The last day.

A big last day. The Gleninerneys had the busiest day. It started with the daily visit to the Onsen the a trip to the Hakone Open Air Museum, a fabulous exhibition down the road from the Hotel.

After this, we caught the train back to Tokyo. Dad and I went walking whilst the family went to another fabulous exhibition, Team Lab Planets. Dad and I had seen it before and thought it was great fun.

We met up again and met Paul for dinner and that was the end of a lovely holiday.

Daniel and Benji wear their matching pyjamas!

Hakone

This morning we went off by train to Hakone in the foothills of Mt Fuji. We stayed 2 nights in the Hyatt hotel which is such a beautiful hotel - so relaxing. in a beautiful environment. I love it.

And so did the Gleninerneys’. They revelled in the Onsen.

Our first night, we had a great meal at the Gora Brewery.

Next day was quite amazing. Apart from the scenery in this area, you can have a trip around in 5 different types of transport. It is fantastic.

This was an amazing sight. It felt so close and it was so beautiful!

Here we are at dinner in the beautiful dining room at the end of a lovely day.

Day at Disney

Disney was great! We started off so early although was Sara there earlier. We had to be early to get into the Frozen ride - not that it happened but Sara sorted us all out and we had a great day. Dad and I only did a couple of rides but they were amazing. It was great that Maki came over mid-afternoon and we had a lovely time visiting the shops. Some photos-

Weekend in Tokyo

Saturday morning and we made our usual trip to Starbucks then we split up with Daniel and Annie heading off into town and the rest of us hanging about Ikebukuro. It was Dee’s turn for a visit to the pig cafe with Ella and Benji. I went to the Pokémon shop but popped in and left immediately- so big and SO many people - incredible! After that we went off to Paul and Maki’s in Hiyoshi for a delicious lunch. Fabulous sitting on the roof patio looking at the tops of trees. Sara was there too and we discussed our strategy for the trip to Disney on Sea.

After lunch we went back in to Shibuya to walk the Scramble Crossing, do a bit of shopping before heading home.

SUNDAY

Dad and I mosied off to visit the Shinjuku Gardens to see lots of Cherry Blossom then we visited another suburb called Shimokitazawa- specialized in vintage and coffee shops. We also walked through Harajuku - so busy on Sundays - along Takeshita and Cat Streets.

All the girls then had an appointment at a Teamaking ceremony where we made the macha tea and didn’t drink it as we all thought it tasted pretty awful - not to be compared to the Macha Frappe piled high with cream from Starbucks. The best part for the young girls was being dressed in kimonos.

Ella at the cat cafe.

The family at Meiji Shrine

Lunch at Yakiniku again.

Early night to get ready for Disneyland.

Day 3 and 4 in Tokyo

This day began with our trip to Starbucks and then off to the Pig Cafe. Something different- sitting on the floor with a rug on our knees and the little pigs climbing on our laps. The girls loved it. And Daniel did too! I sort of liked it.

Next we were off to meet Paul, Maki and Sara at Dad’s favourite restaurant - the Oak Door at the Hyatt. Delicious meal as usual. After that we went to see Team Lab Borderless. This is an amazing digital exhibition. We spent about 1 1/2 hours wandering through all these rooms with fabulous digital displays - hard to explain but it was beautiful.

After that, we went up to visit Paul in his very flash offices.

Next was a trip to the top of Tokyo Tower - pretty fabulous looking across the city.

And we ate at Mosburger!

Day 4, off to Starbucks for Matcha Frappes and coffee then Dan and Benji went off to do boy’s things.

The rest of us went for a little Red Bus tour around Ikebukuro, the suburb of Tokyo where we were staying. We visited a lovely shopping centre called Sunshine city and the Daiso shop.

We met up in town and had lunch at a Yakinuki place in Shinjuku. You barbecued your meat and vegetables at the table.

We then waited to see Godzilla ( a big gorilla on top of a building) but it was in the daylight so not so exciting. At night, his eyes and ears shoot out flames!and I think that was it.

Our trip to Japan

Time does fly when you are having fun! The holiday to Japan went so quickly - and we did so many things that I forgot to do a ‘blog’.

We arrived in Tokyo in the evening so it was straight off to bed really. Next morning, we had breakfast in our lovely apartment and found our local Starbucks for our daily coffees and Matcha frappes. What a life! Our first outing was at the Noodle Museum in Yokohama . We all decorated a noodle cup which was filled with noodle ingredients - designer 2-minute noodles. After doing that, Annie, Ella and I made ramen noodles. We came away with enough noodles for the week. After that, we went off to meet Tony, Benji, Daniel and Paul at the baseball - pretty exciting as usual.

