+++ /dev/null
-== Bernie's brain backup of April 2009 ==
-
-=== April 22nd ===
-
-==== Food ====
-
-Eating in japan can a challenge for a vegetarian who also happens to dislike fish and crustaceans.
-The average menu has about 5% of veggie dishes, but many restaurants in tourist areas specialize
-in traditional food such as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi|sushi]] and
-[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempura|tempura]]. Imitations of Italian kitchen are close to
-perfection, of course: in Tokyo, we had perfectly reasonable spaghetti with eggplants.
-
-Even with my options severely limited, I could still find several exquisite dishes.
-I quite like soups, including [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miso_soup|miso shiru]],
-[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen|ramen]] and others I ordered by pointing at the
-fake dish in the restaurant window without ever knowing their name.
-
-My favorite food so far is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omurice|Omurice]]. Yeah, perhaps
-it's not as sophisticated as the average Japanese recipe. Hmm... I guess learning to
-appreciate complex and delicate flavors takes some more time.
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Ryoanji/00016.jpg|Omurice = omelet + rice|maxwidth=640}}
-
-As for beer, I still couldn't find one I like. The most popular ones, Asahi and Kirin,
-are just tasteless dry lagers. All the drafts I could find taste like Asahi too. The
-only good beers I had were at the [[http://www.deliriumcafe.jp/|Delirium Cafe]] in Tokyo,
-where I had a delicious [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauwel_Kwak|Kwak]] followed by a
-cherry flavored [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriek|Kriek]]. Too bad we had to stop at
-just two to make sure we could find the way back to the hostel :-)
-
-Now I'm looking for a place where I could taste vegetarian [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyaki|sukiyaki]],
-the favorite food of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataru_Moroboshi#Ataru_Moroboshi|Ataru Moroboshi]].
-
-=== April 21st ====
-
-==== Great temples everywhere ====
-
-Yesterday was rainy, but it didn't stop us from biking around and visiting quite a lot of stuff:
-
- * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Ninnaji|Ninnaji temple]];
- * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Ryoanji|Ryoanji temple]], with its puzzling rock zen garden;
- * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Kinkakuji|Kinkakuji temple]] (aka golden temple);
- * the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/NijojoCastle|Nijojo castle]], which is actually two castles for the price of one;
- * a quick tour of the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/KyotoDowntown|Kyoto downtown]];
- * the [[http://www.kyotomm.com/international/english/|International Manga Museum]] was closed already. Grrr....
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/Kinkakuji/00012.jpg|the golden temple of Kinkakuji|maxwidth=800}}
-
-==== x264 goodness ====
-
-I re-encoded all videos from MJPEG, the crappy native format of my Canon camera, to x264 (aka MPEG4).
-Firefox 3.1/3.5 still doesn't grok it with the ##video## tag, but I didn't have a
-[[http://theora.org/|Theora]] encoder installed.
-
-=== April 20th ===
-
-==== Best hostel ever ====
-
-The [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/UtanoHostel|Utano hostel]] in Kyoto would rival many
-five star hotels I've seen. Sorry I couldn't take any photos in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen | Onsen]].
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/UtanoHostel/00005.jpg|the hostel provides a traditional goan too|maxwidth=800}}
-
-==== Impressive station ====
-
-The [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/ShinKyoto|Kyoto station]] is an impressive modern building,
-worth a visit by itself.
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Kyoto/ShinKyoto/00015.jpg|Anime characters by Osamu Tezuka|maxwidth=640}}
-
-==== Shinkansen tour ====
-
-In a jounery report, the details of transportation are usually left out as uninteresting.
-Except if one takes the fastest train in the world! We took the
-[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dkaid%C5%8D_Shinkansen|Tokaido Shinkansen]] line from Odawara to Kyoto,
-riding on a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/700_Series_Shinkansen|700-series]] train for the
-[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikari_%28Shinkansen%29|Hikari]] service (not the faster
-[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nozomi_%28train%29|Nozomi]], but still very impressive).
-
-The ticket cost a whopping 11240 yen per person, and I'm not even getting a
-[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Express_999|machine body]] with it! ;-)
-
-See [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen|the the photos]] and don't miss the
-[[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00009-x264.avi|pass-through]] and the
-[[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00011-x264.avi|on-board]] videos.
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Shinkansen/00006.jpg|Shinkansen|maxwidth=800}}
-
-
-=== April 19th - Hakone day 2 ===
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/FujiSanBernieSan.jpg|The Fuji-san (left) with Bernie-san (right)|maxwidth=1024}}
-
-We took the suggested touristic itinerary around the Hakone mountains which employs all sorts
-of transportation means: bus, cable train, rope way, cruise boat and bus again.
-
-Along the way, we could see the volcanic sulfuric vents and pools, the Ashi lake with its breathtaking
-view of the Fuji-san, the ancient cedar avenue, the old post, the detached palace gardens and the
-beautiful [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto_shrine|shinto jinja shrine]] of with its
-[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii|torii]] diving in the lake.
-
-Of course, I took plenty of [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/Trip|photos of the Hakone trip]].
-
-=== April 18th - Hakone ===
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone/Hostel/00008.jpg|Our japanese style room at the Senkyoro YH|maxwidth=1024}}
-
-We arrived in a small town near [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone,_Kanagawa|Hakone]]. I'll publish photos later.
