Conversation Pieces

About this time last year (well September to be precise), we took a trip to NYC… I blogged part 1 and then sort of forgot to do part 2.

So here it is. Better late than never… my favourite (and free!) spaces in New York.

And a few of my random NY tips that I don’t have pictures for but they’re here too!

One of my absolute favourite things was the High Line. (Yes, we got this shot by lying down on the ground! Yes, we got strange looks. Totally worth it though!)

It’s a section of old elevated rail line that’s been converted into a park. You basically walk from Downtown to Midtown on it, and get a great view of more unexpected New York sights (like the New Yorker sign above)…

And the Empire State building peeking out from behind this reddy church…

And amazing ghost signs (I was obsessed with these on our trip and would stop to snap them wherever I saw them, usually to the confusion of other pedestrians)…

And arty things… like this cool bird house installation. (Though I got the feeling this wee guy was none too impressed with me taking his picture!)

At the end (or the start I think, we might have walked it backwards!) we came across this street art… which I can only assume refers to the massively scary…

… HUGE CLOWN sitting nearby! Clowns completely weird me out – mainly because I watched Stephen King’s IT at an early age. (Even linking to this is giving me the shivers… and I didn’t even watch it!)

But the drunken panda street art made it all better. Mostly better. Ok, ignore the clown. Go to the High Line. You’ll love it. Pretend I didn’t mention the other bit.

Inside Grand Central Station, there’s an amazing ‘whispering gallery’. It might be hard to see from our slightly murky photos – but you can stand at opposite ends, talk into the wall and hear each other.

It’s the strangest thing to be leaning against a wall (as pictured) and be able to hear each other’s voices as if you were standing next to each other.

If you’re looking for it, there’s no sign… just go under the main station, towards the food courts and look for a sort of curved roof with four pillary bits.

It’s an obvious one but Central Park is a must-go to…

So you can hang out with Hans Christian Andersen and Alice in Wonderland…

But also to do some brilliant people watching… especially when they’re watching giant bubbles being blown.

This woman’s reaction to the bubble coming her way is just the best. That’s pure joy right there!

And if that’s not enough joy, why not treat yourself a silly ice-cream. We couldn’t decide who’s would win the silliest award…

*****

Here’s my other random tips as promised:

Pick up a Time Out NYC magazine at the airport – that’s how we found out about comedy shows, pop-ups etc that we wouldn’t have known about otherwise.

Best view… I would say go up The Rockefeller. Most people do the Empire State but the queues are long and once you’re up there, well, you can’t see the Empire State if that makes sense!

Rooftop bars… we were lucky in that our hotel had an amazing rooftop bar… which was basically an outdoor club with a view of the Empire State and the Chrysler.

Best bakery... Two Little Red Hens. These guys do mini versions of all their cupcakes too so you can buy lots and not over-do it (too much).

Best breakfast (and lunch!) in Manhattan… Penelope on Lexington. There can be huge queues for this place so
it’s best to turn up not too hungry, put your name on the waiting list and grab a coffee nearby while you wait.

Best shop (certainly one of my fav!)… in god we trust in Brooklyn.

Best coffee… Cafe Grumpy (the original is Brooklyn but it’s also served in a cool hotel bar that’s opposite the Public Library)

Getting about… we jumped on the river taxis for getting to and from Brooklyn/Downtown etc… might be a bit chilly but you get a great view of the city that way.

Oh yes, if you ever get the opportunity to eat some Fruit Loops at 3am on a deserted hotel rooftop… while the lights from the Empire State turn the whole misty sky red… then take it.

Honestly, it’ll be the best cereal of your life. In a crazy, only in New York sort of way!

At the weekend, the lovely Lauren came round and took some pics of me and my flat for a feature I’m writing (and another little project too). Before she arrived, I was having a look at my own camera and discovered that I’d taken lots of snaps of my Japan finds and never shared them…

I took them so long ago (or it feels like so long ago) that the pictures next to them are all of Fab ice lollies! (Yes, it was back when we had some sunshine and I ate up to 2 Fabs every day! Very healthy I know!)

Anyway… normally when I go away, I buy nearly nothing. I think I worry about how much money I spend while I’m there and then when I get home, I go “I wish I’d bought xxx”. Always.

So this time, I treated myself to a few funny little cute things (you’ve already seen the biscuit maker and the egg moulds) but here’s some of the other things…

A pink elephant sellotape dispenser… an essential, is he not?