Osaka and home

Local train down to Osaka where we checked into another Airbnb house. Great location in the middle of where we needed to be hadn’t really planned to much ahead for Osaka so we made it up as we went along. First stop was Umeda station which is an enormous series of underground shops and pathways that connects a whole area under Osaka. Jun and Sara refer to it as Umeda Dungeon.  We went up the Umeda tower building for a look. Top of it has these cool escalators that from the ground give the impression of chopsticks in a bowl. After this is was off to the Lion temple which obviously has a proper name that I forgot.  Then wandered up through DenDen Town but got lost and found the shinsekai neighbourhood instead with its interesting version of the Eiffel Tower.  Got our north and south right and eventually found DenDen town via the big kitchen street area. It hit dinner time so we somehow managed to score a table along the canal in Dotobori to watch the spectacle of people there. Osaka is great, it’s got a different charm to the other major centres.

Next day we headed to Universal studios with Jun. Busy day of rides and queues. Had a lot of fun all up. The boys seemed prefer it to Disney. The rides are bigger and it’s themed a bit more grown up.

Off back to Tokyo for our last day before flying out. Stopped past Paul and Maki’s for lunch to say goodbye, we had a terrific stay there and the hospitality was really appreciated. The last afternoon we caught up with a friend of Sam’s and his family. Luckily for us where we were meeting there was an Oktoberfest going on.  Ryan and James decided to cross town on their own instead and check out Harajuku and Shibuya one last time. We found the boys and all headed back to the airport for an early flight the next day. We’ve had a great trip and it was wonderful to be travelling like this again.

Kyoto continues

Righto so after the sketchy bar we had a couple of big days walking where the phone tells me have walked over 22km a day. First day was off to Arashimya bamboo forest area. We wandered the forest and then through some of the parks and gardens above it before heading down to cross the river and climb up the mountain to where the monkey park is. It was a terrific view across Kyoto from there. We then headed off to Nijo-Jo castle for a look at one of the old Shoguns keep. For dinner it was back down to the Pontocho street to find a restaurant. Love this street, Paul told us that they had hidden all the powerlines, the street looks amazing as a result.

Next day was all about temples and shrines we went to Ginkakju, Nansen-ji, Kyomizo-dera and Fushi Inari. I’ll sum it all up by say they all look amazing. The best of the day was the Ginkakaju pavilions gardens then walking along the philosophers path an Kyomizu-dera with its wooden stilted balcony. The path is beautiful and peaceful, I’d imagine during the cherry blossoms season it is more beautiful but probably quite crowded. The old shopping street that leads up to Kyomizu-dera was incredibly crowded but it was a lot of fun. To end the day we found a Yakniku place near home and the boys cooked Fiona and I dinner.

Next morning the rain had set in so we headed back to the market streets around Kyoto and went exploring the streets around Gion. That about wraps up Kyoto for us before we now head to Osaka

Japan.. continued

The pace hasn’t slowed. Headed out to Naka-Meguro for a walk around the canals. Sara took us to the Starbucks Roastery for lunch. Despite a bit of trepidation from the coffee snob in me they had this whiskey barrel aged coffee bean made into a black ice coffee that was fantastic. Unfortunately that’s the only place you can buy it in Japan. After lunch there Paul took the boys off to Akihabara while Fiona and I went on our own adventure to Yamaha Ginza. There was a shop there that sold these terrific canvas tool bags I was after. The whole area was a really interesting market street filled vintage, handcraft and food shops. We then headed back to catch up with Paul and the boys.

Akihabara is nuts. Way bigger and busier than I remembered. Loads of interesting characters wandering around. Paul left us there and we all took off to Shinjuku. We wandered around the Kabuki cho area and found a hotel with Godzillas head sticking out the top of it. We then headed across to the Tokyo Metropolitan tower to go to the observation level for a view across Tokyo. Then finally home after getting lost in Shinjuku station, which is more than a right of passage. Seems to be something I do every time I’m here even Google Maps says your on your own here fella

Next it was on the Shinkansen and off to Tokyo. Checked into what is a fairly traditional style family house and promptly bumped my head. Had a fairly quiet day wandering down Nishiki food market street. The boys headed back home to relax so Fiona and I headed to Pontocho which is a traditional and I guess ancient street in Kyoto. We found a great place for a beer called the beer bar. The sign outside promised it wasn’t sketchy . They lied, it was proper sketchy and we loved it. Headed home and took the boys out for Mos Burger which they had been looking forward too.

That’s enough for now

Busy start to our Japan

First couple of days have been a proper whirlwind since landing a couple of nights ago. First up was a visit to Paul’s office, then off to explore the Imperial gardens. Both quite incredible. Then headed over to Shibuya for some lunch a shop and to show the boys the shibuya scramble crossing. We got a bit of rain at that time so had to quickly scramble to find some 400 yen umbrellas which in typical Japanese fashion are ubiquitous and functional. That night we had tickets to the baseball through which the rain continued but the entertainment and enthusiasm from the crowd was as much fun as ever. Still one of the great sporting experiences you can go too.

