What Time Is It?

THURSDAY 

I left LAX at 12:50 AM on Wednesday, March 30, flew for approximately 11 hours and landed in Tokyo at 4:00 AM on Thursday.

Wait. What happened to Wednesday?

With the sixteen hour time difference between L.A. and Tokyo, I lost an entire day! I have been confused ever since! ha! ha! The good news is, when I return home, I will get to repeat a day. How's that for do-overs?

Upon my arrival in Tokyo, I successfully navigated customs, baggage claim, more security, a terminal transfer and a connecting flight to Osaka ALL BY MYSELF! (My friend Stan flew to Tokyo the day before I left, so he was waiting for me in Osaka when I arrived.) I admit I was nervous about finding my way around, but Stan provided fool-proof instructions (complete with video links) so all-in-all it was relatively simple. Yay me!

And now, a quick word about bathrooms . . .

This is going to sound crazy, but I love the bathrooms at the ANA terminal.

Seriously! 

Everything is so high tech. The private water closet comes complete with a Toto toilet, heated seat, a sound system that plays soothing sounds of rushing water to camouflage other noises (!), a complete bidet system with options to choose from, an automatic air freshener, and lighting that makes you look good even after 11 hours on a red-eye! Now that's impressive! 

Okay, moving on. 

One of the things I love about traveling with Stan is that I have no idea what the plan is.  I don't know where we're staying, what we're seeing, how long we'll be there, who we're meeting, or where we're going next. My only responsibility is to pack, show up, bring my camera, and write a check at the end. It's perfect. (And no, girls, I won't introduce you to Stan! Forget about it.) 

As soon as I arrived in Osaka, the first order of business was Starbucks.  The second order of business was a hot shower and a relaxing 75 minute massage! Oh, yeah baby! It was a perfect way to ease into vacation mode and work the kinks out after a frenzied few days prior to leaving L.A.  My massage therapist was AMAZING! 

The rest of the day (which felt like the-middle-of-the-night to us) consisted of a little shopping, dinner, a blog post and early lights out. 

FRIDAY 

Today was a move day. Moving day means I have to pack up all my stuff, schlep it, and transfer to a new city / hotel. I'm usually not ready to switch locations but I always look forward to seeing what's next. (BTW, that's the cool thing about a cruise - there's no packing and no moving. Every morning, a new city is waiting for you right outside your door.) 

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and joined the herd at the train station. We took a train to a transfer point and then hopped on the Bullet Train for the rest of the journey to Hiroshima. I love traveling by train because I get to see more of the country . . . well, as much as I could see as it was whizzing past me at 200 miles per hour! (It's kinda like riding in the car with Jerry Piani!) 

Japan is all about how many sardines they can squeeze in a can. In other words, it's crowded. Multi-family high rises are sandwiched together and every possible square foot of space is utilized as efficiently as possible. The streets are narrow; the parking spaces are narrower. What impresses me is that in spite of how densely populated Japan is, everything seems to run smoothly and orderly. (I contrast it to the chaos I have witnessed in New York, Italy, France, etc.) It's very impressive. 

Upon our arrival in Hiroshima, we were met at the station by Stan's cousins. They are sweet people who I had the privilege of meeting in 2013. I used the translator app on my iPhone to communicate with them over afternoon tea as we mapped out our itinerary for the weekend, which of course includes cherry blossom viewing. It's going to be fun hanging out with them.

Afternoon Tea with Cousins

Selfie on the Bullet Train

Cherry Blossom Season in Japan

Growing up in a small farming community in Texas, I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to travel 5,650 miles away from home to visit a foreign country. Now, the idea of traveling the world (well, parts of it anyway), seems as natural as visiting that small town in Texas I used to call home.

As I sit here enjoying the comfort of my own cubicle in Business Class, and the impeccable service offered by the beautiful Japanese ANA flight attendants, I marvel at the goodness of God and His plan for my life. It occurs to me that nothing has turned out the way I initially envisioned it:  I didn't marry the boy I was in love with in sixth grade; I didn't learn to cook like my grandmother; I didn't settle down to small town living and raise a family; I never learned to sew; I never mastered the piano . . .

Instead, thus far I have followed the Lord on a totally different path experiencing the life HE planned for me - with all of its twists and turns, gifts and surprises, and a few self-directed detours. I jokingly refer to it as "Father God's Wild Ride." LOL.