And of course more washi tape. It’s so cheap in Japan. So so so very cheap. And so pretty! And there’s so many more varieties (yes, that’s one with pins and safety pins on it!)

I actually bought more than this but managed to leave a bag on the plane that had some of the rolls in it. And it was never found, sad times! (Or a good excuse to go back!)

I also ‘invested’ in these gorgeous wooden stamps… yes those three on top are washi tape stamps! Just when you thought I couldn’t get any more washi tape obsessed!

I also bought some doily stamps too… again utterly essential! (Not sure how yet!)

Does anyone else totally geek out over stationery? (I know Lynne from Tea For Joy would have been in her element!) I kept picking up pretty tags and fun stickers… and thinking ‘I need these!’

Oh and you know you really need some ‘puzzle point markers’… yes I don’t really know what they are either but I loved the way the animals were jigsawed together.

And how could I resist some bunny shaped paper clips?

All my important documents are going to have these on them from now on! Maybe… (Or at least anything I send to Cara from Peonies and Polaroids should!)

There’s a shop in Tokyo called Winged Wheel. It sells the most beautiful little letter-pressed things I have ever seen. (And they are amazingly, mouth-wateringly affordable! Yes, you can salivate over paper!!)

I bought myself some tiny business cards… which are way too nice to give to anyone!

Yes, those are sponges. Wearing outfits. Yes, I know. Insane but amazingly so. (I popped in to see Rachael from Hannah Zakari the other day and she has one too in her kitchen. So I’m in good sponge company!)

Um, yes, you can never have enough cute sponges right? (These cost the equivalent of 50p, it seemed rude not to get them!)

This is my little watcher… the Fox-Owl-Cat is always fascinated by me taking photos of things on the floor…

… things like these animal soy bottles. (I do eat a lot of sushi, so I’ve been using these already.)

And some Japanese paper balloons… again so cheap in Japan, it made me want to buy them by the boxful.

Just in case, you were wondering cats are not so impressed by Japanese balloons…

And so there you have it. Possibly the most random selection of stuff I have ever brought back from a trip. But good, happy, colourful random… which I think is a pretty good memento of Japan really.

So, my dears, what do you bring back from your travels?
Do you buy sensible stuff or silly souvenirs?

Last month, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

Instead of paper, we gave each other Barcelona.

7 days of staying in a top floor apartment in El Born.
With a winding, narrow staircase that went on forever
Windows that opened to rooftops, huge church spires
And the happy, relaxed bustle of life below.

7 days of proper sunshine.
Of brilliant bright blue skies.
Of bare legs and wearing sandals.
Suncream. Missed bits. Burnt bits.
Ice lollies for an afternoon snack.
Ordering Pimientos de Padron.
Cava with every meal but breakfast.

7 days of wandering in the Gothic Quarter.
Narrow little streets that twisted and turned.
Shutters that hid last night’s bars.
Shops that opened when they liked.
Everywhere the sound of chatter,
and surprises round every corner.

7 days of statues that changed their looks every day
And streets littered with colourful confetti.

7 of days gazing and then glazing
at early “Blue Period” Picasso works.
Of Park Guell, with its pretty tiled dragon,
stunning views, shady trees and talented buskers.
Of lying on picnic benches in the shade
and snoozing like strays or happy hobos.

7 days of blue tiles, watery windows, dragon-like roofs,
In a house that was more like an upright submarine.
For the first time really feeling like we ‘got’ Gaudi.

7 days of heading to la Sagrada Familia on a very hot day,
taking the lift to the top and standing, with shaking legs,
looking out at the city and trying not to look straight down.

7 days of heading to the beach. Picnic packed.
Cheese, bread, salsa, beer, crisps… all too warm
All too liquid by the time we reach the sand.

7 days of taking Polaroids – all of us, smiley and slightly tanned.
Of comparing our £2 cameras to the Impossible Project shop ones.

7 nights of staying out late, snapping street art,
(being stared at by curious locals as we posed),
of feeling like we didn’t have a care in the world,
and wondering what it would be like to live here.

Barcelona, I rather love you.

You were a rather perfect
first anniversary destination xx

So… I have so much to blog about right now
that I’m managing not to blog about anything!

(Yup, that’s Zoë logic for you!)

So to get me back in the swing of things,
how about some baking?

******

When we were in Japan, I got lots
of nice baking and ‘cooking’ stuff.

One of those things was a wordy biscuit kit.
(I’m sure that the exact translation!)