Early start the next morning and off to TeamLabs which is a digital and interactive art exhibition. Next stop Ginza for some Ramen and what I thought would be window shopping before heading to Disneyland for the night then Disney Sea the next day. The places are incredible to see, boys had a great time and have forgiven me for going 10 years ago without them

the next day Sara and Jun showed us around Shibuya, Ometasando and Harajuku. We then finished up visiting the Meiji Shrine which sits in the middle of this amazing woodland right next to the busiest part of the city. The place is quite beautiful and peaceful. The day finished with a Terrific dinner at Paul and Maki’s, some sushi and balcony bbq’ing

that’s it for now, more to come later.

The end of the holiday

Not many pictures here. Just thought I should finish off our days on holiday. We started quite early for our return to the UK. These next photos were part of an exposition in through the streets of St Martin - interesting!

It was a bit of a marathon for our return. We caught a bus from the island to La Rochelle where caught a train to Paris. Unfortunately, the Eurostar was delayed 3 hours which meant we didn’t arrive in Brighton till 10.00pm. Still we were up and at it the next morning, Dominic and Tony went off to play golf - Emma and had a 13k walk to Lewes - beautiful walk. We had a delicious meal at a pub.

The next day we relaxed around Brighton including a visit to see Emma’s sister and family. You will remember Sarah, Tony and the two boys, Harry and Oscar.

Sunday, we met up with Paul for a pub lunch and then visited a Prairie Garden - beautiful grass plantings and desert flowers. Dominic drove us back to Romsey where we had tea with Solomon.

Our last 2 days were spent getting ourselves packed and having a last wander into Romsey. Andy drove us to the airport and that was that. Another wonderful holiday!

So now on the island

• We have spent the last week on an island off the west coast of France. We stayed in a beautiful village called St Martin-de-Re. There were about 10 villages on the island, all very pretty with white rendered houses and red tiled roofs. We had a lovely time wandering around St Martin, visiting the other villages, climbing lighthouses, riding bikes (not Dad and me for the last 2), eating crepes and croissants. It was lovely and the weather was great except our last day. It rained all day so we decided to go to La Rochelle to the aquarium as did hundreds of other holidaymakers - I should say Andy and Tony went to the Aquarium with the girls whilst Claire and I walked into the old town of La Rochelle to have a look around. Here is a batch of photos to give you an idea of the villages and the ports. Also St Martin had been a huge fort so it is surrounded by thick walls that you can walk around.

It is fixed

Now so I can add the photos from the Chelsea shops.

A few lay days.

I was going to say we had a quiet time but on Sunday Claire and I took the train to London and stayed the night. The weather was beautiful - the best weather we have had in the UK. We dropped our bags at the hotel then went to Marylebone, shopped a little, had lunch at one of the Ottolenghi cafes - such delicious food - After the shop, we wandered across town through St James Park - such a beautiful park - to Westminster Abbey. We planned to attend Evensong but were much too late so we were sent off to St Margaret’s church next door for the Evening Service. Interesting in that their service was almost exactly the same as the Catholic Church - even had a female Joe Palisi to keep us all in order!

Feeling virtuous, off we went to Raffles in the Old War Office (OWO) to have a drink and snack for tea. An old building turned into a hotel. We then retired for the night.

Monday morning, we walked back across London to the V and A museum to see an exhibition of photos belonging to Elton John and David Furnish - hundreds of them and interesting, to say the least.

A bit more wandering through the streets of London before we took the train to Romsey.

Andy, the girls and Tony had a gardening day Sunday and a game of Crazy Golf - the girls won - equal firsts.

On Monday, Tony met Dominic met at a golf course at Richmond for a game - Riversdale has reciprocal rights with the club. Very nice course.

And that is that. Thursday Tony and I are going to France to meet up with Claire, Andy and the girls on an island called Il de Re. We are staying in a house there for 6 nights. Looking forward to it. Should be very relaxing as there is not a lot to and I think the weather is going to be ok.

No photos as I have taken so many photos on walks through London I thought I would give it a rest. There was one opportunity for a video as we were walking through the gardens and along the Mall, the King’s guards were practicing for the Trooping of the Colour which is a big marching thing they do every year. I did take a video but not very good - my arms aren’t long enough to be able to hold the camera high enough above the other heads. Claire has sent me her video - Claire has long arms. I am not sure whether videos work on the blog.

Sorry but I just found this message - I thought I had sent it. Also I also found some photos of the decorations around the shops in Chelsea. It was all part of Chelsea Flower Show which is really big deal here. The English do love a pageant.

And I can’t seem to load photos today. Hopefully it is just an aberration.

