Inside PANS - bright colors huh!?

Waiting for our order to be called, took a photo of the bakery case and work area

After PANS, we headed towards la estación de la Plaza de Sol.  On our way, I saw a cool store that had various “cool” items.  You know sometime when you’re shopping and you see a store with a lot of random things, no particular reason, but looking at them from outside intrigues you enough to enter the store.  No? Then nevermind .  For the rest of us, we tend to go inside.  Well, this store was like that and I was attracted to it.  Once inside, I saw a few vinyl collector toys (like Kidrobot).  I headed to the back and saw a few displays that intrigued me enough.  I took a few photos when a clerk suddenly approached me.  She told me to please stop taking photos.  I hadn’t noticed a sign nearby that said to please refrain from taking photos, whoops!  Either way, I continued looking around and eventually left the store and so we made our way to the metro station.

Random colors & figurines tend to distract me - so I take photos of them, haha

Here are some vinyl toys like Dunnys

A Rubik's cube & some awesome desk organizers that look like batteries

On this day, we decided to take a ride on el Teleférico de Madrid.  It begins in the area known as Pintor Rosales and ends at la Casa de Campo.  There was a decent 45 minute wait.  In hindsight, we may have been better off doing something else, but it was still pretty cool to go above parts of Madrid and have a view over various areas.  The ride’s duration is approximately 11 minutes, and is accompanied by a recorded narration of the history of Madrid as well as directions to point out various historical sights to look at during the ride.  I did enjoy seeing kids play soccer, families walking together in parks, and shop owners welcoming customers inside their small shops.  It gave a look into how the real locals of Madrid live, slightly outside of the main hustle-and-bustle of the urban city.  Once we got off of the teleférico, there wasn’t much to really see.  There are areas for a picnic, to play some soccer, a kiddie park, and a cafeteria.  We’re were not there too long and decided to head back…plus we were hungry and cold, all reasons to go, haha.

El Teleférico de Madrid

El Teleférico de Madrid starts near Pintor Rosales and ends at la Casa de Campo

Heading to el Teleférico

Funny how some signs say el Teleférico de Rosales while others say el Teleférico de Madrid...

Arrived to this scene, a 45 minute wait to get on -_-

All the stats related to taking the trip up to el Casa de Campo

About to board...

That's our number! Now let's go!

Getting comfortable for the ride

¿Les gustan la vista?

We set off and begin our trip

Check out some of the graffiti by the train tracks

Looking back at the station that we just left

Overlooking el río Manzanares

Rows of apartments. Building up instead of out, and then row and row.

Let's play some fútbol!

Listening to the accompanying audio track, it guides you through the tour of what you're seeing

Arriving at the top, took some photos of some flowers.

I love the architecture because there is so much detail to see.

Diego de León - I like the name, haha

There seems to be at least one Pharmacy around every corner.

One of the real reasons we went to the Salamanca district was to visit a restaurant that my parents had visited a few years earlier when they traveled to Spain on vacation.  It is called, El Septimo Restaurante. After getting back to station of El Teleférico de Rosales, we headed towards the restaurant.  Like most restaurants, they offered a select lunch menu that came with three courses.  I decided to go with it, and ordered un gazpacho, Lubina Espalda (a filet of sea bass), and for dessert, Rollitos de Manzana con Helado de Coco.  My mother ordered a chicken curry dish while my father ordered Entrecote.  The sad thing is that my parents had paid El Septimo a visit on a few occasions on their last visit together and had raved about the Entrecote (rib eye steak).  This time however, it wasn’t as good and they were a bit disappointed with the quality – an apparent change in ownership had occurred since their last visit.  Regardless, the meal was enjoyable and we were revitalized to continue our walk through the area in Madrid called Salamanca.

El menú del día

El Septimo

I love the slogan they use at the bottom, that's pretty cool.

Zanahoria con queso crema (hecho en casa)

Pollo al curry con arroz

Entrecote con papas

Un Gazpacho

Lubina Espalda

Rollitos de Manzana con Helado de Coco

I have a Japanese friend that loves to call small glasses chiquito...here is restaurant spelled differently.

I really like walking by or through areas that are well landscaped, haha.

If you don’t’ remember, I took a tour of El Estadio Bernabéu the last time I was in Madrid.  At the time, I was in awe of the stadium’s size and could only imagine what it would be like to be there for a game.  (If you want to review the ins-and-outs of the stadium, pass over my post regarding the tour of El Estadio Bernabéu).

This time around, I was able to go to a Real Madrid fútbol club game!  It was a game against their rival, Atlético de Madrid.  Everyone just calls the game, El Derby.  In truth, before heading to Madrid from the United States, I knew I’d be going to a game…after all, I bought the tickets for my father as a present.  But I was still hyped.  My father had never been to a European soccer game either, so I figured this would be a great experience for both of us.  Oh, and it was!!

My ticket to the game, Real Madrid CF v Atlético de Madrid

So back to this go around, when I woke up from a nap…which remember, we didn’t do too much during the day.  We’d only stayed in the area of Chamartín and what not (read more), in order to have energy left for the game.  Granted, once I began getting ready to head out, excitement brought a rush of adrenaline that awakened my senses.  I told myself, “today is the day of all days…the day of El Derby!” haha.  So after we got ready and bid my mom goodbye (she was going to go shopping…so it was a win win), we headed out to La Plaza del Sol, and onward to the Sol metro station.  Wow,  as we rode the metro, and the closer we got to the stadium’s train  station, we began to see more and more people with Real Madrid jerseys.  The metro cars also began to get filled and it was hard to move.  Granted, I thought immediately to ensure I kept my mind on my pockets.  This would be a great spot for a pickpocket to make a pull and land some wallets…and maybe a ticket to the game!

Once we got outside the metro station and were in front of the stadium, we noticed a large police presence.  There were a few on horseback, while other patrols stood by watching any and all people walking into and around the stadium. Looking at our tickets and at a large map outside, we began walking to our designated entrance.  As we were walking, we heard a loud sound and saw three teens sprint to the scene.  Right behind them were about 40 police officers (in full riot gear), walking…or marching I guess, towards the same scene.  People stopped to gawk, but we realized we needed to make it to our seats.  We arrived at the entrance and then began our ascension up flights of stairs and escalators to our seats.

