Trumpeter on the Kama

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--- my favorite scene from Kyoto.
On my fifth day, just after a bike trip to the botanical gardens, Katie and I biked down the Kama back toward our guest house - Uno House. She biked off to shop on Shijo and I settled into a low bench to listen to a trumpeter...trumpet player? directly across the Kama. Closer to me, just 20 feet away (the obvious and awkward unit-measurement of an American) sat a flutist and a violinist struggling with a feeble La Vie En Rose duet. But I definitely appreciated their practicing. I wrote random thoughts, romantic babble and general life-excitement in my true-to-life, internet-free travel journal and of course it all seems a bit silly now. But the clouds, the slightly damp air, the easy trickle of the tiny Kama River, time just stopped and I didn't rush it.
Uno House an adventure in itself. People in my room were waking up incredibly early, while Katie and I took our time wandering out of the guest house at 10 AM (sounds early to some? late to more ambitious travelers I'd guess), and then to the nearby baking. HEAVEN. delicious. true breakfast foods. Beautifully done. In much of Kyoto we had a difficult time finding casual eating joints. We absent-mindedly wandered into a few pricey restaurants, too embarrassed to leave, enjoyed the small but beautifully displaced dinners.
Different from Daegu: parts of the city were just as modern - with the reflecting, metallic box buildings, but more common were the dark and golden wooden buildings that reminded me of Hilton Head - which regulates the colors and design of buildings, pushing them back from the road to create an illusion of full-on nature. It felt a bit like that. The colors and simplicity of the buildings calmed my slightly on edge travel-nerves. Would we have enough time? Will it continue to rain? Is that ACTUALLY the imperial palace or just a big log cabin? These were unstoppable frantic thoughts.
Favorite moments: as you'll see from the large photo gallery below -- statues at the Botanical Gardens, dressing up as a Geisha in Gion...more information and details a' coming.
...for now it's one of the first truly autumn nights in Daegu. Hopefully the chill in the air will send the mogees (korean mosquitos) in hiding. Another night of buzzing will mean another disgruntled morning.
For now, enjoy the pictures😊

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Photos

Uno House - Tatami Mats.
This was our corner of the room. Katie slept on the bed, I voluntarily took the floor. Slept like a log, but each morning the Kyoto equivalent of the Daegu fish sellers woke us up around 7:30 AM. A whispery baby voiced woman - selling something by a truck which amplified her voice onto a speaker.
There were also occasional morning bells, something that sounded like chanting monks marching past the Uno House.

Pray to the Pig
First mini-shrine we stumbled upon. The Pig Shrine. Deemed by us.
The grey background - the rain followed us for days.

Fish head Fish head
Buy 'em while they're fresh. We keep the eyes in so they'll see you through the week.
name that movie.

For Becca
Proof that 58 is in fact everywhere.

Geisha Gear
Sweating bullets in the tent of traditional man-pleasing fashion.

Golden Pavilion
The single day of sun on our vacation.

Grumpy Geisha
maybe alliteration grows old, but scrunched old lady faces never will.

Prehistoric Plants
I am not confident unless I am larger than the leaves around me.

She's so cool.
just in case my morals weren't yet solidified, this poster...paradigm shift man.

The real deal.
Halfway to the Botanical Gardens, we stopped at a smaller temple and caught a wedding ceremony. Absolutely stunning.

Gate o' Orange
Just outside of the Kyoto Municipal Museum where we saw a Louvre exhibit.
sorry to write so little, but the uploading goes much faster this way.

Still life
Since we couldn't take pictures of the greek god louvre exhibit, we held the positions of our favorite goddesses.
....Hermia? maybe. yikes, it's been too long since this vacation.

Katie as Aphrodite
Mirror image, I swear.

Reminds me of
The curved up fingers on the traditional Thailand dancers.

Dee-Lish
And plentiful. Nashiki Market. One of those official, "I'm in Asia, check." swoon moments.

Theater House
mmmmm forgot the name of this area....editing soon. yikes.