-
-**Update**: [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Hakone|photos of the hostel]] are now available.
-
-
-=== April 17th - Ghibli museum in Mitaka, Ginza ===
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/GhibliMuseum/00005.jpg|Robot from the ancient city of Laputa|maxwidth=800}}
-
-The museum was actually a bit of a disappointment, but maybe just because I had my expectations so high.
-Cameras weren't allowed inside, so I only took [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/GhibliMuseum|few photos]].
-
-In the afternoon, we walked around the shiny neighborhood of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginza|Ginza]].
-See the [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Ginza|photos]].
-
-=== April 16th - Fish Market, Gardens, Tower of Tokyo, Temple ===
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Tsukiji_Fish_Market/00013.jpg | Tsukiji Fish Market |maxwidth=800}}
-
-We had a very intense day where we visited a lot of places all around central Tokyo:
-
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Tsukiji_Fish_Market | Tsukiji Fish Market]] ([[http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3021.html|Japan Guide]])
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Hama_Rikyu_Gardens | Hama Rikyu Gardens]] ([[http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3025.html||Japan Guide]])
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Zojoji | Zojo-ji Temple]] ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zojoji|Wikipedia]])
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Tokyo_Tower | Tokyo Tower]] ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Tower|Wikipedia]])
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Reiyukai_Temple | Reiyukai Temple]] ([[http://www.reiyukai.org/|official web site]])
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Imperial_Palace_Gardens | Imperial Palace Gardens]] ([[http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3017.html|Japan Guide]])
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Edo_Museum | Edo-Tokyo Museum]], which was already closed.
- We'll try again when we come back to Tokyo ([[http://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/english | official web site]])
-
-NOTE: photos still being uploaded, gomen nasai!
-
-Seeing so many beautiful things at such a high frequency might make one's head spin.
-In fact, this evening I've been dangerously close to faint in an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen | Onsen]],
-which was really scary because I had never lost consciousness before. I had walked all day with very little
-food and drink, which might have been part of the problem, but diving in thermal water for a long time has
-certainly triggered it. What a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaijin | gaijin]] who can't even take some
-hot water!
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Zojoji/1.00011.jpg | Zojo-ji temple (left), Tokyo Tower (center), Bernie (right) |maxwidth=800}}
-
-=== April 15th - Skyscrapers everywhere ===
-
-Compared to Tokyo, every other city I had visited would seem dirty, old, boring and disorganized.
-I can't find the words to describe my amazement walking around this amazing city full of wonders.
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Roppongi/TokyoMidtown/00023.jpg|Tokyo Midtown Gardenside seen from the Galleria building|maxwidth=800}}
-
-Photos for today:
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Shinjuku|Shinju-ku]] -- The district of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Metropolitan_Government_Building|Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building]].
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Roppongi|Roppongi]] -- A rich district hosting modern art museums (Art Triangle) and night life ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roppongi|Wikipedia]])
- * [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Pachinko|Pachinko]] -- Popular Japanese slot machines
-
-**Update**: now finished uploading the photos
-
-=== April 14th - Arrival in Tokyo ===
-
-{{Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo/Sensoji_Temple/00081.jpg|The way to the Sensoji temple in Asakusa|maxwidth=800}}
-
-I couldn't resist grabbing a super-cheap round trip to japan, a place I've always wanted
-to visit. By "always", I mean: since when I was in kindergarten, watching great series
-like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Jeeg|SteelJeeg]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazinger_Z|MazingerZ]] on TV.
-My dad accepted to accompany me in this trip even though he wasn't particularly fond of Japan. Until now, that is!
-
-The first day was simply amazing, but I'm way to tired to tell a lot about it.
-The [[Pictures/vacation/japan_2009/Tokyo|many photos and videos]] that I'm still uploading will hopefully serve
-documenting this long day appropriately.
-
-NOTE: if you can't watch the videos embedded in the wiki, get yourself a recent browser featuring HTML5 or
-send me a patch adding support for old-style HTML video embedding.
-
-=== Negligent ===
-
-Yes, I've neglected to update this blog for a few months. This isn't because I had nothing
-to talk about. In fact, these months were quite intense, with a lot of notable events, including:
-
- * 2009 Jan: Visited the [[Pictures/vacation/EastCoast2008|East Coast]] with Silvia
- * 2009 Jan: Attended the [[Pictures/conf/XOCamp2009|XO Camp 2]]
- * 2009 Feb: Attended the [[Pictures/conf/Fosdem2009|Fosdem 2009]] with a few friends from Italy and SugarLabs colleagues
- * 2009 Feb: Visited
- [[Pictures/vacation/brussels_riga_stokholm_2009/Brussels | Brussels]],
- [[Pictures/vacation/brussels_riga_stokholm_2009/Riga | Riga]] and
- [[Pictures/vacation/brussels_riga_stokholm_2009 | Stockholm]] with Tommaso
- * 2009 Mar: Organized a small revival of [[SystemShockBBS]] with a few original users
- * 2009 Apr: Attended a meeting/miniconf in [[Pictures/conf/Bolzano2009|Bolzano]] with WalterBender
-
-I am currently back in Florence, trying to find a way back in the US.
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