El Estadio Santiago Bernabéu before the game

La policia montada en caballos

People making their way to their seats

Bunches of people no matter where you look, haha

A quick look at the map to know where we should go

As we were going up the stairs, took a quick snapshot of the scene below

These officers are just chillin' while their comrades are handling business down below, haha

Finally, we arrived to our section.  We walked through the opening and into the stadium’s seating area.  As we went through the opening, our vision was met with a huge stadium with people pilling in to see the big game.  The grass was a luscious green and the royal blue seats stood out so magnificently.  As soon as we found our seats, I immediately began to take photos!  We were seated near the section for Atlético fans.  They were shouting the names of their players.  I recognized, “Diego Forlán”.  If you watched the 2010 World Cup, you know Forlán as the dangerous striker from Uruguay.  But I must say, compared to the star power on Real Madrid…not sure if it would be enough.  Boy was a wrong…at first, haha.

Even the camera men and women are just now getting to the stadium..we're a bit early!

Atlético de Madrid stretching before the game

Real Madrid getting ready too

People filling into the stadium

Atlético de Madrid supporters warming up too...they have soo many chants, haha

Quick photo of the other side of the stadium...the people look like ants

See...I was @ the game...not a green screen

What!? My father is smiling? He never smiles for any photo! hahahaha

This is an old iPhone wallpaper that I made, decided it was fitting to set it as my background!

To download my Spanish soccer team wallpapers (La Liga), go here (it's on deviantART): http://bit.ly/9sEq4V

The iPhone wallpaper I made for "La Liga de Fútbol Profesional" (LFP) of Spain

"Cada noche de derby... vuestra peor pesadilla"

Now you can see how large this image is...it takes up two/three tiers of the stadium!

Closeup of the entire scene...pretty cool cartoon. Oh, and the kid has Atlético bed sheets, hahaha

The fan's reaction is applause, laughter, and cheers as the big cartoon is shown

THE sponsor of Real Madrid, lol

Moments before the game...crowd noise getting a little louder

Remember earlier? Now there are plenty of people and the teams filling in too!

The goalie from Atlético de Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo as CR9...before he changed his number to 7...so now, CR7?

Iker Casillas, the goalie for Real Madrid and Spain's national team

The crowd to our right

So the fans from Atlético were talking junk after their team scored...so Real Madrid fans countered with their chants

The players for both team pleading/denying the foul, hahaha

Riot patrol so people don't storm the field, haha

The crowd on our left enjoying the comeback from Real Madrid

The game’s result was 3-2 (RMCF-ATM).  It was a game full of scoring and some great soccer skills on display.  Honestly, it was the happiest I’d seen my father in a while…probably as large of a smile at the game as he has when my mom cooks his favorite foods (yes multiple types), or desserts, haha.  He’s a kid at heart, and being able to share this experience with him made me very very happy.  I enjoyed the game sooooo much and can’t wait for another one!

It's been 10 years since Atlético has won "un derby" (rivalry game), that is crazy! "The nightmare continues" hahaha

El Estadio Bernabéu @ night. I love the lighting!

Buying shirts and pins that support the cause...thse were hot sells!

Let's not look too akward ok?

Gathering up support

Some of the signage, "Tortura no es cultura"

Nice bull costume!

No one was left at home, even the dog

So many signs. There was some local press in the area too.

Walking with a large banner

Un-expected excitement behind us, our destination was still ahead of us.  My father and I visited El Mercado de Chamartín last time we were in Madrid.  It is an interesting three-story market that sells all kinds of products you’d find in a typical supermarket.  The market itself is situated in el Distrito de Chamartín (Distrito nº5).  The market is comprised of 92 stall, independently owned by each vendor.  The stalls or establishments specialize in: fish, meat, poultry, vegetables, fruit, bread, eggs, etc.  There is even a pharmacy on the second floor.  Locals have been frequenting the market since 1962 and have built relationships with certain vendors.  I’m sure that those relationships not only bring friendship, but maybe a few deals along the way.  After all, loyalty is a big part of Spanish culture.  If a vendor takes care of you well and sells a superior product, you will most likely return, and continue to return there after.  What is great is that every vendor believes that he or she sells the best product or line of products in their class.

Random photo, but I really like the typeface

Colombia Street in Madrid

Updating my status via my phone

El Mercado de Chamartín from afar

Sadly, Chamartín was closed…isn’t that a bummer!?  I’m sure you’re thinking, well then why the heck did you describe it?”.  Well because that’s life.  You can have all the expectations in the world, but sometimes you just don’t get you want, desire, or…expect.  See!  I didn’t see the market, and neither will you…this time!  Don’t worry, no more tricks!  But you can still check out the link to my previous post regarding Chamartín market.

Apparently, the market does not open on Sundays.  And unfortunately, we didn’t bother to ask anyone at the front desk of the hotel regarding the market’s hours of operations.  That being said, we were already in the neighborhood and decided we’d might as well look around.  The area is a decent number of metro stops away from anything else, so we didn’t want to just return to La Gran Via.  That is more time that we don’t spend seeing anything, and more time just sitting in a metro station or bus.  Anyways, as we began walking around, I looked out into the street and noticed a car was stopped.  It was in the middle of an intersection.  All of a sudden, the driver-side door opened and an elderly man got out and hurried to the back of the car.  I then realized that that he was attempting to push the car.  I poked my dad and told him to look.  We both immediately ran over and joined the elderly gentleman behind the car and began to push the car to the side of the road.  As we started to push, both passenger side doors opened and the elderly man’s wife and daughter got out.  His wife said that it would be much easier to move the car without their weight.  The husband told them to get in the car, needless to say they refused – they’d already gotten out.  He told his daughter to get into the driver’s seat to help steer the car as we pushed.  She agreed, and so we began to push the car again.  The car was not heavy at all, and with three people, the car began to pick up momentum.  Out of nowhere, another pedestrian who’d been watching nearby got alongside us and began to push the car from behind.  As we pushed, the daughter steered the car into a parking spot on the side of the road.  The party thanked us and said that we were so nice to help them, as they would not have been able to do it alone.  We told them that it had been no problem at all and that we were glad to help.  We asked if they needed anything else, but they said they’d take care of it – as we were talking, the daughter had begun to call the insurance company.  So we said our goodbyes and left.

We walked around for a bit when we saw an interesting set of apartments.  Yes I know, boring right?  No, these were architecturally speaking, kind of cool.  They were like pyramids.  Their base was larger than the top, and so the apartments looked like terraces, each sitting above the other, forming a soft slope to the front side of the building.  As we continued, we saw a bakery and walked in.  Wow, it smelled great!  The smell of freshly baked goods is something that has to be enjoyed and difficult to describe.  It was a variety of smells: freshly baked French baguettes, cakes, empanadas, cookies, etc.  Of course, my mom was quick to ask a few questions regarding their baked goods.  As she spoke with one of the bakers, I began taking a series of photos – later on my parents laughed that I’d done that.  Oh well, haha.  Anyways, there was just too much to see so I had to ensure I’d have photos to remember, and to share with you too!

