Hemingway's Key West Estate in Domino
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Somehow while living in Florida for five years, I never made it to Key West. Life just gets busy! But I have wanted to go mostly to take a tour of Ernest Hemingway's house. I was really excited to see these beautiful photos of the place in a tour on Domino's website.
Sapporo Snow Festival Part III
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Finally, my last group of photos from the Sapporo Snow Festival. I wanted to include some things I'll never forget, like this amazing demo area for Japanese snowboarders and skiers.
There was some true talent but I'll never forget this lady, a girl who grew up in Hokkaido. She was amazing!
Sculptures of just about everything...
Including Disney's Frozen, obviously. There were about half a dozen Olafs.
These American Sailors with the US Navy who sculpted the USS Constitution.
Hope you enjoyed the little tour of the Sapporo Snow Festival!
There was some true talent but I'll never forget this lady, a girl who grew up in Hokkaido. She was amazing!
Sculptures of just about everything...
Including Disney's Frozen, obviously. There were about half a dozen Olafs.
These American Sailors with the US Navy who sculpted the USS Constitution.
Huddling around the heaters for warmth in the standing-room-only dining tents. Oh and speaking of survival - if you go, bring your own paper and hand towels for the loos. Public places, especially parks, don't provide. Yes, I just went there.
Milk Land! Hey, when in Hokkaido... (this is where most Japanese milk comes from, it is not unlike visiting Wisconsin if you're American)
How it inspires everyone - these were our Aussie neighbors and their masterpieces in Niseko
And this guy, who pretty much summarizes how I feel whenever I'm behind the wheel... just kidding.
Sapporo Snow Festival Part II
Friday, March 20, 2015
Hello again! Some more photos from the 66th Annual Sapporo Snow Festival. I love the realism in snow. They had snow artists from all over the world come and participate. Here are some more amazing sculptures. The scale is so hard to convey on this one, but it is about three stories tall
Rice harvest, one of my favorites
And then there are my favorite things I'll always remember, like this guy. I think he was representing wildlife preservation interest group, but I'm not sure since my language skills are not so refined. He was a pretty great sport about posing for me!
And there's ice slides for the kids
The ice slides are sponsored by Cup Noodles
And this guy, I mean this in all seriousness, he is very dapper. I believe he is Sapporo's very own Ron Burgundy.
Rice harvest, one of my favorites
This is the snowy version of this Cathedral of Manila. source
The realism is shocking.
And then there are my favorite things I'll always remember, like this guy. I think he was representing wildlife preservation interest group, but I'm not sure since my language skills are not so refined. He was a pretty great sport about posing for me!
And there's ice slides for the kids
The ice slides are sponsored by Cup Noodles
And this guy, I mean this in all seriousness, he is very dapper. I believe he is Sapporo's very own Ron Burgundy.
Sapporo Snow Festival Part I
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
It has been a crazy month trying to get things sorted for the move. It is insane how early you need to start with the logistics when you're moving stuff, family, pets, etc. Anyways, during the past month we managed to take a week off from all of that and head to Sapporo for the 66th Annual Snow Festival.
Now I know you're thinking, "what, isn't it almost Spring? I don't want to see snow!" but trust me, the snow sculptures were amazing. So amazing that I really took tons of photos. For the sake of sanity and not breaking blogspot, I will divide them into multiple posts and just include my favorites. So let's start at the head of Odori Park, the Shiryokan, a former courthouse.
We started at the farthest end and made our way to the the Sapporo TV Tower at the base of the park. The most northern portion are independent sculptures created by artists and volunteers. These were my favorite - so creative and detailed. Like this shrine:
Or this temple (if you are curious about Japanese temple design, this is actually a great starting point)
This guy is very popular (judging by his presence in McDonald's marketing over here) but I have no idea who he is:
Here's the original, for a good comparison. source
Then one of the more popular sculptures... I think this measures (just a guess) about three stories.
For scale
Sapporo TV Tower
Now I know you're thinking, "what, isn't it almost Spring? I don't want to see snow!" but trust me, the snow sculptures were amazing. So amazing that I really took tons of photos. For the sake of sanity and not breaking blogspot, I will divide them into multiple posts and just include my favorites. So let's start at the head of Odori Park, the Shiryokan, a former courthouse.
We started at the farthest end and made our way to the the Sapporo TV Tower at the base of the park. The most northern portion are independent sculptures created by artists and volunteers. These were my favorite - so creative and detailed. Like this shrine:
Or this temple (if you are curious about Japanese temple design, this is actually a great starting point)
This guy is very popular (judging by his presence in McDonald's marketing over here) but I have no idea who he is:
Then come the main attractions.
This one below is an ice sculpture of Lungshan Temple in Taipei sponsored by the Taiwanese. Road to Parnassus, I thought of you!
Here's the original, for a good comparison. source
For scale
A couple more ice sculptures
Some odds and ends from around town. I couldn't find a sign but this building was amazing.
Sapporo TV Tower
More photos of Sapporo to come!