Sanuk Canadian

An 8-day cruise in the Middle East continues.  To review previous installments of "Arabian Daze", please visit   THIS PAGE .  In the last post, the author visited the falcon hospital in Abu Dhabi.  During the tour of the falcon hospital, we had a great guide, but it turned out she was extremely afraid of the falcons. As I was traveling alone in the tour, the guide and I agreed to swap cameras and take each other's photos. I got a hilarious reaction from her: Right: a falcon is fed meat The doctor escorted our group outside to view more of the hospital grounds. We learned falcons are kept here by their owners in something like a 'pet hotel' service provided by the hospital. Falcons are welcome to board for months at a time. They are monitored, fed, and exercised often. Inside the visitor's center, I could get a souvenir photo of myself wearing traditional Arabian dress, holding a falcon. Yay!  Top: hospital grounds / falcons rest inside a c...

Back in late February of this year, a friend and I traveled to the U.A.E and Oman for an 8 day adventure aboard the cruise ship, Costa Fortuna. It's been a while since I updated the 'Arabian Daze' series on this trip; today, we'll play catch up. You can review the series (1~16) below: Arabian Daze 1   2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10     11     12     13     14     15     16 In the Middle East, many rich Arabs keep falcons as pets, training them to hunt small desert critters. The local airline, Ethiad, even allows these beautiful birds inside the cabin with their owners, when they must travel to Saudia Arabia or other countries ( source ).  So loved are these birds in Arabia, there is a hospital which treats falcons -- the only one of its kind in the world -- in Abu Dhabi. At this port, I joined a tour...

At the end of May, I received an invitation to attend a special luncheon in Tokyo hosted by the Canadian Ambassador's wife. As a member of the Canadian social group, Canadian Women in Japan, I was able to enjoy this event with about twenty other ladies. When I arrived at the embassy, I had to give my name to the security guards at the main gate. They actually had "a list" and checked for my name.  My first VIP experience = priceless. ^_^ I had never been to this yearly event before, so when I asked a groundskeeper for directions to "Marler House" I was expecting a small cottage. This was the actual place:  Whoa! @_@ Marler House is the official residence to the Canadian Ambassador to Japan Marler House was designed by Kenneth G.Rea and Antonin Raymond. According to an information pamphlet, the building is in a neo-classical style. The main dining hall, in which we held our luncheon, can seat up to 34 guests. My seat placing looked like this; I wa...

Back in May, a hiking friend invited me to a special exhibition featuring Japanese flower arrangements, called ikebana.  Photography was prohibited in the exhibition space;  however, I was able to snap shots of the host building, Meguro Gajoen. Tucked in one of Tokyo's best districts, Meguro Gajoen houses a hotel, conference rooms, restaurants and the most beautiful toilet I have ever seen. Please enjoy the photos! Outside garden area with seating for tea: Inside, you can find a large torii (gate) flanked by a mikoshi (a portable shrine): Meguro Gajoen is immense; a huge glass atrium holds two restaurants -- one for light lunches and teas, the other, a traditional Japanese house which serves course meals called kaiseki riyori . (see photo above) My friend, who is a former ikebana teacher, encouraged me to explore the outside gardens. We encountered a delicate waterfall and hiking trail -- all in the center of Tokyo! As mentioned earlier, Meguro Gajoen's bes...