A slightly sloped apartment building

The sloped apartments from the front

A Snoopy purse, lol

¡Galletas! Seriously, that is a lot of cookies!

Cookies are the best, especially when they are freshly baked

Pretty cool layering of the cookies...there are a lot!!

Frosted covered cookies in the shape of a clam

Una empanada de atún

Un sandwich de salmon (tostado)

Wow, I really love how the chocolate has been cut and layered on top of the cake on the right

Just look at how small these cupcakes are!

These tejas sure do resemble shingles on a (spanish) roof...or maybe Pringles!?

Small custard filled mini-pies

Again, I really love a good batch of cookies

A cold case for the cakes already sold or finished earlier

Huh...what do we have here?

They tasted of anise, and were a nice light snack for the road

As we continued walking, I saw a brand of automobiles called “MORGAN”.  I laughed and pointed it out to my parents.  If you don’t know, one of my best friends is named Morgan.  Along with our other mutual best friend, Daniel, we all joke aside about our names.  They know (because it’s true) how I put my name on just about everything that I can.  Interestingly, I always thought that I’d make my name recognizable first.  Guess “Morgan” beat me to it!  Although, I guess “I” can still make my name famous…one day…

I really like the log, pretty nice right?

The front of one of the cars

Asides…aside?  I hope that made sense, lol.  We found a bus stop that would take us back to La Gran Via.  Close to Nuestra Señora de Correos, or better described as the main post office of Madrid.  Doesn’t Spanish make something sound so much more interesting?  The use of proper nouns is commonplace in Europe because many buildings or sites have a history from which they derive their names.

Nuestra Señora de Correos

Nuestra Señora de Correos, this is a post office? hahaha

The waterfountain in front of La Nuestra Señora de Correos

Nuestra Señora de Correos is a wonderful looking building that was built in the early 1900s and was constructed to emulate a historical monument.  As we walked around the area, we saw a small exhibition of Xavier Mascaró.  The exhibition, called Pequeños Guardianes, helps to show off an older dead and decaying civilization that is meant to help us think about our own future.  Or…at least that is what the sign seems to say .  The exhibition has toured to different locations and was present in Madrid during our stay.  As you can see, some of the guards are completely oxidized while a few are not.  Some are smaller and slightly shorter than an average person while others are built much larger and tower above most people.

The exhibition, called Pequeños Guardianes

Xavier Mascaró's exhibit

Xavier Mascaró's large sign explaining what the exhibit was all about

Not completely oxidized...or it was painted?

There were plenty of statues, some larger than others

Doesn't the white statue standout?

The large ones tower over the smaller ones

Fixing my mother's iPhone settings

I love the the color dynamic in this photos

Even a pigeon was hanging out near the exhibit!

The Puerta de Toledo is about 19 meters tall

La Puerta de Toledo is the most recently built of all the monumental gates in Madrid.

We began feeling hungry and decided to head back to El Mercado de San Miguel and La Plaza Mayor.  There we indulged in some tapas and a bocadillo de calamares.   You’ve by now seen the salmon and bacalao tapas, but the next two were just as good.  One was a small Spanish barbeque sandwich that is much different from BBQ from the United States.  There, vegetables are cut up into the meat and the sauce is sweeter; but less saucy as well – very likely a mix of rub and sauce.  The second tapa was a small soft biscuit with goat cheese, marmalade, and caramelized apples.  My mom is not a fan of goat cheese, but I really like it.  It has a different taste to that of typical cheese made out of cow’s milk.  The tapa is easy on the conscience.  It was like a light desert, that isn’t too sweet, but I’m sure that the goat cheese brings some calories to it as well.  But it is fresh goat cheese sans preservatives…so that’s good, right!?

A full plate of these wonderful tapas...this is heaven!

Some refreshing Sangria to help cool us down on a warm day in Madrid

Drinks are great, but the food is what we came back for, lol

Spanish BBQ on the right, and a soft biscuit with goat cheese, marmalade, and caramelized apples on the left.

Aside from the tapas, El Mercado de San Miguel also sells produce, dried pasta, cheese, cold cuts, fish, poultry, and meat.  Of course, while you’re shopping for your daily needs, why not stop in at one of the many counters for a small morsel…just don’t get carried away or you may spoil your lunch or dinner, haha.

What's that in the distance!?

El Mercado de San Miguel: one of my favorite places in Madrid!!

Another busy afternoon. Plenty of locals and tourists alike.

I'm assuming this is related to Lhardy - one of Madrid's oldest restaurants

¡Mira la porción de tortilla Española!

¡Ay, que rico!

So many different things on sale...rice, pasta, jam, olives, sauces, etc.

Quite the selection of judias (beans) hahaha

Caserecci - a maestri pasta

Gnocchi - spinach flavored

Ravioli achicoria - ravioli filled with cabbage

Nice representation of the many products being sold @ this stall

This is typical signage for this place...marketing isn't that necessary, the lines are everywhere!

Actually, sometimes people don't even make lines. What an atmosphere!

One of the coffee stands was marketing what they use & what they could sell you

Coffee specials for the week

Specialty coffee drinks on display

These cakes sure do come in different colors, shapes, textures, and flavors!

Cake just isn't the same without a little bit of packaging and branding

If branding is edible, does that make it as lasting? I think so!

This Pastel con crema de requesón was pretty good - my mom's is better!

Awe, how cute! This way you get your sweet-fix and you can get back to the tapas!

I ♥ the layering on the cake to the left - I'm assuming they are all different kinds of chocolate

Sándwiches de barbacoa estilo Española - no barbeque sauce here!

These little guys had chicken and a type of soft spreadable cheese inside

Many tapas are prepared ahead of time while others are made to order (b/c they ran out!)

I was never a fan of anchovies...until this trip! I had it a few times - each better than the previous!

Multi-colored ice cream cones

No, these are not edible roses...well I guess you could snack on a few pedals XD

Freshly baked breads

By far, my favorite tapas @ El Mercado - salmon ahumado y bacalao en aceite de oliva emcima de pan

Pulpo al pimentón

Bonito marinado = muy rico

A few kinds of caviar

The vibrancy in color of these tomatoes is so compelling

These bad boys sure are red huh!?