Since we got home, I’ve been waiting
for an excuse to actually use it…

(Does anyone else ever do that?
Buy themselves something nice
and then not allow themselves to use it?)

So on Sunday I thought wouldn’t it be nice
to bake some biscuits… for us. For no reason at all.

The biscuit on the front of the pack reminded me
of Nice biscuits.. which reminded me of
my recently re-found ‘It’s Nice To Be Nice’
print by Hazel Nicholls…

And so I made ‘It’s Nice To Be Nice’ biscuits!

(See all those letters… they had to be individually
taken apart. My thumbs were really raw afterwards!)

By the time I finished, I kept reading
this as “It’s nice to be mice”!

(Also it’s much harder to put letters backwards
into a holder to stamp on dough than I realised…
there were a few outtakes where the words
are round the wrong way!)

If you fancy making NICE biscuits,
the recipe we went with was:

100gm flour
40gm butter
1/4 tsp baking powder
50gm powder sugar
40gm desiccated coconut
8 teaspoons of water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 almond extract
sugar to sprinkle on top

Mix everything together to make a dough.
Roll out dough onto baking paper.
Put in the fridge for a few hours to firm up.
Then use a cutter to make biscuit shapes.
Bake until golden brown. Then add sugar on top.
Wait patiently to cool a bit before eating!

*******

So I said we also bought ‘cooking’ stuff?
That means sushi kits and some other random things…

Remember the perfect little pocket sandwiches
we ate in Japan? (They were number ’10 in my
10 things I love about Tokyo’!)
Well, we got a kit to make those too.

My other half has been making peanut butter and jam ones so far.
I may need to conduct some more ‘research’ into other
combinations soon… chocolate and banana maybe?

Oh and perhaps the craziest kitchen item we bought?

A bunny mould for boiled eggs!

I can never quite decide if these are cute
or just completely freaky… they’re
good fun to make though!

*******

Until next time… which hopefully won’t be
as long this time! (If you follow me on twitter
or instagram, you probably already know
there’s a future Barcelona post brewing!)

1. Doe a deer, a Japanese deer…

After 5 days in Tokyo, we took the shinkansen (super fast train)
to Hiroshima, then got the ferry to Miyajima.

It’s somewhere we’d planned to go on our first trip
but we ran out of time (and money).

Miyajima is a Spirited Away-style little island
with a huge floating tori (gate) and a whole
lot of wild, tame deer… everywhere.

They’re just there crossing the road,
hanging outside your window,
sneaking up behind you while
you’re chatting or snapping pics…

After a stay in Miyajima (at an amazing ryokan (Japanese inn)
where an old Granny made my husband eat fish eyes!)
we went on to Nara… which is not far from Kyoto.

They have the world’s largest wooden building…
and oh yes a whole lot of tame, wild deer too!

We loved this warning sign about how the deer
might attack you… knock down being my favourite!

There’s something so strange about wandering
through beautiful shrines and temples…
pursued by nibbly little animals!

(I’m somewhat protectively hanging
on to my green tea here!)

2. Temples, shrines, tori… oh my!

If you have time on a Japan trip, go to both
Miyajima and Nara… they’re both quite compact
in size so you can happily walk around, taking
in the sights in a relaxed manner.
(Followed by deer of course!)

Oh and see that glowy statue?
He’s the Dragon Warrior!
If you’ve watched Kung Fu Panda,
you’ll know what I mean!

As we’d been to Kyoto before, we wanted to see
some ‘new’ things… so we went to flea markets
held at temples, handmade markets at shrines,
tried our hand at Japanese printmaking,
a tea ceremony, and even went to some
temples with singing ‘nightingale’ floors.

If I tried to show you everything we did,
this would end up the hugest blog post ever!

3. Foxes! (At Fushimi Inari!)

There was one Kyoto shrine we revisited though…
the amazing Fushimi Inari shrine.

This was our favourite place in Kyoto last time.
(And that was before I noticed the fox thing!)

We originally went just as the sun was rising
(amazing!) but we didn’t want to spoil that memory
so we decided we’d go at dusk to make
sure it was as different as possible…

Turns out shrines are pretty scary
when the sun is going down!

All the pictures came out rather spooky too…
especially the one below of me
holding a fox prayer plaque.

Quite cool though, right?

4. Going geisha

If you follow me on Instagram/Twitter,
you might have spotted one of the pics
below already… yes, instead of going
geisha spotting this time…

I had a maiko makeover!
(A maiko is a geisha’s apprentice)

This was something we’d considered doing last time
but again didn’t have the time and budget for it…

I thought it sounded like something fun to do.

