Back safe and sound from our hiking trip in Japan and, as last year, had a wonderful time. Friends Jackie and Simon managed a drone free exit from Heathrow, but on the flight to Vienna to pick up the Tokyo flight, an air hostess tripped and splashed Jackie with boiling hot tea ! Unbelievably there was no first aid equipment on the ‘plane and Jackie had a nasty burn on her side just where trousers sit. This was a major poo as it meant that she could not enjoy the onsen baths which are so much a part of holidays in Japan. Added to that, the vegetarian meals that had ordered were not on board. Not a good start. Ernst and I had trouble free flights from Toulouse to Munich, then on to Tokyo. We met up in an hotel in Sendai, where the hiking started and the holiday commenced. It was fabulous ! What I love about the company, Walk Japan, is that it is not just a tourist site seeing holiday, the hikes take you through little Japanese villages and you stay in little local inns. We managed to avoid black bears, aggressive wild monkeys and even a typhoon ! The hiking took up the first week then the second we returned to Sendai and did the tourist bit. If you ever go there I can recommend the Mozart Café at the art museum ! We visited all day then in the evenings ate and went to an English pub – where we were the only westerners – to watch rugby ! Sadly my unenthusiasm for ‘proper’ Japanese food had not changed in the year between visits but we managed. Luckily Ernst loved it and ate for all four of us ! I could not get in to cold noodles and fish in jelly for breakfast ! One day Jackie and I ordered what we thought was breaded shrimps, only to take a bite and …… OMG what IS this ?! With the help of Simon’s amazing ‘phone which did instant translations, we were eating, or trying to eat, fish cartilage !!!! All too quickly the two weeks sped by and before we knew it we were back at Haneda airport and bound for home. It is taking time to get my body clock back to normal, Japan is seven hours ahead, but getting there slowly. Although I would love to go back, I fear budget and our ageing limbs will not permit !
Whilst we were away, Pepsi, the little black and white dog we took in just before the holiday, was adopted from Danielle’s as were two others who never made it to the website. There has been an influx of pups and I will get them on the adoption page just as soon as I can.
As well as the influx of pups, I have received hundreds if not thousands of books for our sale on October 19th and will be spending all day every day for the next week sorting through them. Any more cookery books and coffee table books will be held over for the next sale as we have just so many. There seems to be quite a few people moving, either back to England, or just downsizing and are donating their books to us – thank you. So, 19th October, 10 am, St. Pantaleon Salle de Fetes, be there for the best choice of great condition second hand books. Plus tea, coffee, soups and, of course ………CAKES !
Great day today, France will smash America off the rugby field and my dearest friend Gaynor becomes officially French at her citizenship presentation this afternoon. So honoured to be invited.
Sue x