Farewell to a window on Autumn

Shy of two years, I bid farewell to my place in Utrecht.

I hate sewing!!

I have been lucky in Norway and China where I always had someone close good at sewing… because besides hating it, I suck big time at that!!

But no help anymore so today, waiting for my neighbor to unlock the building door since this morning I forgot my keys inside, I did sew my hakama, a long postponed job (that I had planned to do in the lunch break, reason why I had all the necessary with me!).

sitting outside with a needle in my hands…

Not a great job but I hope it will survive for Franck Noel sensei seminar in Stockholm.

Wonderful weather though for sitting outside.. let’s see how it will be in Sweden, but with friends and Aikido all will be perfect anyway!

another beautiful day

..now I am inside.. finishing packing then going to the airport.. Stockholm, I’m coming!! yeah 😉

I *should* care less!

Words are words, then the meaning is what make them special, but who decides that? Not the being special but the meaning of those words?

Unbelievable late summer weather!

Incredibly good summer weather in the Netherlands: if not for the temperatures early/late in the day, that are a good reminder that winter is coming,

Amsterdam

These past days, before and after the super moon, the morning sky has been gorgeous, followed by a super good “summer” day..

For some reasons yesterday, when I was sitting outside a cafe and I took this picture, I had the feeling to be back in Shanghai.. and that is quite weird, since I have never lived there and almost always there are skyscraper in view.. or maybe I still miss something from there..

This weekend though I will be back in my hometown, Biella, and the weather forecast are.. normal for the season, ie. quite bad, rainy weather!! Leaving behind these extremely sunny days (and warm during the working hours!) is painful! Especially knowing which kind of weather we can expect, in the Netherlands, for the “real” autumn/winter time!

sitting on the clouds…

summer storm in Biella

Another Italian Mid-Autumn festival!

I wrote the pass below in advance, but my plans changed abruptly because a huge delay on departure on Friday that let me to re-schedule my ticket for free (hoping in a ride when arriving in Milan Friday night) for next week.. So for this mid-autumn festival I am in the Netherlands.. still having memories..

Like in 2013, by chance, I am in Italy for my favorite Chinese festivity, the one I will always miss the most since it is so difficult to find the delicious moon cakes, 月饼, abroad!! Today it is the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节, zhōngqiū jié), or so called Moon Cake festival 🙂

Last year I got this nice video from a Chinese Aikido friend:

…and I add the memories from my second year in China, when I could really enjoy the moon (in 2010 it had been quite cloudy and rainy!):

From the top: moon cake 月饼, the moon on Hefei, 中 (中秋=mid-autumn)

中秋节快乐！！
Zhōngqiū jié kuàilè! !

Good morning Utrecht!

..and the good night today will be form Italy, Biella, my home town, where I will spend a touch and go weekend, family and few friends..

Utrecht bus station

Am I back in China?!?

This morning I was biking to the train station, quite early for me (just before 7 am) and not far from my place, just on the curb on the side of the bicycle line, there was a middle-age Chinese man doing some morning gymnastic, sort of typical morning Tai Ji forms I used to see when back in my beloved China!

Hefei

Hangzhou