And so begins another adventure.  As I cross the International Date Line traveling 516 miles per hour toward Tokyo, another memory is in the making. This time, Stan and I are traveling to Japan to photograph cherry blossoms.

That's right.

Cherry blossom season (known as sakura) is a BIG deal in Japan. Months before the cherry trees bloom, everyone starts to gear up. Retailers decorate store fronts with cherry blossoms, and restaurants and convenience stores offer blossom-flavored drinks and recipes. The local news stations report the daily Cherry Blossom Forecast which offers a petal-by-petal analysis of the advance of the blooms as they sweep across the nation from the south to the north. When the blooms actually arrive, the general population indulge in one of the nation's all-time favorite pastimes - hanami - which literally means "looking at flowers" and refers to having picnics under the blooms.

Like I said, it's a big deal. 

So here we are, excited to join the festivities. We're going to spend some time looking at flowers and hopefully capture some of the beauty in photographs.  I can't wait.

Sunrise in Tokyo

Flying from Tokyo to Osaka we passed Mt. Fuji.

Mt. Fuji.

Home Sweet Home

It has been a few days since I left Paris and returned to my home in California. In some ways it is wonderful to be home, but in other ways I am sad that my great adventure is over (for now). 

Getting back to reality is always difficult as I am now faced with a mountain of laundry, mail stacked to the ceiling, bills to pay, a dusty house (how does that happen when I'm gone?) and my ever-present "To Do" list that is still sitting on my desk where I left it 5-1/2 weeks ago. Plus, I brought home an extra (not to be disclosed) amount of weight that I have to shed before anything in my closet will fit! 

Sigh.

But there's something else. 

There is a wonderful freedom that I enjoy when I'm traveling around the world without any immediate responsibility. It's hard to explain, but it's a feeling of release.  For a while, I am free from the daily pressures of life, and in that place, I experience God's presence. It's a rich and satisfying feeling knowing He is near and there is nothing standing between us.  There is no pressure to perform. There are no deadlines. No one is watching or judging. There are minimal expectations. I can simply BE . . . and in this unencumbered state, I am naturally drawn to Him.

The question I am now asking myself is what changes do I need to make in my life that will allow me to STAY in this place of intimacy and encounter in the midst of my daily responsibilities? Why must I allow the pursuits or entanglements of living (sometimes it feels more like survival) choke out The One who sustains me?  That's not the way it is supposed to be.

The first and greatest command is to love God with our whole being. But isn't it rare to find someone who is completely God-centered? Isn't it more "normal" for people to focus on trying to make life work apart from Him? 

Hmmm.

Being fully His; staying connected - these pursuits will be my next adventure - right here at home.

The Stained Glass of Notre-Dame

I sure am enjoying the leisurely pace of my life in Paris! 

I shared with Stan this morning that I believe I was meant to have a palace in the Parisian countryside and spend lazy summers reading intriguing novels, sipping cool lemonade, and riding horseback along meandering rivers. And every Saturday I should be attending formal balls wearing beautiful evening gowns and dancing in the arms of a man in uniform (or Fred Astaire). Don't you think?

Shhh. Don't wake me.

My mother always shakes her head at my romanticism, but I can't help it! I take after my father . . . my earthly father AND my precious Heavenly Father.  He is, after all, the most romantic being I know.  One of my favorite worship songs goes like this:

Divine Romance, by Phil Wickham

The fullness of Your grace is here with me 
The richness of Your beauty is all I see 
The brightness of Your glory has arrived 
In Your presence God, I'm completely satisfied 

For You - I sing, I dance 
I rejoice in this divine romance 
I lift my heart and my hands 
To show my love, to show my love 

Today we returned to Notre-Dame because I wanted to see the inside of the cathedral. The stained glass was beautiful. After walking around for awhile, we stopped at Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. Eating at Hard Rock is one of our traditions - we try to find one in every city we visit.

On the subway in Paris.

Notre-Dame

My name on the walls of Notre-Dame!

City Hall, Paris

Me and my sunbrella strolling the streets of Paris.

Up At The Crack Of Dawn

My wake-up call rang LOUDLY in my ear at 5:00 AM.

The thoughts in my head went something like this:

Yawn! Is it time to get up already? It feels like I just went to bed! Whose bright idea was it to get up early and take photos at this un-Godly hour anyway? Oh yeah, it was mine. Okay. Stop whining and get going. And don't forget your camera.

