Kumpai to Japan!

I have spent the past four and a half years at my company working with Japanese clients from a variety of companies. My largest account is a Japanese company, and although they normally require me to travel to Chicago and London, finally, I was asked to visit them at their headquarters in Osaka.

I had little to no time to prepare for my trip. Thank GOODNESS I remembered to pack my business cards, as exchanging business cards is a very special part of doing business with the Japanese. I. America, we pass out business cards like we're dealing playing cards. In Japan, business cards are presented with two hands holding the corners of the card, actually reading the card, and bowing. Then as was the case for quite a few of the people I me on the trip, flipping the card over to write their name in English!

So the business card exchange went well, as did the rest of the three days of meetings. Enough about work, let's talk travel!

To get the most important topics out of the way, there are a lot of bikes in Japan. People ride them in dresses, high heels, and while carrying umbrellas. They ride the on sidewalks, as well as in the street, and even against traffic. By the way, the Japanese drive on the left side of the road. I did not see that coming!

And wine? Well, I don't think Japan produces any wine, unless sake counts... And it doesn't. A glass of wine here runs about $15. At least that is what it cost at my very nice hotel mini bar. Come to think of it, that is about how much it was in the restaurant, too. In a 7-11 Store (they are everywhere!) they were selling Yosemite Road wine from California. It was much cheaper, but I didn't buy any, so I'll have to try it back in SF.

So although I didn't drink much wine on this trip, I still did a good job drinking. I also enjoyed a few amazing meals with my colleague Kumpei-san, who lives and is from Tokyo but amazingly enough spent ten years living in Philadelphia! Sushi, sashimi, noodles, tempanyaki. I have tasted many new vegetables and fish and *most* I would ear again. I will pass on the tacoyaki next time. (Deep fried octopus balls with sauce and fish skin chips on top.)

Most fortunately, I was even able to sneak in a bit of sightseeing yesterday and today. Late yesterday afternoon I navigated my way on a train to Kyoto, where I rented a bike and pedaled my way from temple to temple, my favorite being the Goji Temple. And this morning I visited Osaka Castle, which I probably would have enjoyed more if it were not 100 degrees. Lots of pictures to come...

I'm now again on the bus back to the airport. And although I cannot wait to see Jeremy and be home in San Francisco, I am excited to return to this beautiful country sometime soon. Hopefully with Jeremy by my side. Until then, I will raise a glass of sake and cheer, kumpai!


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Location:Osaka, Japan

Or did you get lost in Amsterdam?

We didn't get lost, but we did wander somewhat aimlessly for the final two days of our honeymoon in the lovely little town of Amsterdam. What a great place - we loved it here! And it's not because we did a lot of drugs. In fact, we didn't do any, despite them all being totally legal! I guess that means we really are an old MARRIED couple...

Hopefully we'll get around to filling you in on the details, but for now, here is another set of pictures!

2010-07-29 - Amsterdam

Next Stop, Osaka

I write this blog with both a heavy heart, as well as a heart palpitating with excitement. I'm in Japan! (Happy!) But I am traveling without Jeremy. (So sad!)

Around week three of The Honeymoon, I learned the presence of one of my Project Managers was needed in Osaka for an upcoming system launch; however, this Project Manager is now on *HIS* honeymoon. So, since he busted his arse while I was out for a few weeks (a month) getting married and celebrating in France, Switzerland, Italy, and the Netherlands, I took one for the team.

Home for only 13 hours in which we mostly spent sleeping, we had just enough time to walk around the park this morning (since we were both wide awake at 5:30 AM...) and then pack and then drive back to the airport. I cried as Jeremy dropped me off at the curb, wishing I didn't have to go. But Jeremy said it will go by quickly.

Considering it is now late Monday afternoon, he is right so far! I just landed, after a rather pleasant 11 hour flight. Since it is still afternoon, I don't yet feel too jet-lagged. We'll have to see how long that lasts! I made it through Passport Control and Customs, and I navigated to the bus I'm now riding into town.

I studied some Japanese on the flight, and I've mastered hello, thank you, and good-bye. Lots more to learn, including cheers. So for now, I will sign off with sianora!


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Location:Osaka, Japan

Paris Parts Deux et Trois

Jeremy owes us all a post... But here are the pictures!

2010-07-26 - Paris Part Deux

2010-07-27 - Paris Part Trois

Oh, Champs-Élysées!

To the French, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées est la plus belle avenue du monde! That's a tall order for a street, but it is pretty magical. And of course, Jeremy and I love the accompanying song so much it was the last song of our wedding. Not to mention, each year, Le Tour de France races the final, exciting stage on the street! 


Fresh from a good night's sleep at the Hilton, we departed our hotel around 10AM to begin our exploration of the area and to stake our spot to watch Le Tour. We started at the Arc de Triomphe, and headed down Avenue des Champs-Élysées, window shopping at Luis Vuitton and other incredibly expensive stores. We found a good spot along the street to catch the cyclist action, and made friends with a couple from Australia who just moved to Paris. We shared a few beers while we waited (and waited) until the moment we'd all been waiting for arrived.


