京都！！！ Kyoto!!!

A couple of days after arriving at my dormitory, International House II here in Kyoto I finally managed to wake up early enough to do some exploring of the area near by. My dormitry is a 45 minute from the main shopping district of Kyoto by bike. It is not centrally located but it is not too bad.

I'm loving Kyoto. It is so easy to get around. The city is very flat, and the roads are so smooth. What a difference to the potholed footpaths of the UK and hilly Borås. After going down the (only) hill from my dormitory to the shopping street I rode absentmindedly. All of a sudden I was right next to a small area of Kyoto that is full of old wooden buildings that have the feel as if they were built 50 years ago, but with the modern look of today's architecture. Only later did I find out it was called 嵐山,　Arashiyama. Apparently they have a monkey park(!) and the best time to go sightseeing there is fall when the leaves change colour and spring, for sakura season. There is also lots of small local restaurants, temples and gift shops here. Unfortunately I haven't had time to explore of all of Arashiyama yet, but I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities.

I want to go to the monkey park!!!

On the way to Arashiyama I saw a Panda =P













Might go and eat here and post a review later.

Arashiyama























































This is my bike parked on the corner ^_^ . It even has a basket and everything. Perfect for my shopping. Haha. But there are no gears and sometimes the breaks don't work. Oops









Small narrow streets, with lots of people and cars and BIKES of course







A statue of a Tanuki
A creature from Japanese folklore - Translated it means Raccoon Dog. Usually they are seen as mischievous and playful creatures.

This tanuki is drinking alcohol and smoking.





















Temple

Angus Steak House - Piccadilly Circus

This steakhouse is close to the exit of the London Underground station of Piccadilly Circus and is one of 2 steakhouses in the area that I saw. Its slightly pricey but the atmosphere is good, and you can easily go there alone since they have smaller tables for 2 that they use for individuals (I don't want to call it for singles because sometimes you are alone in a town that you are visiting and just want to eat nice food).

I ordered the entrecote aka Sirloin of 10 oz, with mashed potatoes and spicy pepper sauce. The presentation was beautiful, and the food came to me within 10 minutes of placing my order. There were also complimentary mini baguettes. I ordered the meat as medium and as you can tell by the colour it was done to perfection. It was so juicy and tender and the potatoes has the most wonderful colour and texture to them.
HOWEVER... as the steak got thicker the meat became rarer, until it was almost like it was still alive. I had eaten almost all of the steak before coming to this part of it and was satisfied with the meal. Therefore I wasn't bothered about sending it back to get re-fired or get a new one. I did however point it out to my waiter, who was kind enough to go take it to the manager and the head chef.

The manager came out personally to apologise and offered me free dessert. For dessert I received strawberry cheese cake and a shot of espresso (worth about £7-9 all together).The dessert was amazing and the espresso was as expected.

My meal came to £22 pounds including a drink so it was slightly expensive but for London and Piccadilly Circus quite reasonable. I recommend this restaurant for all who like big steaks and on any other day without the raw meat I would rate it 4/5 overall.

Food: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Atmosphere: 3/5
Price:3/5

Overall: 3.75/5