Poor Stan! He was still asleep when he came to my room to pick me up this morning. I don't even think his eyes were open. We made our way to the train and joined all the drunks (literally) and party-ers who had been up all night at the music festival. People were dragging themselves onto the train and then fighting to stay awake so they wouldn't miss their stop. And we saw two people holding a guy up that was too drunk to stand. Crazy! 

Apparently, Paris holds an annual music festival that coincides with Solstice (the longest day of the year).  The organizers coordinate a mix of professional and amateur musicians from all genres of music to perform at various sights around the city including street corners and cafes. All concerts are free and train service on the night of the festival is also free.  It sounds fun, but throw several thousand tourists into the mix (and lots of alcohol) and you can imagine the mayhem.  

The morning after looked like a hurricane had blown through town! Parts of the city were LITTERED with bottles, cans, cigarette butts and trash. It looked and smelled disgusting. I felt sorry for the municipal workers who were trying to clean up the mounds of trash everywhere this morning. Why can't people have a good time without trashing the place? And why can't they clean up after their flippin dogs ... or better yet, leave them at home?

Anyway, I was annoyed because some of the sights I wanted to photograph were so littered with trash it ruined the shot.

Okay, enough whining, we made the best of it.

Our first stop was the Musée de l'Armée (Army Museum) which includes the Dome Church and the Tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte.

A little history on Napoleon: On May 5, 1821, Napoleon died on the island of St. Helena where he had been in exile since 1815. He was buried in the Geranium valley. His remains rested there until October 15, 1840 when they were exhumed and brought to Paris under the direction of Louis-Philippe, who demanded that the English return the emperor to French soil. A state funeral was held and the remains were laid to rest in St. Jerome's Chapel. Napoleon's remains were moved again in 1861 when his tomb was completed at Dome Church.

The Dome Church

Dome Church 

These tiny cars are everywhere!

Saw this gas pump on the way to the train.

Stan checking the map.

Next stop was the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, one of the most famous streets in Paris which ends at the Arc de Triomphe and is close to the Grand Palais - our third stop.

Avenue des Champs-Elysees

The Grand Palais is an exhibition hall and museum complex, and directly across the street is the Petit Palais which houses the City of Paris Fine Arts Museum. Both of these buildings were constructed in the late 1800's for the 1900 Exposition.

The Grand Palais

The Grand Palais

The Petit Palais

Love the detail on this door

Continuing on, I ran over to the Pont Alexander, III (bridge) that spans the Seine and connects the Champs-Elysees quarter and the Eiffel Tower quarter. This bridge is classified as a French Historical Monument.

Pont Alexander, III with Dome Church in the background.

Our final stop before breakfast was the Louvre. This massive complex is too big for my camera-lense to capture, so I included a photo from the Internet.  The glass pyramid structure in the middle of the complex has an interesting story. This is from Wikipedia:

The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were created because the Louvre's original main entrance could no longer handle the enormous number of visitors it receives on an every day basis. Today, visitors descend through the pyramid into the spacious lobby then re-ascend into the main Louvre buildings.

Design historian, Mark Pimiott, "I.M. Pei’s plan distributes people effectively from the central concourse to myriad destinations within its vast subterranean network... the architectonic framework evokes, at gigantic scale, an ancient atrium of a Pompeiian villa; the treatment of the opening above, with its tracery of engineered castings and cables, evokes the atria of corporate office buildings; the busy movement of people from all directions suggests the concourses of rail terminal or international airports."

The construction of the pyramid triggered considerable controversy because many people felt that the futuristic edifice looked quite out of place in front of the Louvre Museum with its classical architecture.  Certain detractors ascribed a "Pharaonic complex" to Mitterrand. Others praised the juxtaposition of contrasting architectural styles as a successful merger of the old and the new - the classical and the ultra-modern.

The Louvre

Louvre Shmouve, let's have breakfast.

While we were there, I couldn't resist taking a few shots of this bride and groom!

After breakfast, we decided to visit the Musée des Arts Decoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts and Fashion) and the Musée de l'Orangerie - an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings.  The gallery is the permanent home for eight murals, "Water Lilies" by Claude Monet and also contains works by Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (my favorite), Paul Cezanne and many others.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pablo Picasso