Actually, it’s a very serious process.
You’re not allowed to bring a camera
while they do the transformation.
But here’s what happened:

First, you have to change into a robe undergarment
and remove all make-up you’re wearing.
Then go get painted up – this was surprisingly cold!
Then someone does your make-up. There were no mirrors
so I had absolutely no idea how I looked.

Then you go to the wig room… yes that’s a wig I’m wearing.
And it’s super, super heavy. And uncomfortable.
All the adornments are then added to the wig.
The girl who did mine spent a lot of time
getting them just right.

Next comes the outfit.

Well, almost.

Turns out that geishas are meant to be sort
of ‘flat’ and I’m not. I’m hourglass-y.
So they padded me out with towels
and strapped everything else down!

Then the layers of pretty robes, belts
and sashes went on…

Walking down the narrow stairs afterwards was an experience.
I felt huge and cumbersome… not an elegant geisha!

According to my husband, I also looked rather freaked out.

This was also the moment I saw myself!

I had no idea what I thought I would look like
but I was surprised that I didn’t look like ‘me’.

(Look how tanned my arms look!)

And after all the deer, temples, foxes, geisha-ness and
a whole lot more… it was time to go back to Tokyo!
For cat cafes, shopping, and a Lost in Translation experience!

P.S. Thanks for your lovely response to the last Japan post!
Even if all the Tokyo chat makes me want to go back now!

So 10 things huh?

Um, well, I’ll be honest and say I could do
a post called 1000 things I love about Tokyo.

And that’s before I get into Kyoto, Nara and Miyajima.

(Of course, I’d be here from now until next year
putting it together… and it would be a very long post!)

So here’s 10 random things from our first 5 days
that I fricking adore the hell out of Tokyo for…
you crazy, serene, neon, crowded, uber cute city!

******

1. Saying hello (and kawaii a lot)
Last time we were in Japan, we were bewildered,
awed and sort of just overcome with the whole place.
And I was quite shy about trying out my Japanese.

This time, I got brave and when we went into
little shops, cafes, nice places… well
I found myself chatting away.

Of course I was mainly saying yes, hello,
kawaii and goodbye… but turns out
that’s almost all I needed!

2. The buses…

Yes there’s not many places
you can say that you love their buses
but the Tokyo buses are so kawaii!

3. Vending machines

Beer, hot green tea, espressos…
you can get all these things from
a Japanese vending machine.

Then we discovered that there were
banana vending machines too
and it somehow became a bit of
an epic quest that we had to find one!

Honestly we were so impressed with ourselves
when we finally found one… all for a banana!

4. The parks…

All the guide books tell you to go to Yoyogi Park
to see the Harajuku girls doing their thing…
but once inside the park, things get more interesting.

There’s people painting, busking, weaving
and oh yes have a rockabilly dance-off!

Head to Inokashira Park and you’ll find
blossom trees and uber cute swan boats!

5. Cats in baskets…

Look closely at the picture below
there are actually two cats in that basket!

Um, yeah, so you can take your cats for a stroll here…
in a basket… and then give them to
random, bemused strangers to hold.

The owner of the cats also gave us a free calendar
showing the cats in a supermarket,
at the beach, going for a stroll…

6. Naps… on the train

Everyone seems to work such long hours in Japan
that they catch up on their sleep on while commuting.

For the first week in Japan I found myself
awake during the night (I think I was being
a dweeb and being too excited about the next day)
so napping on the train seemed like the thing to do!

6. The Studio Ghibli Museum

I love Studio Ghibli movies so this was a must-visit.
The tickets have to be bought from a specific convenience
store from a machine that’s only in Japanese… a challenge!

Oh but it was so worth it. The adult catbus was so furry
and snuggly inside that I could have stayed for a snooze.

7. Crafty fun

So normal department stores I’m not really fussed about…
Japanese ones however are entirely different matter.
Especially ones that have a whole section devoted to
Japanese washi tape… and check out that floor!
(Isn’t that the most beautiful painted floor ever?)

We went to lots of crafty,vintage and just damn cute places…
I’m writing a feature on them for a magazine at the moment
so I’ll tell you about all of them later. (Or buy the mag of course!)

While doing a little Japan research, I realised that
Hello Sandwich had a crafty class on when we were there.

So I dropped Ebony a line to ask if we could come along…

It was so much fun… creating photo collages of our
digital pictures. Every 2 minutes someone in the class
would say kawaii at what someone else was doing.

