Fushimi Inari Taisha | Kyoto, Japan | 1 of 2

One of the most iconic places in Japan is Fushimi Inari Taisha. If you've seen Memoirs of a Geisha, you'll remember when the young geisha runs through the bright orange tunnel. Ever since I saw that scene, I've wanted to walk through the orange gates. The shrine is for Inari, the god of foxes, rice, sake and a few other things. The shrine is comprised of thousands of torii or gates that have been donated by Japanese businesses. Fushimi is at the base of a mountain and you can follow the torii up the mountain through various trails.

Markus and I visited Fushimi on a sunny August day. It was the height of school holidays, so the place was packed full of visitors. The beginning portion of the shrine was so full of people, that it was impossible to get a photo without someone in them. In an attempt to see as much as possible, we decided to follow the trail until we were exhausted. I really enjoyed walking throughout the shrine. There was so much to see and experience. There are heaps of fox statues and my foxy shirt was a perfect homage to them. Fushimi Inari was unlike anything I've ever seen. Everything about it was beautiful and its probably one of my favorite places in Japan.

Markus & the Lonely Duck | Lake District, England 2012

The other day I was going through my photo folders and I found a plethora of unedited UK photos. It was kind of amazing because Markus and I won't be able to go on an international trip this year. It really stinks considering we've traveled somewhere every year for the past nine years. I really shouldn't complain, we've been to some amazing places. I'm really thankful for all the places we've been and hopeful for the places we'll go! So finding these pictures was great because it's like going on a trip to the UK all over again.

As I was editing the photos, I realized something awesome. I had Markus do all sorts of poses and I realized that there was a lone duck in every photo. I couldn't help myself and had to share. Plus, I couldn't resist posting more gorgeous photos of the Lake District. My golly, this place was really like heaven on earth.

Wandering Wednesday | Boston 2010

It's been ages since I've done a Wandering Wednesday post. I realized when I relaunched my blog, that I had heaps of photos from old trips. Wednesdays were designated as my days to reminisce, which is great for me since it takes me months, even years, to post photos from my trips.

Boston is one of my favorite cities in the States. Markus and I loved it so much that it was on the list of possible cities to live. I think I would've loved living there. I just adore the feel of the place. It's like being in a museum, but everywhere. I love the architecture and the red brick everywhere. I could spend all day posing in front of every building. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to just that one day soon!

Kiyomizu-dera | Kyoto, Japan

When Markus and I were in Kyoto, we planned on visiting all the "must-see" temples. In an ideal world, we would have all the time, energy and money to do everything we wanted, but reality isn't really like that. On this particular day, I had way too much planned. We were in the Gion district and earlier that day we dressed as a geisha and samurai. Afterward, we walked all over the area looking at other temples. By the time we finally made it to Kiyomizu-dera, I was exhausted. We also found out that they were under construction and the line was way too long. In the end, we decided to pass on going inside. Instead, Markus took heaps of photos of the outside. Now looking back on it, I don't regret it at all. It was the height of summer and the best time to go to Kiyomizu-dera is during fall or spring. Maybe when Markus and I go back to Japan, we'll go during one of those seasons and finally see what all the hype is about!

Lakeshore Drive | Chicago, Illinois

For some reason, every place that I've moved to has been near a body of water. Before, I was always near the beach and ocean. This is the first time that I've been near a lake. I have to admit that lakes are a bit scary compared to oceans. Oh who am I kidding, all bodies of water terrify me but that's another story for another time. Anyway, Lake Michigan is quite beautiful. It's definitley a different feeling from the beach and I quite like it. I don't know if we'll go often, but it's nice to have access especially on those hot summer days.

Day 2: Wandering the Streets | Kyoto, Japan

I like to refer day two of Kyoto as "Noelle and Markus standing in front of nice backgrounds". We did more than just wander around, but I realized that I had a lot of random pictures that weren't for a specific place. Every time I saw a nice wall, house or window, I made Markus stop and take photos. I couldn't help myself, Kyoto is just so beautiful. I've just realized that this is a shameless photo post, but I still hope you enjoy them!