Bigaros (sea snails) were on sale @ one of the vendor's stalls

This is one ugly fish!

The Lubina (sea bass) were looking pretty good

You could buy these little ones in the bunches.

Preparing a display or presentation for one of the tapas bars

Outside, looking at all of their produce

Looking back at such a wonderful market, eatery, and social hub

Is it a surprise that we stopped in at El Mercado quite a few times during our stay in Madrid!?  I mean, it is a perfect afternoon stop before heading back out for more shopping and site seeing.  So don’t be surprised if you see more photos from El Mercado de San Miguel in future posts!!!

Dang, there was no line at all!  I took my backpack off, emptied my pockets, and then passed right on through.  Later on after boarding the plane, we taxied out to the runway and then I hear the turbines slow and then completely stop.  The captain came on and said that just as we were marked second for takeoff, the flight tower had sent word that we’d be grounded for half an hour due to storm activity in the area.  After dilly dallying through a quarter of a word puzzle as I sat in my seat, I heard the turbines begin to spool and the buzz of the engine began to get louder.  A few minutes later, we were racing down the runway.  The flight to Philly only took an hour or so.

Once in Philly, I walked from concourse B to concourse A in order to meet my parents who were flying in from Charlotte.  Together, we walked to our gate, stopped to buy coffee, and then began the boarding process.  The plane ride from Philly to Madrid spanned about 7 hours or so, and for some reason didn’t feel that long at all.  That may be due to having flown to Spain within recent memory or the fact that this flight is nothing in comparison to the flight from Atlanta to Tokyo, haha.

Arriving at Barajas International Airport brought a flood of memories.  As you come in, you see a beautiful view of snow capped mountains and the beginnings of the outskirts of Madrid.  Upon landing and exiting the airplane we went to go pick up our luggage and begin the journey to the Metro station.  We took the train to La Estación de Callao.  We then walked half a block to our hotel, checked-in, and then showered in order to head out for our first day in Madrid.  On a side note, the hotel we were at had a wonderful view of the city from the seventh floor, overlooking Callao station and the neighboring shops.  It was pretty cool to see everyone from above, and I was glad that the rooms were well sealed, because there was a huge difference in sound pollution when the windows were open versus closed.  Oh yeah, another thing to remember, you have to put your hotel room key into a slot in order to turn the AC/heat on.  On boy did that room need AC every time we came in from going out – it was a furnace!  But opening the window for a bit certainly cooled things down .

View of the mountains before descending to Barajas Int'l Airport

A yes...the smell of the Madrid metro system, haha

The hotel bathroom. The shower's glass cover less than half of the tub's length

The television...which didn't offer that many channel, but enough to get by I guess

The beds...I had to sleep on a extra bed that they brought to the room, not too comfortable

The view from the room. You can see one of the mainstays of Madrid - El Corte Inglés

Another view of the city from the hotel. I love the tejas on the roofs!

Looking down @ the people below as they make their way through El Plaza de Callao

Taking a quick photo of myself in the elevator as we make our way down, haha

Feeling hungry, our first stop was Lena, a restaurant that my father and I had frequented on our last trip to Madrid.  Seeing that they had a menu del dia, we were excited for our first meal in Madrid – not to mention very hungry.  Upon beeing seated, el mesero (waiter) asked us for our drink order, suggesting a table wine made specifically for the restaurant.  We elected for the wine, when he then asked if we wanted it “¿con o sin casera?” which to us was a question out of left field, haha.  Casera is a brand of tonic or seltzer water with a lemony taste.  You add this to the wine to give it some carbonation (basically a wine spritzer) of carbonation – it changes the complexity of the wine and, in some people’s opinion, either kills a very good wine or enhances the flavor.  Considering you are doing this to a table wine, often a simple cheap wine, it isn’t a big deal.  This time, we drank the Casera separately from the wine, telling ourselves that we’d combine the two during another meal.

The front of the restaurant had people smoking, so we sat in the back with other patrons

Now that we were ready to order, I was ready to eat!

After a few minutes, we were ready to alert the waiter of our choices.  My mother and I decided on the soup: Judiones con almejas (large white beans with small clams).  It was great!  I’m telling you, one thing I do know about is beans.  Sounds funny, but rice and beans is about as good as it gets.  But here, the next best thing was a large soup of large beans in a caldo (broth) of beans and small clams.  My father on the other hand opted for: Revuelto de morcilla (scrambled eggs with blood sausage).  I know for some of you that may sound disturbing, but it actually tastes very good.  Often times, the coagulated blood is mixed with various seasonings and other ingredients like rice, bits of meat, or vegetables, to enhace the flavor of this very unique item.  Here, the blood was only mixed with a seasoning that I could most accurately describe to you as something similar to Sazon Goya (for those that know ;D) or a mix of pimenton (Spanish paprika) and various other spices.  Los segundos (entrées) were a choice of: Bistec a la plancha, lacom gallega, filete de gallo, and tortilla de bonito.  My mother and I went for the filete de gallo.  In this case, gallo is a type of fish, and not a rooster, which is also commonly eaten.  My father elected for the bistec de ternera a la plancha; a thin grilled beef filet.  Finally for dessert, my parents went with the flan while I went with the strawberries with whipped cream & syrup.

Lena has their own wine, bottled for them by a local winery

so...¿con o sin casera?

Fresh bread...soft on the inside but crispy on the outside = PERFECTION!

Judiones con almejas (large white beans with small clams)

Revuelto de morcilla (scrambled eggs with blood sausage)

Bistec de ternera a la plancha (a thin grilled beef filet)

Filete de gallo = a filete of fish...not rooster, haha

A great way to end a meal...flan

Like many in Madrid, the restaurant has a simple appearance but great atmosphere

After eating, we walked back towards La Puerta del Sol, a centralized location of shopping, restaurants, and a metro station.  The alleys located around Sol are full of independent stores selling: clothing, jewelry, shoes, eye glasses, accessories, etc.  Of course, no famous shopping district would go without El Corte Ingles.  El Corte Ingles is a very prominent department store chain in Spain that sells just about everything: books, DVDs, music, clothing, shoes, sporting goods, furniture, coffee, kitchen supplies, outdoor equipment, etc.

Some graffiti on the way to La Puerta del Sol

Looking down one of the many streets leading to Sol

You see why its called Sol...there is a lot of Sun to go around!

The Madroño tree & the Bear - the symbol of Madrid

That cool architecture there is just the entrance into the metro below!

