the numbers), there are a lot of good restaurants, there aren't expensive at all, and the food is very good (I love omelettes!!!!). And the view is wonderful!

We visited Nagoya's castle too, of course. It's superb! In spring, when the cherry trees have flowers, it has to be incredibly beautiful @_@.
And finaly we went to the aquarium. I liked it althought I've liked others better (Barcelona's aquarium, for example, has a fantastic underwater passage really amazing).

We went to Nagoya with the main purpose of seeing one concert of Arashi... but we weren't lucky enough  Ç_Ç (some other time, when we speak japanese better, we'll try again! Banzai!!!). Anyway I'm very glad to have been there ^___^.

Some pics of Nagoya castle and the comercial towers (this one is blurred ^_^U) :

Next: Kawaguchi-ko (Mount Fuji)

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Versión (libre) en español

Estuvimos en Nagoya solo tres días, pero la ciudad merecía la pena, nos gustó bastante. Sobretodo el centro comercial formado por dos enormes torres que hay cerca de la estación. En las plantas 12 y 13 (puede que estemos equivocadas en el número, pero andarán cerca ;P ) hay un montón de restaurantes donde la comida es fantástica y nada cara. ¿Lo que más nos gustó? Las omelettes. Las probamos por primera vez en uno de los restaurantes de este centro comercial... y volvimos otra noche a repetir XD. 

También visitamos el castillo de Nagoya por supuesto. Nos gustó también mucho, aunque más por fuera que por dentro, pero en cualquier caso la visita estaba bien :). En primavera, cuando florecen los cerezos, las vistas deben ser preciosas.

También estuvimos en el acuario, y aunque he visto otros que me han gustado más, como el de Barcelona o el del Loro Parque en Tenerife, estaba también muy bien.

Aunque fuimos a Nagoya principalmente para intentar asistir a un concierto de Arashi (no tuvimos suerte TT_TT... a ver si cuando volvamos a Japón, sabiendo un poco más de japonés, tenemos más suerte) me alegro de haber ido y haber tenido la oportunidad de visitar el castillo de Nagoya ^__^b

Previous:  Tokyo

Kyoto:
What a beautiful city!... but the hot weather and the mosquitoes almost finished us up ;_;
I'm sure it has to be a very enjoyable place in spring or in autum, but the hot weather in summer makes to visit all those temples a very hard task... but it's worty of the effort! The temples are just amazing ^__^
Althought we couldn't visit all the temples we wanted (we only stayed for six days in Kyoto), we visited quite a bunch. Our favourites were:
- Fushimi Inari-taisha Grand Shrine
- Kiyomizu-dera Temple
- Higashi Hongan-ji Temple
- Ryoan-ji Temple

Ah! and we liked the train station building too. It's one of the prettiest train stations we have ever seen!

Here are some of the photographs we took:

Next: Nagoya

Previous: Arriving Japan

Tokyo

We were in Tokyo the first and last days of our visit to Japan.
We stayed in Backpackers Hostel Ks House Tokyo and really liked the place: good quality-price ratio, near Asakusa, near metro stations, near lot of restaurants, very kind people...  If we come back to Tokyo we'll stay there for sure! ^_^b.

Well as for the city, Tokyo is a very big and tidy city. We found japanese people very educated and earnest to help you, which is a big help the first days when you are a bit confused with the travel system.
The metro system is a bit complex because there are various companies, but when you take two o three trains you get used to it and it's not a problem anymore. Furthermore, there are ticket vending machines in english, so to buy tickets is pretty easy.

