Ancient Kyoto

5.00 Elena Y Ireland - 09-Oct-24

Across a week in Kyoto I hit up nine of the sites making up this World Heritage Site. Of those, only Saiho-ji has escaped comment on this site. It was one of my must-do sites and didn't disappoint. Until recently (I suspect being part of the reason it's been avoided by this community) visitors have had to send a postcard to the temple, but this has fortunately changed in recent years to allow online booking. I procrastinated until a few nights before and was still able to get a slot that worked for me, though the early time did necessitate getting a taxi all the way from Higashiyama. Entry is linked to a timed slot, but once you get in you have a fair bit of freedom. In the main hall you're provided with a sutra and a calligraphy brush with which to trace

City of Bath

4.00 Elena Y Ireland - 11-Jul-24

We visited Bath by way of the beautiful Bristol Temple Meads station in February for our anniversary. It's not the best time to see it, as anyone familiar with the wet weather of these isles could surmise, but it was an enriching time nonetheless. When the sun did decide to rear its head on the last of three days, the already beautiful Georgian architecture became all the better. Our first stop was the famed Royal Crescent, more precisely the No. 1 Town House exhibit. It's an odd visit with projections and dialogue from actors playing historical inhabitants, which does at least make it stand out from the myriad other preserved houses that the UK has (YMMV on how tacky it is, I found it as tasteful as something of that nature can be)

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates

3.50 Elena Y Ireland - 05-Oct-23

I visited two of Berlin's six inscribed housing estates on a Friday morning. I had picked, surprise surprise, Falkenberg (for its beauty) and Hufeisensiedlung Britz (for its infostation/cafe, more on that later), and neither of them disappointed. Being where they are they both have very good rail connections, and I was able to make a detour for a packed lunch in Tempelhof Airfield between the two and still have a very relaxed itinerary.

I love walking around picturesque garden villages, so Falkenberg was always going to go over well

Villa d'Este

4.00 Elena Y Ireland - 06-Mar-23

Rising up a winding road, you begin to experience the decadence of Tivoli's premier villa before you've even reached it thru a magnificent view shooting straight to the horizon. It seems to yell, "you, Cardinal d'Este, hold dominion over the trees and the houses of the land through God." It also serves to forget that you, the modern public transport user, have arrived not via a direct link from the city centre but from a bus station on the outskirts of the city!

It's almost underwhelming in comparison when you step through the courtyard and into the actual Villa building