Many people use Sol as a common meeting area before heading out

The statue of Carlos III on horseback

There are statues pretty much wherever you look in Madrid, lol

Seriously...these streets are almost always packed with people!

Window shopping for sweets!

Too many good sweets...and they all are different!

As you can see, some of the spots were vacant as people must have already bought it all!

A very typical pastry - Ensaimada

Many different kinds of tartas or cakes

Museo del Jamon...a staple of Madrid. It offers a great atmosphere and list of tapas!

Once done looking around Sol, we headed on to La Plaza Mayor.  There were a ton of people eating, drinking, and even sleeping on the ground.  Yeah, they were lying on the old cobblestones and were basking in the warmth of the sun…or just lying in everyone else’s way – depending on your vantage point.  Although La Plaza Mayor was buzzing with people, our real mission was to go see El Mercado de San Miguel.  My father and I had visited this market on our last visit to Madrid, but we wanted to show my mother this very elegant market.  It’s styling matches what I’d visualize as an old metro or trolley station – black railings, wood accents, plenty of natural sunlight filtered through large window panes, black sign with white lettering spelling out each stalls name or specialty.  We walked through the crowds of people, marveling at all the fresh produce, fish, poultry, dairy products, and baked goods.  Although we came a little late, we made a promise to return to the market for tapas; something that the market is known for.  Don’t worry, I took so many photos from El Mercado de San Miguel that I’ll be making a separate post regarding this place…yes, that many photos.

A grand opening to La Plaza Mayor

Even La Plaza Mayor is a busy place! You can easily get lost from your group if you're not careful!

Marking La "Plaza Mayor" - it is surrounded by residential buildings...people live there!

Messing around, or stretching

People lounging around...watch where you step or you might trip on someone!

Don Quixote de la Mancha

Trying to sell his work...a painting of La Gran Via

Isn't the color so vibrant! I wish I could have bought it and brought it home!

Awe, what a warm embrace! Traveling with family is awesome!

Messing around. I was trying to balance on a pole alongside the road...pretty good balance huh!?

A car passed by and I lost my concentration...uh oh!

A look back at another entrance to La Plaza Mayor

I love the colors of the buildings in Madrid

So...where are we? Looking at the map of Madrid.

Having just bought a large bottle of water...not my best expression

Just outside El Mercado de San Miguel

Anyways, once we were done marveling at this wonderful food paradise, we headed back towards Sol.  My mom did a little shopping, stopping into Punt O Roma (a clothing store) while my dad and I people watched outside.  We then went in to the store for a bit to help give my mother opinions regarding some bufandas (scarves) that she found.

Took a quick pick of myself while in Punt O Roma, haha

After walking around, we found a nice place to buy: pan, Jamón Serrano, Tetilla cheese, y una botella de vino rosado.  Wow, I was so surprised at the price of things! It was very cheap to buy all this and the quality was superb, much better than anything at this price point in the United States.  These are the same cold-cuts and cheeses that sell for $25-100/Ib in some specialty “European” stores in the United States.  After our purchases, we went back to the hotel and ate our meal, enjoyed the wine, and watched a bit of Spanish television.  What a great night.

So many cheeses for sale...and they won't break the bank!

You take a number in order to get in the queue and then they will get your order from you

Cutting the Jamón Serrano with ease and care

Just look at all the different cuts of meat! Hungry?

This is not ice cream! They are different spreads for breads and what not.

Crema de Membrillo! (Quince Paste) is so good on bread or anything for that matter!

We found many liquors and wines cheaper in Spain than are in the US

El Jamón Serrano, YUM!

Getting ready to serve the Tetilla cheese

Heading back to Sol @ night can be a large task, haha

We made it to Sol! That Tio Pepe sign sure brightens things up, haha

Download PDF @ Megaupload

Guitar Tab - SUPER JUNIOR M - Super Girl (슈퍼걸) - JPEG VERSION

The opening screen to a fictitious Rosetta Stone iPhone app

After using the smart.fm app and enjoying it…for what it is, a good looking flash-card style learning application, I have to say that there is certainly an opportunity for a full fledged language learning application to be developed.  Don’t get me wrong; I really enjoy the smart.fm app.  After all, it does what it is suppose to, and it also syncs with your smart.fm account on the website.  This can help you to keep progressing from anywhere, and not only while sitting in front of your computer, but even at a bus stop or during a lunch break.  There are other apps for the iPhone that were suppose to act as “unofficial” smart.fm apps, but they simply downloaded temporary states of your account so that you could see lists and interact with them, but any progress you made in completing the lists were not saved to your online account.

If I were developing the Rosetta Stone app, I would keep certain core aspects of the popular language learning software, but I’d also have to admittedly have to trim some elements in order to make this application small enough to run seamlessly on the iPhone platform.  There would certainly have to be a Rosetta Stone app with smaller packs or patches that you could download within the application.  These packs would be the individual language levels.  Unfortunately, these packs might have to be charged on a separate basis for each.  But in this way, you could buy the app for, $5 – $10 and then buy individual language packs for $4-10.  Those prices are completely unreasonable in the eyes of Rosetta considering they charge hundreds of dollars for the computer software, but regardless, you get the point.  The prices would be set proportionately so that the application was a certain price, thus allowing add-on language packs to be downloaded separately.  I’d move to say that charging in this way would lead to more sales as people would be willing to pay for what they want to learn, versus having one big application that has all the languages and also is too expensive.  After all, one couldn’t do much with just the application.  Once you have the app, you’ll have to buy more language packs to continue progress in your language of choice.  It is the same pricing structure that many technology companies use for their items and accessories.  Think about printers. Printers can often be cheap, but once you buy one, you will have to buy a lot of ink cartridges…it adds up.  At that point, the printer was a one time purchase that leads to continue smaller purchases; the emphasis is on continued…much better for the bottom line.

Another advantage to splitting up the Rosetta app and the language packs is that it would lighten the apps initial size. One would download the app and supporting language pack of his/her choice and thus it would smaller than an all-inclusive language application. But here again, what if it were possible that in buying a language pack, you weren’t necessarily buying a pack to download, but more so buying access to an online set of activities. Here, you’d never have to download the packs, which would take up valuable space on the iPhones, but instead, could access a directory of language activities. Then, like the smart.fm application, it could keep track of your progress.