It was also the first time I sat still for 2 hours
in the time we’d in Tokyo. Was a good rest too!

8. Lost in Translation advertising

So Richard Gere is the face of Orangina,
Tommy Lee Jones is the ‘Coffee Boss’
and Jean Reno is the star of an ad
that sees him put on a little helicopter hat
and fly away… no idea what the product is.

But most of all, I adore the Japanese logos…

The cat carring a kitten is for a delivery firm.
The Hello Kitty is warning you not to trap
your finger in the bus door.
The egg… well, he’s advertising eggs.

And the drunk chick (possibly my favourite thing ever)
is to tell you can buy vending machine drinks
with your travel card. (I think!)

10. Snacks

Cheetos, popcorn and mini Doritos? Hell yeah.
Pressed peanut butter sandwiches… with a peanut on them? Yup.

The food in Japan is amazing (more on that later)
but their snacks are pretty supreme too
and of course the packaging helps!

Ok, that’s my 10 random things…
I’ve actually missed out so much here
that it makes my head spin.

If you’re thinking of going to Japan,
just go… you won’t be sorry!

Next Japan post: wild tame deer,
temples and shrines… and eh, me
dressed as a Geisha! Yes really!

November 2008.
I’m standing in Tokyo
as a huge parade comes up
a street in Asakusa.

I can barely breathe with excitement.
(I am in Japan! I am in Japan!)

I stand at the back of a crowd and try to peer
over people’s heads to see the parade…

Someone glances round, smiles at me,
says something I don’t understand,
then gestures for me to move forward,
then another person does the same,
and another, and another…

Until I’m right at the front,
with people smiling at me,
nodding, being so lovely
that it almost distracts me
from taking pictures.

******

It’s now 2012. And I can barely breathe with
excitement… because we’re going back to
the land that invented washi tape!
And I can’t wait! Here’s why:

If you’ve ever seen Lost in Translation,
you’ll have an idea just how magical,
mysterious, zany, crazy and cute Tokyo is.
Except in real life, it’s even better.
It’s overwhelming but in a brilliant way.

There’s just so much colour everywhere in Japan…
from old shrine gates in Kyoto to paper
cranes in Hiroshima to this little girl in Tokyo.

Even the signs are cute…
yes, those are helpful raccoons
telling you not to get your hand stuck!

And the randomness… a calendar based on brushing your teeth?
Well, of course! Diet tights? Yup, you can get those too.
And an arcade game based on zombies… and eh typing?

As well as Tokyo, we spent time into Kyoto…
with its cute trains, Golden Pavilion, and the Geishas.
Wherever we went in Kyoto, I seemed to attract lots
of school children who wanted to take my picture…
We suspected this was because of my 2008
inclination to dress like a children’s TV presenter!
I have never been so excited to go back somewhere…
Honestly I’ve been causing myself near heart failure
while trying to plan this next trip.

My number 1 tip for Japan is to wear slip on shoes,
not Converses. I swear I spent 1/3 of our last trip,
lacing and unlacing my trainers.

Oh and this time, if I can, I’m drawing a fox wishing plaque
at Fushimi Inari (possibly the most magical place ever)
and buying a giga pudding. (It has the craziest video ever
and was everywhere we went in 2008!)

*******

Maybe once I’m back from the trip
I might do a proper guide?
If anyone has any recommendations
of places to go, I’d love them!
Or if you share my love of Japan,
do let me know! *Super excited!*

*******

{P.S.} Ok, not so much of a P.S.
as an extra bit of this blog post…

[...]

Yup, it’s me. How fricking cool is that?

When Mollie Makes asked if I’d like to do
a feature for them, I was like ‘hells’ and ‘yeah’…

Well, I actually said something way more polite
but that’s what I thinking in my head.

So it was set – I was doing a tour of my Edinburgh,
my favourite places and must go-tos.

Now some of you may already know that
I work as writer (a copywriter and freelance writer)
but this one was a biggie… as I love Mollie Makes
AND I’d be taking the pictures for it too.

Eeeek. (But in a good way.)

So me and my trusty SLR hit the streets,
invaded some shops and tried very hard
not to just buy things while I was at it!

(This is not actually me in Edinburgh.
This is me in New York, snapping in the Met
but it’s the only Zoë as photographer shot I have.
So imagine this but colder and with less hat!)

Check it out if you can, let me know
what you think… or if you ever need
any Edinburgh tips, well, I’m your gal!

*off to do a happy little dance now*