Ireland: 14 -18th August 2023 One of the fabulous things about being in Bingham is its closeness to East Midlands Airport, around 10 miles from the house where Will and Emma are based. I booked super-cheap airfares to Ireland a few months ago (£15 each!) and we drove to the airport on Monday afternoon after…
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Hong Kong
Tuesday & Wednesday 8/9 August 2023 Sometimes we are a little competitive in my family. Dave started counting the countries he has visited quite a few years ago, and the kids and I have since followed suit. Dave topped the 100-mark earlier this year, Will comes in 2nd at 54, and I’m bringing up a…
I’m obsessed!
Day 1: Monday 7th August 2023 I’m obsessed with a few things. Those of you who know me well will realise this 😜 I’m obsessed with my family… not least of all my two gorgeous kids who I love to eternity. I’m obssesed with food. I used to use the word ‘passion’ to describe it,…
T minus 13 days!
I have some news… we are heading on a trip in 13 days! First stop Hong Kong, then to London and up to Bingham to see Will and Emma. I am sooooo excited 😆 I wont blog daily, but will certainly post something from each location. Any ‘must-do’s’ for Hong Kong, that you know peeps?
Sayonara
DAY 14: Tokyo. Saturday 8th April 2023 As I began to type this, we were sitting at Haneda airport, waiting to board our overnight flight back to Melbourne. It was time to say goodbye to Japan, unfortunately, but not before another enjoyable day was had in Tokyo, which now rates as one of, if not…
A taste of Kichijoji
DAY 13 – Friday 7th April 2023 (Our last full day in Japan 🙁 ) I’ve been on a few food walking tours over the years. It’s my very favourite thing to do. Barcelona still stands out as the best, but Athens with the Perry’s last year was right up there, and Prague was pretty…
Go Hard or Go Home!
DAY 12 Tokyo – Thursday 6th April 2023 When we woke on Thursday morning we realised, with much sadness, we only had two or so days left in Japan. It was time to go hard and see and experience as much of this city as possible while we could. Thursday, for me at least, was…
Its big!
Nagasaki and Tokyo: Day 10 and 11: Tuesday and Wednesday 4th and 5th of April Tokyo is the world’s biggest city, and this post is probably my biggest post ever… two days’ worth of Japanese adventures to follow 🙂 I decided to post two days’ at once, not because we haven’t done much, but because…
Skyfall in Nagasaki
DAY 9: Nagasaki. 3rd April 2023 The second reason we decided on visiting Nagasaki involved James Bond. Surprise, surprise 😉 Nicknamed Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island, because of its shape, Hashima island has an eerie, sinister look, perfect for say, a villain’s lair in an action movie. The inspiration for villain Raoul Silva’s deserted hideout in…
Nagasaki
Day 8: Hiroshima to Nagasaki – 2nd April 2023 Firstly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful baby sister Bek 🙂 In pretty much every city and town we go, we visit the supermarket. Not necessarily to buy things, but to understand more about the location and its culture. The way supermarkets are laid out tells you…
The trains are not always on time!
DAY 7: Osaka to Hiroshima Saturday 1st April 2023 Toilets. Let’s talk about Japanese toilets. Fancy toilets. Heated-seat toilets. Toilets with washing options (front or back). Toilets that sing to you, or even have piped running water music so that your next-door neighbour can’t tell if it’s you or the toilet making the noise. Never…
You Only Live Twice
DAY 6: Osaka and Himeji Friday 31st March 2023 25,000 steps on Thursday should have led to a sleep-in, but the prospect of a great buffet breakfast helped us to rise early, regardless of my aching legs. Breakfast did not disappoint, with a large selection of Continental and Asian foods on offer, including my choices…
Food, Glorious Food
DAY 5: Nagoya to Osaka The time has come for me to take control of all dining decisions. It’s a fair call. Dave can decide historical monuments, museums and even transport routes. But really, after choosing an Australian themed (but American-owned) steakhouse for dinner on Wednesday night, it was time to get back to the…
You were given one job…
DAY 4: Hakodate to Nagoya (29th March 2023) I’m so glad we visited Hakodate and after a 15,000-step day on Tuesday, I was very much looking forward to a day mostly spent sitting comfortably in a Bullet Train! Our next stop was Nagoya, a large city (approximately the same size as Brisbane) about 430km south-west…
It’s all about Balance
Day 3 – HAKODATE I had an “OMG, I am so excited” moment when we woke up and looked out the window of our hotel on day three on our Japan holiday adventure. I had slept well and after much research was really looking forward to getting out of the hotel and exploring Hakodate. Dave…
The end of the line!
DAY 2: Tokyo to Hakodate As I mentioned yesterday, the reason we stayed near Tokyo Central station was so we could easily get to the Japan Rail Office in the morning to exchange our vouchers for rail passes and book seats on our first train. It seems that the queues of day one were to…