Anyways, I’d be game to download a Rosetta Stone iPhone app and try it out.  Here are some of the features that I’d look or wish for:

. Reading, Listening, Speaking comprehension exercises
. Clear voice recordings
. Making use of the iPhone headphones with built-in speaker – to allow for speaking input
. A way to slow down the voice recordings in order to hear tones, pauses, and stresses (basic intonation)
. A community forum  for students of the same language & a general Rosetta Stone forum
. Downloadable language packs and extra learning activities
. Offering a rebate package of the Rosetta Stone iPhone/iPod application and the computer software

Hey now, it's not raining! j/k

The building make the people look oh so tiny!

waiting to cross the street...

It's funny how less busy Shibuya is during the day!

One of the many streets that merge into the main intersection

Your just surrounding by buildings and cars..and people...here in Shibuya, lol

Seriously though, these buildings make people look so small, lol

Pachinko!

So it was exploration time!  I went to Lumine and walked around all 3 floors.  They have a lot of interesting fashion shops.  Some even have their own online shopping websites!  The shops had funny names like Under King, Woop’ –de-doo, Revelations, Erotica, Tourque, Chapter, etc.  The stores merchandise includes such things as undergarments, sunglasses, watches, custom street ware, shoes, and other general fashion garments.

Cool clocks!

Lumine is pretty cool, a lot of different shops inside

You know, you gain a better appreciate for the layout of Shibuya during the day.  The first time I went, I was dazzled by the amount of people, the noise, and all the lights.  Not to mention…the layout of Shibuya didn’t make the most sense to me as it kind of sprawls out from a singular point (near Shibuya station).  If you look at your hand, the intersection would be your palm, and your fingers would be the streets; that is almost the exact shape and direction of the main area, haha.  Anyways, during the day, I was able to see a lot more, and appreciate all the small alleys that had clothing stores, shoe stores, restaurants, etc.

At this point, I was a bit hungry.  I’d seen signs for Tokyu Food Show (yes Tokyu and not Tokyo).  Anyways, the signs and ads featured images of tons of different food stands; all independently owned; as seems to be the custom in Japan – which I find very appealing.  The ads said that the Tokyu Food Show was located below Shibuya metro station so I headed back there.  As I went down again, I looked for signs and followed them to one of the entrances.  I walked in and immediately was hit by the wonderful smell of freshly baked breads.  Taking a quick glance around, the place was packed and was literally comprised of rows of rows of these food stands that sold different foods.  But of course, the breads to my right caught my attention the most; so I decided I’d start there and work my way back.  Something that was very important to me at the time was that every stall accepted debit/credit cards!!!  So running low on cash was not a problem here, haha.

The entrance to the Tokyu Food Show...yes it is Tokyu!

The bakery was one of the larger stands and was comprised of three areas.  The first was the bakery area that was surrounded by glass; allowing people to watch the bakers work.  The second area had all the baked goods for sale on display – in baskets and on serving tables.  Of course, the third area was comprised of a roped off section to make line, and then a row of about four or five cashiers.  The breads consisted of pretzels, donuts, Italian & French breads, sweet breads, breads filled with eggs or meat, cheesy breads, etc.  I’ll admit though, bread in Japan is typically sweeter than what you might find in the states, but they do have “salty” breads too.

So many baked goods to choose from!

YUM! I bought a lot from this place!

Walking around, there were stalls selling yakitori, buns, cookies, cakes, sushi, prepared vegetable entrées, jelly & jam, honey, fresh produce, fish, fresh cuts of meat, and so much more.  The prices can be moderate for bread and fruit to very expensive for a jar of jam.  In fact, I asked if that stall sold jam or jelly made of fig, but unfortunately not.  Regardless, I bought a few things to try and to also take home.  I figured since they all pack each item well, they would hold up on a set of airplane rides back home (and they did!).

Everything looks good...

...here too!

Ordering from one of the stalls

Looks like takoyaki...I think? haha

so much steam!

Everything is tempura!

This fruit was so delicious! They had some samples!!

Asian Pears! Everyone comes packaged, crazy!

Look how bright these are!

Fruit salad and melons galore!

Leaving Tokyu Food Show, I bid Shibuya farewell, and returned to Kojimachi.  Once I arrived at the hotel, I got my luggage and then headed to the bank…I was running a bit late!  The reason I didn’t go to the bank first was that the hotel was on the way to the bank, and there was a metro station entrance by the bank.  Too bad, my luggage weighed a ton more now than it did when I first arrived in Tokyo; I guess I bought too much.  Anyways, I arrived at the bank and then had to take an elevator up to the third floor to make an exchange of US Dollars to Japanese Yen.  The process was too long in my opinion.  Although, I might think that since I was running late!  Either way, I had to grab a form, fill it out, turn it in, grab a number, wait for my form to be processed, go to the front to talk with an attendant, take another number, and then sit and wait to be called again.  The second time, I was able to exchange $60 for the equivalent in Yen (minus the bank’s commission).  I thanked them and left to go to the metro station below.  I entered, added money on my Suica, and then took the train to Tokyo Station in order to buy my N’EX (Narita Express) ticket.

People waiting on the metro

And more waiting...as I sit in my train! lol

This is how much space I had in front, lol

Pretty comfy ride...that one guy sure is staring at the camera!

He can see me out of the corner of his eye, scary!!

My Suica and N'EX passes

Going back to NARITA International Airport

Random buildings and apartments

Interesting architecture huh?

The attendant was checking certain people for tickets...to make sure no one was free-loading, haha

A Ramen restaurant @ the airport

My bowl of ramen, simple but delicious!

Haha, awesome miso broth

Planes loading and unloading

My last sunset in Japan...great way to end a wonderful trip!!

Wow, Tokyo Station was so busy.  I was so tired from the week and the walking of the prior day in Harajuku that I bought myself a coffee drink – you know, the Georgia (ジョージア) coffee, haha.  So good, I will definitely miss those!  Anyways, I went down to board the NE’X train and then took the hour train ride back to Narita International Airport. Once I arrived at the airport, I returned the phone I’d rented from Mobal, and also returned my Suica card and got my deposit back.  After that, I headed to the main area to print out my ticket and turn-in/check my luggage.  My last view of Japan was a wonderful sunset that I witnessed from one of the terminals as I was coming out of one of the checkpoints.  Lastly, as I arrived at the terminal from which my plane would be departing from, I decided to order some Ramen from a stand nearby.  It was good and fitting end to my trip in Japan.  Other than that, I made sure to stop by the few duty free stores they had and bought a few things for my parents.  As I boarded the train, I looked out to the bushes spelling out NARITA, and immediately felt so thankful for the opportunity to visit a very traditional & modern society that had so much to offer, and that I’d only experienced an nth percentage of it all!

