At the end of October we went to Japan for a short visit. Here are some photos (out of order as usual - thanks Blogger frustrating image interface)
Here we are in Nara, just outside Kyoto. Nara is known for beautiful shrines and temples, local hand crafts, and free-roaming sacred deer. Old ladies sell cookies especially to feed deer (although I saw many young school boys daring each other to eat them as a joke). We bought some, and consequently were rushed by these very eager messengers-of-the-gods, intent on eating, not only our senbei cookies, but also our paper bags, picnic lunch, back-pack straps, and the dangling toes of our baby. Don't know what they told the gods about us, but we had a few choice words about them.
Here is Kasuga Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine with over 3000 bronze and stone lanterns (we just missed the August festival where they were all lit at once). Our guidebook kept describing everything in the region as "atmospheric," but indeed the wooded paths surrounding the shrine lined with stone lanterns were compelling. 
Here we are in Tokyo with our friends Tomomi, Mike and Takashi. We visited palace gardens, historic neighbourhoods, temples, aquariums, and shopping streets. We ate at many izakaya, took a boat trip, and learned how to use the trains. Best of all though was the chance to visit with our friends and see Jamie and Takashi running and playing together. 
Oh look, here is Fushimi Inari shrine, where my father's house is, in Kyoto. Another "atmospheric," "evocative" and "magical" place. The paths though the bamboo forest are lined with 10,000 torii and as the light changes and the gates and paths glow orange, you feel a long way from Pali-Pali urban Seoul.
Here we are in and around Kyoto. We visited temples (many) and a palace, and gardens and neighbourhoods known for sights or shops or history. We visited family and friends of family. We took trains and taxis. I think it rained. Travelling with two tiny kids leaves little time for travelogues, and coming back to photos after 6+ weeks - well y'know. I really like Kyoto, everything is beautiful there - perfectly composed spaces, very picturesque - lovely food, tidy wrappings, efficient transportation. We will go back in a time with longer daylight, and have a more organized itinerary - it's only a few hours away after all.
Oops - back to Nara. Nara is home to Todaiji Temple. It houses the great Buddha statue, standing 30 metres tall and boasting other impressive stats like the fact that his hair is composed of 966 bronze balls. At the top of the photo you can see Jamie crawling through a pillar. The hole in the pillar is the size of the Buddha's nostril, and if you can fit through it you are guaranteed a place in heaven, or enlightenment, or something. There was a very long line of children waiting for their turn to crawl thorough the nostril. Some of the bigger ones had their friends yanking them though, but tiny Jamie was a shoo-in. The red-aproned fellow is Pindola, a wooden statue so well-worn because he is believed to heal pains if rubbed on the corresponding part of his body.
Here we are in and around Nara. It was very nice to have some family time since everyone has been and still is so busy. Pali-Pali doesn't do much for domestic bliss. But on this day the weather was fine, the leaves were changing, and we were all relaxed, well as relaxed as you can be if one of you is practically three-years-old.
This is the house, and its environs, to which I was carried as a newborn babe. There are only a few homes on the mountain of Fushimi Inari, and most, as you see, have been abandoned and are falling down. It's nice that my children had a chance to see the house while it is still occupied, and remains intact. Although life moves slower in a forested mountain shrine, time and change are unrelenting.
And, in November, we were back in Seoul. Here is sweet Iris. She had a fever last week-end. In Canada we learned that the eternal ER waits with fevered babies were not really designed to improve matters, so we dosed her with Tylenol and waited it out. She was still pretty sad on Wednesday, so we braved the Korean-language-barrier and took her to the International Clinic at our local hospital. There was much going back and around and through from interpreter to cashier to doctor to cashier to lab to interpreter to doctor to cashier to pharmacy to interpreter etc. We declined a chest x-ray and a "liquid therapy" IV drip, and waited through three applications of sterile bags and five hours before we had an acceptable sample for further tests. We were given much powdered medicine in tiny serving-sized plastic bags (bottom left) and told to return in two days. Friday we were back and a similar series of stops and starts revealed that Iris had an infection. We declined four days of hospitalization and more IV and instead we were given different medicine (top left) and told to return in a week for a sonogram. What have we learned? Very little. Iris is fine now, though finishing her course of antibiotics which means I have to mix various liquids and powders at each mealtime making me feel a bit like medieval apothecary. Korean hospitals are very orderly and thorough, with enough machines and tests and medicines to make my socialized-medicine-based-heart weep. We can't just randomly say no to half of their suggestions on principle, but translation is only offered in general terms "it is considered helpful," "some think it is needful," and doctors here aren't used to having to explain themselves least of all in another language. I'm sure on this occasion everything will be fine, and we will continue to explore our medical options. They love hospital stays here, so we are are spoilt for choice I guess. 
Hey remember that bridge on Montmartre that they were building in September (photo top left)? Well here it is all done (Pali-Pali). It is supposed to look like a silk worm. There was an opening ceremony for which they repainted all the lamp-posts copper, but Jamie didn't want to climb the mountain. We can now walk very far from mountain-top to mountain-top enjoying local scenery. Provided, of course, that we don't bring a stroller and our three-year-old (who hates Pali-Pali when it involves walking) doesn't ever see a dog.
Here are some funny signs and photos of Insadong and Namdaemun markets. We aren't getting out and about nearly enough these days - but luckily three years offers much scope for exploration. We have taken possession of our car. We have mostly been stuck in traffic, lost in expensive parking garages, and searching for parts (so far it needs new wipers and a new battery), so it hasn't been the greatest boon, but we have faith that it will help with Pali-Pali somehow.
So that about wraps up the fall. There were persimmon trees (persimmons have found their way into curry, vegetable feta pasta, banana bread, mulled wine and baby food here at the homestead); there were woven tree-warmers; there were trips to the playground and endless walks up and down hill to school. We had our first snowfall on the weekend; the ondol-heated floors are warming our toes, and the weather is turning frosty. The Christmas trees are up, so here's hoping that things will slow down a little over the holiday season. Until then, think Pali-Pali (빨리빨리) and get a move on!