SWOOSH! There go the riders through the intermediate sprint zone! We snapped photos and cheered, and then  about a minute later, SWOOSH! There go the riders past us, no more than a few feet away. Two more minutes, than SWOOSH! Again! They race by on the far side of the street. And then in another minute, SWOOSH! Again, they blow right by us. They did six laps or so, before the final sprint of the day, which of course, The Man from the Isle of Man with Short Arms, Mark Cavendish, took the stage. 


Alberto Contador, who we learned actually DOES speak English, took the Yellow Jersey. (Single tear...) Our man Andy Shleck took the White Jersey, but we know he'll take Yellow next time! Alessandro Petacchi took the Green Jersey, and Anthony Charteau took the Polka-dot King of the Mountain Jersey! Last but not least, Team Radio Shack from the USA took the Best Overall Team Jersey, one final Yellow Jersey for our man, Lance. What an awesome tour! We will be back, France, to join the ride again. At the very latest, for our 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2060. (Fingers crossed!) Viva Le Tour!

2010-07-24 - Paris Part 1

Paris: La Arrivee

Perhaps we were a little too slow packing up and leaving our Bordeaux hotel, but we finally realized we had purchased too many bottles of wine and got stumped figuring out how to pack it all into our suitcases. Dolt! So we rushed to the train station, but unfortunately, our American credit card was not accepted by any ticket machines. Hence, we missed our train. Dolt! An hour later, aboard our new train, we could not find Voiture Onze (car 11) because it was on the *other* new train. Dolt!


But after several mishaps, 20 annoying French "Tweens" and a few hours playing musical seats, we arrived in Paris. Finally! We checked into our amazing, free (points) Hilton near the Arc du Triumph. The room had AC! This was our first experience with working AC since we began the trip in the Hilton Lyon. I turned the thermostat low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low and chilled out for a few hours before dinner.


If you're heading to Paris, we highly recommend the book "Hungry for Paris", we replaced our Lonely Planet in the city. We decided that the LP is more geared towards dirty stinky backpackers - not us close your eyes and hand over the credit card honeymooners. We stuck to the two out of four Euro (€€) brasseries because we have had had our share of gastronomic experiences. Regardless, the suggestions from the book were fabulous.


La Maxan, where we dined this night, *only* served a small four course meal, but it was still a gastronomique delight! Jeremy continued his feasting on animal organs, while Nicole played it a bit more safely, selecting steak done a poignant, or medium. Which is basically extra rare, and this time with a fried egg on top! No complaints from either of us. Paris is off to a great start! A santé!


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Location:Paris, France

The Grandest Crus Are in Bordeaux

Fresh from a good night's sleep (meaning we passed out drinking some very tasty Bordeauxs...) Jeremy and I hopped into the car and drove outside of the town of Bordeaux and into the country of Bordeaux. Saint Emilion here we come!

It was a good day. A beautiful day. The town of Saint Emilion is about as far from the city of Bordeaux as the town of Sonoma is from San Francisco. So the fact that most of the wineries are only open for tasting Mondays through Fridays really surprised us! However, the fact that the wineries aren't really equipped for tasting is what surprised us most.

Thinking we knew how to do things, we walked into our first cave and immediately poured ourselves a glass of Grand Cru. Well, let me rephrase that. Actually, NICOLE poured Grand Cru all over the floor of the cave. We hadn't even had a sip of wine yet, so this mishap cannot be chalked up to Nicole's drunkenness. It was a case of classic Nicole Clumsiness. And of course, it brought attention onto ourselves. Next thing we know, we're getting yelled at in French by the boy who runs the cave.

Apparently, in Bordeaux, you have to ASK to taste the wine. This is not the case in Bourgogne (Burgundy). And when I mentioned THAT to the boy who ran our cave, I definitely further pissed him off. We tried to make peace by buying a couple of bottles. We think it worked...

After lunch at a cafe, in which we sat next to two men from Auburn, CA (which is on the way to Tahoe from San Francisco) we headed back to Bordeaux to see the Stage 18 finish. Cavendish, the man with short arms from the Isle of Man, again, took the stage. I believe it was his 13th stage win in all of his appearances in Le Tour. We find this amazing, as we have said, this man has the SHORTEST ARMS EVER. But really, you don't need arms to cycle.

We met up with two friends who live in London for dinner, at which Jeremy dined on more animal organs. This time, he had cow kidneys, which he was told are "very special" in France. Note to self, anything described as very special in the future should be avoided at all costs. We try very hard to embrace the culture of the towns in which we travel, but I believe we draw the lines at kidneys. At least we had a very delicious bottle of Bordeaux in which to wash it all down, right? A sante!

2010-07-22 - Bordeaux