August 26, 2025

Kyoto Day 3 - Culture Submersion - FUN DAY!!

Three girls on their way to Tea!

What a fun morning we had!  We went to an authentic tea house in Gion, the older section of Kyoto. We all got dressed in Kimonos complete with hair, socks and shoes. The staff are amazing and efficient & like ninjas with bobby-pins. They whipped our hair into updo's in no time! They also pulled, lifted, folded and tucked us neatly into those Kimonos with several fabric belts. Once we were all dressed, we went into a sliding screen Tea Room and met our hostess. She did brief introductions and asked us a bunch of, get to know you questions. The 5 of us Seniors were in with 6 other - 3 young couples - who all kneeled on the floor, while the 5 of us had mini chairs, to sit in! The tea service was very interesting and took about an hour. Then we could go out into the gardens and take photos. We had a lot of fun coming up with unique poses to highlight our inner geisha's!

Photo Fun in the gardens of Tea House.

STANDING STRONG IN THE STREETS OF KYOTO!!

L to R - Bosco, Me, Sherrie, Sarah & Bob

SHIP SHENANIGANS - CLUE PARTY

By Pat Patrick • September 16, 2026
It's never a dull Sea Day on the Odyssey! We have such creative residents, that are always coming up with new ideas to entertain ourselves and have a good time. This plot was the calculating of Eddie and Michelle - a Game of Clue! The rules were simple - find the party venue at 8:30 pm, come dressed as a character, weapon or room from the game and solve the mystery of who stole the Ship's bell.

TERRACOTTA ARMY - XI'AN, CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 16, 2026
In March of 1974, some local farmers outside Xi'An, China are digging a well and accidentally hit one of the great archaeological sites in the World! They were paid one day's wages for the find, roughly 4 USD! The Terracotta Army was dubbed the 8th Wonder of the World by France's President in 1980 when he came to visit and wanted to meet the farmers, the oldest was then, 89 years old.

XI'AN, CHINA - WALLED CITY

By Pat Patrick • September 15, 2026
Xi'An, China has been on my must do list , for awhile. The story of the Terracotta Army has fascinated me, since I first heard it. What I didn't know too much about, was the actual City of Xi'An and the walled inner City that remains today. It was built from 1370 to 1378 during the Ming dynasty on top of the older Tang dynasty foundations. There are 9 miles of City walls, they are 39' high, 45' to 50' wide at the top and 55' to 60' at the base. There are four main gate towers and the only draw bridge restored is at the South Gate. There are 98 ramparts, watchtowers, battlements and a wide surrounding moat. It one of the oldest and best preserved fortifications in China .