This afternoon we took the subway north to Nijo Castle, built in 1626 as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns. We toured the inside of the Ninomaru Palace which was constructed almost entirely of Hinoki Cypress with floors that were built to creak to warn of intruders. The palace was decorated with gold leaf, wood carvings, elaborate murals and intricate paintings on the ceiling. It was an amazing sight to see and even more unreal to think of the things that transpired within the walls so long ago. Photos were not permitted inside, but we were able to get some nice shots of the outside and of the beautiful grounds and gardens. Our timing was perfect to view the plum trees blooming in the southwest garden, and even a few early cherry blossoms:
Next we walked about a mile to Kyoto Imperial Park where Connor dined al fresco on Earth's Best chicken mango risotto and Ella's kitchen broccoli, sweet pea & pears. We are lucky that Connor is still totally willing to eat pureed baby food at this age - it has been very convenient when we've been out and about and need to top off his tank quickly without making a mess. The sun was about to set, and the kiddo was fading fast, so we took a few photos of the park on our way out and decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel:
No comments:
Post a Comment