under another sun

A terrible night, where I developed a very rapid pulse, sweating with a temperature and a stomach like fire. Woke Lorraine up after several hours of this feeling rather panicked. Poor girl. She smoothed me down and eventually I got some fitful sleep. I can only think something I ate had not agreed with me at all. Still shaky and weak in the morning, but as the day pressed on I began to feel much improved. A lake breakfast, and Hitomi brought little Hana around. Hana is very cute and two years old, and seemed a bit dubious about dogs. followed by an early lunch at an eel restaurant, where we had our own private room. Hitomi brought little Hana, and there were also an elderly couple who had babysat Romy when she was little, and their daughter who had spent time in Canada. We all sat down to a healthy eel based snack. A deliciously eel inflected miso, a hearty bowl of rice layered on top with strips of cooked eel fillets and some salty salad pickles. After this surprisingly filling ...

Of snow and eel intestines My cold somewhat abated, I got up just before dawn and opened the curtains, then climbed back into bed to watch the falling snow. Kyoto is bordered on three sides with mountains and gets very wintery. Met Toby Romy and Hiroko and we set off in the cold to a nearby Starbucks which overlooked the snowy river, and was a wonderful place to enjoy hot cofee. Toby busy saying it was the world`s best Starbucks and he is probably right. Thus fortified we went back to the hotel to pack. Popped out then to a particularly lovely shop to look again at its prints and brushes and expensive pottery. Then after settling-up at the hotel, we taxied to our final temple. Sanjusangen-do was unheated and freezing. Inside was a structure like a long wooden football terrace, with 1000 life size sculptures of the Buddhist deity called Kannon. They flank one enormous seated deity. Spaced between them are a 28 other deities representing thunder, wind and other forces of nature. The scul...