Flowers Flowers Everywhere!
Saturday was a big day: my first meeting of Riccardo's parents (who had flown in the previous day from Germany). I was... nervous... (**insert: out of my mind**). I so wanted the Weber's to like me, and hoped everything would go smoothly and comfortably.Well, it did. We met at my apartment around 10am and after parting with some residual anger at the laziness of Japanese merchants (nothing opens before 10am here) the four of us took a scenic 2-hour drive to southern Ibaraki.
Thousands of Japanese flock to Ikatoshi every June for their annual Ayame Matsuri (Iris Festival); though only 30% of the flowers were in bloom this early in the season, the grounds were picturesque. Many newlyweds find their way to the iris gardens and can be spotted in their traditional wedding garb (we didn't spot any). Apparently later in June there are traditional Japanese dancers, and other sidewalk entertainment.
The highlight of my time in Itako was a magical gondola ride. The iris gardens are bordered by a Venice-like canal with masses of boats, big and small, putting about. Our gondola fit six tourists, the Weber's and myself, and a couple from Southern Japan. Our gondola rower was a professional who could outrow many other boats, and our lovely tour guide spoke some English. Through her battery-powered microphone, our tour guide told us the names of the bridges we passed under and even beautifully sang us the Itako song (each city in Japan apparently has it's own song; Itako's was about water and somesuch: surprise surprise). The lazy boat ride was enhanced by traditional Japanese music floating over the water.
Back at my apartment we made a solid group effort in preparing dinner: a Greek-ish meal of chicken, potatoes, salad and tzatziki with bread. I had a lovely time getting to know Hans and Carla (Riccardo's parents) and especially learning of their travels (most recently to AFRICA). My thanks to my guests for all the their help, and more importantly, for their company. I couldn't have asked for a better first meeting, or for Riccardo to have better parents!
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