Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, OK, surprizing find

A great find in Tulsa, OK is the Philbrook Museum.  (Other points of interest can be found previously here.)  There's actually two campuses.  The historic location is in the old Philbrook mansion in a posh neighborhood.   The other campus is downtown.  There's a pass that allows you to see both within a couple of days of each other.

There is a lot of art of various types throughout the museum, from many periods and styles, ranging from Native American, African, antiquities, and contemporary.  There's even a Picasso. I took a few photos, but I'll limit what I post here to avoid spoiling it for anyone else that finds there way here.

The Philbrook Gardens at the mansion are beautiful.  I was lucky enough to visit on a gorgeous day.

 

I found the center of the universe and stood on (not in) it, plus other points of interest in an interesting place

I found the midpoint of the famous Route 66.  It's in Tulsa, OK.  I'm not sure what qualifies this at the midpoint, but yet, here it is.

I've also found the center of the universe and stood on (not in) it.  Yup, it's also in Tulsa, OK.  Imagine the coincidence of that!

Why is this spot the center of the universe?  It's an over-exuberant name for something that's somewhat surprizing, yet fairly mundane.

If you do a search online, you'll find that open mic nights are extremely common in Tulsa, OK.  I cannot speak to the quality of these amateurs shows, however.  I was fairly disappointed.  Maybe too many places are offering venues every night for such a small city?

Here's the downtown.

Tulsa is also the home to the Tulsa Air and Space Museum.  This museum is loaded up to the ceiling with artifacts of aviation history.

Then, if you look hard enough, you'll find this guy, the Golden Driller.

There's one other place I visited while in town on my free time.  It deserves an article of its own.

Shanghai Day (or nights) 3, 4 and 5 after work - Better weather and some great food!

I didn't venture out too much on my 3 night in Shanghai.  My co-workers and I had dinner at a good Vietnamese restaurant in the Super Brand Mall...

...and I got a few more shots of the Financial area afterwards.

Our local co-workers took our band of travellers out for dinner, Shanghai style, on night 4 after work.  The place was called South Beauty at the very top of the Super Brand Mall.  The food was excellent!

On the 5th evening in town, I headed over to The Bund to explore the other side of town.  I found a large shopping district and a huge mall.  I also found great and iconic views of Shanghai's famous skyline.

Yes, that's the elevators for the mall!

I didn't get to explore during the day because, well, I was working.  However, I enjoyed my stay in Shanghai.  Maybe next time I can plan to explore much more!

Shanghai visit - Day 2 - After a day of work

After a day of work, I headed out a bit to explore on the way back to my hotel.  I stopped off at the Century Square.  The Station at Century Square is within an underground shopping complex with many cheaper items for sale.  It is a bit of a hassle to walk to thru the complex since the vendors follow you insistently trying to get your attention so that you may want to take a look at their particular store.  It is particularly annoying.

Back in Lujiazui area a bit later, I made another attempt to get a good photo of the TV Tower.

Travelling to Shanghai, China - Day 1 - scammed, then fun

After spending a week in Japan, it was time to get on to Shanghai.  The flight between Tokyo and Shanghai is about 2.5 hours and one time zone difference.  I took the Maglev from the airport to Longyang.  For whatever reason, the Maglev doesn't extend to center of Shanghai's iconic area in Pudong.  So, once you get to the end of the Maglev line (in under 10 minutes), you have to make a choice about how to get the rest of the way:  Taxi or Subway's Line 2.

Hmm, the taxi?

Shanghai is a city where scams abound.  You have to watch out when taking taxis.  Unfortunately, I got into a cab and walked right into the broken meter scam.  The scam happens when the meter isn't turned on when you get into the cab.  The driver drives about 100 feet, then stops the cab and tries to negotiate the cab fare to your destination, expecting payment upfront.  Here's a hint, taxis are super cheap in Shanghai.  These taxi scammers know that out-of-towners generally have no idea of just how cheap, so they try to scam you into paying a much higher price; a price that you might be more accustom to paying in other places.  I don't really strong have advice to avoid the scam, other than to say, be very very cautious at the Maglev station at Longyang.  Make sure the cab as a plexiglass guard between the driver and the passengers.  Make sure the meter is started before you drop your bags in the trunk and get into the car.  One last piece of advice: taxis in Shanghai are cash only, whether they are legit or not.

Moving on

Once settled in the hotel, I met up with my colleagues and wandered around Lujiazui Finance District.

We took a tour cruise.  It was a bit hazy, but the pics weren't that horrible.

Later, I got a couple of angles on the Century Peace Bell.

Japan Day 8 - Imperial Palace in Tokyo

Some of us did some wandering around.  We got a little lost from confusing Shimbishi, Shambuya and Shinagawa stops on the subway.  Even still, we did eventually find our way to the Tokyo Imperial Palace.  The Tokyo Imperial Palace has grand walls, but once you are inside, it really is apparent that the purpose of the palace is to create a calm atmosphere.  The gardens are modest, surrounding a large and open grassy field.  Most of the buildings are also modest compared to what one might expect for something labelled "Imperial Palace".   Entrance is free.

The day was hot, sticky and bright, so I made a special effect to reserve myself to the shade where I could.

Approaching the palace

Guard house

Palace gardens

Locals appear to visit regularly to relax, meet, and even sunbath (modestly) on the grassy field at the center of the Palace gardens.

 

Observatory (higher ground for a bit of a better view)

Ruins of the major donjon

Famous Guard Tower @ the Forbidden Gate

There's a bit more do the palace than these exterior photos, but every thing seems to be of a modest nature.