FIN

Anyways, once you cross the bridge, and begin heading to your right, you’ll see a large torii and what looks like a long trail with a few people heading in and out of the shrine grounds.  I stopped over and took a look at the map and information regarding the shrine and its history.  There is a lot of walking involved, and what is great is that, you are surrounded by vegetation and low light, so it feels like you are miles away from modern civilization (shopping arcades, trains, buses, cars, etc).  You know, I had thought of wearing my new shoes around since they kind of matched what I was wearing at the time, but instead, I decided to keep on the pair I had since I was walking on rocks and gravel (not good for new shoes).

The train tracks that the Jingū bridge looks over

The VERY large torii that you go under to enter the pathway leading to the shrine

so you're saying I have to walk all that??

General info regarding the shrine and sanctuary grounds

Another look at the torii. I really like how the sun came out long enough for this photo.

Don't wear good shoes here! I don't know how that guy (by the white sign) is wearing sandals!?

These trails are seem to curve around the entire shrine area.  On my way, I passed barrels of sake, reminding me of the sight I saw in Kamakura.  After about 5 minutes, I arrived at an intersection where I could keep going or turn to my left.  I went left and headed towards the main shrine sanctuary.  Once there, I saw a place to wash my hands.  I did and then walked into the sanctuary itself.  Once inside, the first thing I saw, was a large tree with fence of sorts around it and then a lot of pieces of wood hanging from the posts.  Upon further examination, I saw that these pieces of wood had custom messages written on them.  In fact, there were a good number of the messages not written in Japanese, such as in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, and Korean.  The messages that I could read (the English and Spanish ones) were sometimes serious in nature.  People gave thanks for their life or current status and were also asking for guidance in future endeavors.  Others were a bit funny and I suppose people didn’t know what to write, so they put a message to a friend who was in another country – telling them, “hope you find this block, let me know if you do on your visit.  Take a photo and I will give you $100!”  Of course, that was pretty funny considering, that those blocks are probably removed every now and then so that there is always room to place more and more blocks, oh well!  So, where do you get these wooden blocks form?  Well, nearby, there is a stand or store that is selling all kinds of sacred items, including the blocks of wood for you to write your message on.  I thought about it, but thought I’d rather use the $ to get something to eat later…I was running low on cash, haha.

The barrels of sake that line a small portion of the path

Zoomed out to see all those barrels!

The barrels of wine that from wineries in Bourgogne, France

Provenance of the Bourgogne Wine for Consecration at Meiji Jingu

Another torii, this time leading to the main shrine. These things are tall!!

O'torii - The Grand Shrine-Gate of the Meiji Shrine

yup yup, another torii. This one leads you right into the main sanctuary...wash your hands before going in!!

I almost forgot to wash my hands!! So I went back...and took a photo for you guys, haha

Those posts are interlocked together without the use of any kind of substance

One can enter the main shrine from different directions...or get lost w/ all the paths and entrances around!

Those are very big trees. The sanctuary itself is much larger, look @ the space b/w me and that entry!!

You just feel so small in here, with everything taking up a lot of space or being tall

The prayer tablets. I wonder how many have been written (counting all of history). So many I bet!

The entrance that I cam through...looks like that guy is happy to be here, hahaha

After taking in the scene, I decided to walk back to Harajuku station.  So once I reached the streets of Harajuku again, I began looking for the entrance to the metro station below.  As I was walking, one Japanese gentleman came up to me and asked me if I was interested in partying and was trying to give me a flyer, but I was tired and didn’t have any free hands.  So I played the real ignorant card…no I didn’t say I don’t speak Japanese since he was speaking English after all   No, I actually decided to speak in Spanish and tell him that I understood no English at all.  Of course he had no clue what I was saying, so he had a surprised look and stopped walking beside me, hahaha.

As I entered the subway station, I realized that I was dead tired.  So I headed back to the hotel, picked up a bunch of snacks from the 7-11 nearby, and then decided to call it a night.  Boy, shopping can be tiring!  But it was awesome to see all the independent shops at Laforet with all the colors and prints, and then comparing that to the traditional colors and designs of the Meiji Shrine (明治神宮).  One thing about Tokyo that I just love is the dichotomy that is presented in so many locations; the historical with the modern…and sometimes the futuristic!

One of the main intersections within Harajuku

Laforet Harajuku (ラフォーレ原宿) from the outside

Decorated canvases decorating the interior...interesting - I'm sure this changes up often

Tou can see part of the line there, and some of the boyfriends/husbands waiting there too!! hahaha

What I love about Laforet are the individually designed stores within the building.  As I explained in a previous post, Tokyo’s “mall” structure often includes independent clothing sellers that, most likely, rent out a space and are allowed to sell their line or independent lines of clothing.  Not only are the stores in Laforet selling their own clothing brand(s), but their stalls or “store” designs reflect the nature of the owners, clothing brand, or the culture that they represent.  You can pretty much account for every Tokyo sub-culture and styles.  For example: one store called GR8 (グレイト) was selling custom shoes (Nike, Adidas, Converse, etc), and their store featured neon lights, indy urban music, and also sold t-shirts, sport coats, custom headphones, books on collecting shoes, book bags, etc.

GR8's (グレイト) line of books on collecting shoes - I've actually seen these books before, pretty cool!

The GR8 (グレイト) store front - neons, nice touch!

Not only are the colors cool, but their cut-outs are AWESOME, even using one as a clothing rack

So many to choose from! I'm pretty sure they have every color covered

WOW, some crazy color combinations - I see you AI! lol

Very simple store front but the pattern and colors grab your attention

Yes, even Care Bears are sold in Laforet

The Hello Kitty anniversary sure had a lot of specials running all over Tokyo...no different here

Even the stairs and elevators were pretty cool.  The stairs were almost directly in the middle of Laforet which connected all the floors (and half-floors too).  I’m sure you’re asking yourself what the heck is a half-floor?  Literally, Laforet features floors: 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, etc (up to 5 then there is no 5.5 but goes to…6?).  Each floor features stores but the “half-floors” (ending in .5) often featured fewer stores since there is less floor space on those floors (their floor guide).  Also, another cool thing to note was that the floors with more stores had very unique paths to walk around.  See, if you think of the letter “C”, that is pretty much the way Laforet had stores on each integer or whole numbered floor.  So, the stores rode along the walls of Laforet, but in the middle, they also featured a few stores.  This way, each floor made a half-donut, so if you came up to a floor and went to the right, you’d eventually circle around to see all the stores and then come out on the left side and then go up the stairs in the middle again.  Not only were the stores uniquely designed, but they also were different sizes and arranged differently, so this “C-path” around the floor also changed slightly.  Regardless, you still would make your way back to the stairs on the opposite side of where you entered the area.  The half floors often just had a straight path that might curve around a bit, but only featured 4-6 stores, so thus didn’t make a entire “C-path”.