The places we liked the most:

• Asakusa: Senso-Ji temple was the first temple we saw and we really liked it. Kaminarimon gate also delighted us. Maybe it's a bit turistic, but we liked it anyway. Here, we tried our fortune (I keep one of the fortune pamphlets as souvenir ^_^), and what can I say... number 38 is bad fortune, so if it happens to be your fortune number... try again, everybody deserves a second chance! XD.
• Odaiba: we visited SEGA Joypolis amusement theme park, and found it very enjoyable. The atraction we liked the most: Fortune forest!. We got into that attraction a few times to get almost every fortune read posible XD.
• Shibuya: 109 building was very interesting. We visited every floor seeing what kind of clothes they sold and we were very surprised to see that "Barby" and "Hello Kitty" had their own chotes branch O_o. Ah!, by the way, the shoes they sold were absolutely wonderful. I haven't seen shoes so beautiful in my country!  TT_TT
• Akihabara: a very confusing place with all those shops, lights, big advertisement posters, etc etc etc... but also the place we liked the most!  We like anime, manga and videogames... so it was like heaven for us... or it would have been if we had understood japanese... maybe next time ^_^U.

Here are some of the photographs we took:


Three things we found very surprising:

• There are drink vending machines everywhere, with drinks that you have never heard of before XD.
• There are almost no trash bins, but the streets are clean. You hardly see any paper or trash in the streets.
• "Hello Kitty" rules! You can find images and figures of this little miss everywhere.

Next post: Kyoto

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Versión (libre) en español

Tokyo
Estuvimos en Tokyo al principio y al final de nuestra visita a Japón. Nos alojamos en Backpackers Hostel Ks House Tokyo y nos gustó bastante el sitio: buena relación calidad-precio, cerca de Asakusa, cerca de estaciones de metro, muchos restaurantes por la zona, la gente era muy simpática... Si volvemos a Tokyo, fijo que nos alojaremos nuevamente aquí! ^_^b

Tokyo es una ciudad muy grande y limpia (o al menos nos lo pareció). La impresión que nos dieron los japoneses es de ser gente muy educada y dispuesta a ayudarte, lo cual es de mucha ayuda sobretodo los primeros días cuando todavía no entiendes muy bien como funciona su metro. El metro de Tokyo es un poco complejo por que en él operan varias compañías diferentes, pero una vez has cogido un par de trenes ya no hay problema. Además hay máquinas que venden tickets en inglés, con lo que comprarlos es bastante fácil :).

Los lugares que más nos gustaron:

• Asakusa: el primer templo que vimos fue el Senso-Ji y nos gustó mucho. La puerta Kaminarimon también nos encantó (la hemos visto en tantos dramas que fué fantástico estar allí en persona :) ). Quizás un poco turístico, pero nos gustó de todas formas. Aprovechamos para probar nuestra suerte (guardo uno de los papeles como recuerdo ^_^) y qué puedo decir... el número 38 es mala suerte, así que si te sale... prueba otra vez, todo el mundo tiene derecho a una segunda oportunidad XD!
• Odaiba: visitamos el parque de atracciones Joypolis de SEGA y nos divertímos bastante. La atracción que más nos gustó? El bosque de la fortuna! Entramos varias veces para conseguir todas las lecturas de fortuna posibles XD.
  
• Shibuya: el edificio 109 fue muy interesante. Visitamos todos los pisos curioseando qué tipo de ropa vendían y nos sorprendió bastante que "Barby" y "Hello Kitty" tuviesen sus propias líneas de ropa O_o. Por cierto, los zapatos son preciosos. En España no he visto zapatos así de bonitos TT_TT
• Akihabara: un lugar muy confuso con todas esas luces, tiendas, anuncios gigantes, etc etc etc... pero también el lugar que más nos gustó!. Nos gusta el ánime, el manga y los videojuegos... así que era como el cielo para nosotras... o lo habría sido si entendiésemos japonés... quizás la próxima vez ^_^U.

Tres cosas que encontramos sorprendentes:

• Hay máquinas de bebida por todos los sitios, con bebidas de las que nunca has oido hablar antes (melon soda!) XD.
• Casi no hay papeleras, pero las calles están limpias O_o.
  
• "Hello Kitty" triunfa! Se pueden encontrar imágenes y figuritas por todas partes (Kitty vestida de geisha, Kitty disfrazada del monte Fuji, Kitty vestida como un obrero avisando de que el metro está en obras...)