Memoirs of a Geisha

As a teenage girl, I have borrowed one book from my classmate and never gave it back.
There are books which we start reading before even owning them, books which we start reading a couple of hours or days after buying them and books which are constantly waiting on our bookshelves to be read.

The book which I borrowed in high school used to be one of them.
Last summer, while packing for my trip to Japan, I remembered that book and thought that it was high time to find out what is hidden on the pages of "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden. It turned out to be a perfect idea! During the long hours spent in the trains, my thoughts weren't really there but long before I was even born, many many years ago in Kyoto. Not only, the book was interesting and pleasant to read but also, resolved my numerous doubts concerning Geisha's life.
After coming back to Poland I wanted to watch the movie based on the book as soon as possible. When I finally did, it didn't disappoint me. The movie was mysterious and filled with all kinds of Japanese beauty just like the book. I was glad to recognize some places which I have been to, while the other ones were making me wonder if it really was Kyoto. I decided to check where some of the places were the movie was shot were located and I've made a small research. I found out that, unfortunately, most of the scenes weren't shot in Japan but in various places in California, USA. They are well described here (scroll down to the middle of the page):
http://www.helloziyi.us/Movies/memoirs-gallery.htm

However, there are still some significant sights of Kyoto, which appeared in the movie and couldn't be replaced by any of the great American inventions.
Here they come!

Kiyomizudera Temple

The view of Kiyomizudera's pagoda (Pure Water Temple) appears in "Memoirs of a Geisha" many times, mainly to announce changes of the seasons but at the beginning of the movie as well.

I'm a bit suspicious about its presence in the movie and believe that the creators took just one photo of the view and changed the colors of the sky and the background by the use of their great American inventions, while preparing the final version of the film.
Anyway, it was a good idea to use it so many times. I love this view!

Fushimi Inari Shrine

I might be wrong but in my opinion, the scene when little Chio is running happily among the countless torii (red gates) is one of the most characteristic and unforgettable scenes of the movie.

Last spring, Daniel and I went there on a daily trip and both agreed that it's one of the best sights of Kyoto. Not only the shrine itself is a bit different from all the rest, but it is also a kind of a hiking trail in natural surrounding.

I'm almost sure that Chio picked the right tunnel! And so did I!

To learn more about Fushimi Inari Shrine check out my post:
http://duasjanelas.blogspot.com/2010/07/fushimi-inari-among-red-gates.html

Green Board Games

Thanks to my cousin Ela and her friend Ania, recently I had a chance to play two board games, which were completely new to me. Funny coincidence was that they were both mostly green.

Shear Panic /pol. Owczy Pęd/
When Ela told me about this game for the first time, I told her that I've seen some friends of mine playing it once and I didn't like it too much. Ela was quite suprised coz I was not enthusiastic about it at all. Next time we met, she told me about this game once again, about how lovely the figures are... and I asked: "What figures???". It turned out that when she told me about Shear Panic for the first time, I confused it with a different game which also has sheeps as main characters.
After seeing those adorable sheeps, I can't be critical about this game anymore. They're just too pretty!

My own summary of this game is: cute chess, and that is more or less what it is about - the board is similar to chess and strategy plays the main role. The difference is that Shear Panic is a game up to 4 players or 4 groups of players. I believe that its difficulty level depends on the players.
What else can I say? Niiiccceeeeeee!

Keltis
The other game we played that night was Keltis. The game is based on cards mainly but also on the board which includes some stones, magic diamonds and shamrocks. Players have different colors of shamrocks - mine was white- and their aim in the game is to collect as many cards in the right order as possible, what enables them to collect many magic diamonds which are being converted into points at the end of the game.

It is perfect to play with people who get scared when the see regular cards. In reality, Keltis is a very friendly looking card game.

Both of those games are perfectly adjusted to the needs of the XXIst century customer. Classic stuff in new layouts... and that's what everybody loves!

Stylish Evil Eye

Every culture has its own traditions and superstitions. One of the things that all Mediterranean countries have in common is the amulet, most commonly called the Evil Eye. The superstition about this amulet is that it is supposed to protect a person who has it, from envious and jealous people.

Before, I used to think that those blue shaped things sold in the bazaars and souvenir shops are just things for tourists. What a surprise it was discovering, after I made friends in Turkey, that the Evil Eye is an amulet, a symbol that is really present in their daily lives.
Since then I've been finding it where only it was possible: necklaces, bracelets and rings for both - boys and girls, tea glasses, tablecloths, carpets, door, bags and so on, but it still was not the end.

One sunny Monday afternoon by the Bosphorus, while I was having a tea with my long time no see friend, her sister called to tell that she just left the beautician and that she is coming to join us. As soon as she showed up, it turned out that she just had her manicure and pedicure done and there wouldn't be anything special about it, if not two little details - one on her fingernail and the other one on her toe nail. These were nothing else than the Evil Eyes!

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of crazy colors nail painting but in this case I really loved to see how the elegance nicely matched with a bit of extravagance.