Cool Stairs, they even have mirrors to see yourself as you walk up

Even the elevators are uniquely designed

Anyways, after spending some time in Laforet, I headed out to the main street and began walking around again.  I saw an H&M next so I decided to go in.  Wow, H&M was packed with people and of course, they had four floors, three of which were designated to women…and the men got the basement.  With no other choice, I took the stairs downstairs to see that it too was busy with shoppers.  I looked around and saw a few shirts that I liked.  But unfortunately, there was a line for the dressing room, so I decided to just try on the clothing out on the main sales floor.  No one seemed to care, and in fact, some other guys were doing the same!  So I tried about 5 or 6 shirts, 2 jackets, and a couple dress shirts.  The smalls and mediums there are much smaller, I find, than those same sizes in the United States.  Plus, the shirts do not stretch around the upper back and shoulders, which is the only area that I often felt it tight.  I had to settle for larger sizes, which were less stocked, but fortunately I wasn’t settling for huge shirts like U.S. larges and x-larges.  I also noticed this at the H&M stores in Spain, but I guess I forgot (and I’ve never been to the H&M stores in the U.S. – so maybe it’s the same at all the locations).  In the end, I settled on 3 shirts and jumped in line to pay.  I honestly had to fake it again and just nod at every statement that the cashier made.  Luckily I timed it correctly and swiped my debit card at the right time.

Inside a store packed with people

The Men get the B1 treatment

Leaving H&M, I headed towards Takeshita Street (竹下通り), one of the main avenues in Harajuku that features a lot of independent stores with tons of shopping opportunities.  When entering Takeshita Street, I looked to try to see the other side but all I saw was a horde of young people.  Everyone was talking with friends, carrying shopping bags, texting on their phones…a pretty cool sight to see.  I walked down the street, and about half-way down, there were a group of Nigerian men who looked sketched-out.  They were hassling everyone and asking people to go check out the merchandise they were selling at their stands.  One guy actually asked me and I told him that I was “ok” and then he kept walking beside me telling me that I was being rude.  I asked him, “in what way am I being rude if all I said was that I was ok and continued walking…that is more than what some people are giving…most don’t even say anything.”  He said, “but you understand.”  So apparently he thinks that I owe him my time since I understood what he was saying.  Oddly enough, I stopped at a stall, and of course, the guy owned it…what are the odds?  He said that he and his family owned about eight of these small stalls.  In the end, we started chit-chatting and in the end, we shook hands and went our separate ways.  He obviously went back to the intersection of people to begin his job again.

One of the streets leading up to Takeshinta Street (竹下通り)

A very large sign to let you know you've entered Takeshita Street (竹下通り)

Wolfgang Puck even has his hands over in Harajuku, hahaha

Some stores are as simple as that...what happens if it rains!?

A lot of French influence in names of places...

After that, I went into a few stores, of my own accord and actually liked the clothing I saw.  In one store, I bought three long-sleeve shirts, in another store I bought a purple muffler scarf.  The prices were not bad at all, but I’ll admit, it was difficult to find my size again.  Oh, and the funny thing was, as I was about to enter a dressing room with a few shirts, I was approached by a store clerk who told me that I could not enter the dressing room to try on the shirts.  He told me that I could try on the pants and coats, but the t-shirts were not to be worn inside the store.  The odd thing, they had a “no return” policy…so how the heck was I suppose to know the fitting.  He told me that that was common in the area.  Well, fortunately, I had a haunch that the shirts would fit; I just wanted to see if the colors and designs looked good with my complexion.  I asked him if I could use the mirror and lay the shirt across my body to see how it would look me.  He said that that was fine and so I proceeded to do so and realized that two of the shirts were in fact too small once opened up all the way, but that the other three looked good and would fit; those are the three long-sleeve t-shirts that I bought.

Another shote of the sign, it kind of funnels people

What a crowded street!

And the people go on forever!

So many signs, how do you distingquish them all? hahaha

Tama Depa, interactive Tamagotchi shop

Harajuku St...it had a lot of pretty cool stores down there too

When you see funky signs like these, you have to go check what's down the street!

After leaving the store, I walked around and entered a few more stores.  I left Takeshita Street and went around a corner and found an ABC Mart (a common shoe store) that had a pair of purple Vans shoes that I really liked.  They were on sale for 3000 yen but I wasn’t entirely sure, so I told myself I’d come back later.  I then decided to check out another area of the Harajuku district.  I saw a sign that read Harajuku St so I went that way and found an abundance of more restaurants and of course a lot of vendors selling clothing, shoes, skateboards.  Once I got out of there, I passed Omotesando Hills, but can you believe I didn’t really realize it until later on.  Omotesando Hills is a large shopping complex (“mall”) that has shops, restaurants, cafés, and beauty salons.  This district slightly outside of Harajuku’s main attraction is very high end.  I saw Louis Vuitton, Couch, Gucci, and a lot of independent designers but with massive stores that had very dressed up people walking in – horrible descriptor I know, but these people seemed a bit uppity if you ask me

Near Omotesando Hills...again, thousands of people doing their shopping and hanging out

Something that I and a couple hundred other people noticed was the smell of something burning.  Soon after, I hear a couple sets of sirens in the distance as emergency vehicles are making their way to the site.  I kept walking, went up the street, crossed at the intersection, and made my way back, but on the opposite side.  As I was arriving, so were the fire-fighters and police.  By this point, you could barely see as white smoke had begun to pour out into the streets.  A lot of people were coughing and everyone was looking to see where it was coming from.  The funny thing, a bus of older Japanese tourists were getting out to do some shopping, and all of them got off making a face and covering their faces with small hand towels…awe…

The b6 JINGUMAE building is pretty cool

Even the Audi store in Harajuku is pretty cool

Once you realize you can’t really see all that much, not like flames were coming out of the building, but I’m sure it was within considering the amount of smoke to fill a 4-6 lane street, not to mention tired of breathing in smoke, I left the area to go back to the hipper side of harajuku…and to go get those shoes.  That’s right, I made up my mind.  Once I got back, it was a very simple in-and-out procedure, I didn’t want to fuss over any other shoes, because I know I would have…given the opportunity that is.