Last day in Switzerland

Our last day was on another panoramic train - Golden Pass Express - and this time, it was in the Special class with heated and raised leather seats. Very comfortable! The train ran down the middle of the country from Interlaken to Montreux. And again it was a magnificent trip. We changed ant Montreux and went on to Lausanne where we stayed in a very nice hotel for the night. After a walk around the town and a snack at the hotel, we very happily retired for the night. Next morning, after breakfast, we caught the train to Paris, the Eurostar to London and then the train to Romsey. We were glad to be back in the UK. It was a wonderful trip in Switzerland. So scenic - and I am going to have a quick whinge here about the cost of a coffee - $10 eeek!! And not as good as ours!!

Well, that’s Switzerland done. I must apologise for the spelling mistakes - obviously, my proofreading is non- existent as it shows. I do pride myself on my spelling too.

Side trip to Bern.

We have studied weather reports all along the way and found they are not always accurate but we keep on doing it. So yesterday after looking at the Swiss weather app, we decided it was going to rain most of the day in Lauterbrunnen so we would catch the train to Bern - capital of Switzerland - that might be a surprise to some. It was an hour and half from Lauterbrunnen so not a hard trip. It is a nice old city with the usual old town area and covered arcades through the very long Main Street - to provide shelter for shoppers. I had the usual Rick Steve’s walking tour to follow which I did as usual. I do love a tour and he always provides a bit of history and stories which gives a it all a bit of context m, such as why Bern is the capital - the city had the most money and could afford to build the public buildings

There were lots of fountains in the streets - it is an indication of wealth??

Some pictures. First the mascot of Bern then the fountains.

Above is a fountain that dances.

Below is the outside of the house where we stayed for 3 nights - it is very typical of Swiss houses in the country. I think they have pretty strict town pkannning in Switzerland.

At the end of the day, we tacked on another little trip. We caught the train back to interlaken Ost and noticed we could take a train to Grindelwaldwald, a town on the other side of the mountain. The town is very pretty like a chocolate box but very touristy with expensive shops but totally pretty all around. We wandered around for a while then went back to where we belonged in Lauterbrunnen.

A day in the mountains

Our first day in the mountains was marvellous. The weather was so pleasant. Sun shining, shining. We went for a walk from Lauterbrunnen to Schekelberg to catch the gondola up to a mountain top village , had some lunch and a look around then caught another gondola to another village which was very old and more authentic than most. We then gondolad back to where we came from and caught a bus back to Lauterbrunnen.

Some pictures but I don’t think my photos do it justice - the magnificence of the mountains, the colours, the green - everything is a shade of green.

This house was built in 1628?

The grey rocks are a bit scary.

The Swiss provide toilets everywhere. I have never seen so many signs for public toilets in any city. The city government pays local bars to let the public use their WCs - there is a particular sign in the window to show this. Interesting an and I read this my Rick Steve’s travel book so must be true.

Lots of wooden troughs in the villages.

And I think this is the highest mountain in the region - the Jungfrau - 11333 ft - pretty big.

Riding on a train.

And this is why we came to Switzerland! It really was a great train ride from the start and it lasted 6 hours. I will just put in some pictures and hope you get the picture.

Actually ,the start was a bit iffy as it was raining but it cleared up, thank goodness. You can see the cloud - I was going to say low cloud but we were actually pretty high.

Tony looking First class!

And this where we are at the top of the Oberalpen Pass. Quite eerie.

And this is where we are staying now. It is Lauterbrunnen. The first photo is the station, the next is the front of the studio apartment we are in and the next is the view from our balcony - amazing view. You can see the waterfall which is just up the road.

Skiing at St Moritz

Well, not us! Not much snow on the ground there. We had one night there as we had planned to take the Glacier Express train from there, the official starting point. We arrive around 12.00, checked in - very nice hotel - had some lunch then went for a walk around the lake. Very pretty walk and pretty quiet. Shops weren’t open Sunday so nobody much in the town - very expensive shopping. We got up early as the train left at 7.02am. The hotel had mad us a lunch box as were leaving before breakfast which was pretty obliging.

Some pictures of the lake and town.

I think the workers lived in these flat- roofed modern places.

Snow on the ground.

Where the rich people lived. The houses in the main part of town were very ornate, often with stencilling painted on their homes.

Now off to the train!

Lovely Luzern!

Very pretty town with a beautiful lake, interesting buildings and warm weather. It is still quiet in the town as it is not summer yet but there were many, many people. I think it might be a bit too busy in the proper season. We were in an apartment about 20 minutes walk out of town, one house back from the lake. We could all the way around the waters edge - magnificent. We had a city card which gave us free travel on buses and trains so we were able to catch a bus in and out of town and the bus stop was only 2 minutes away.

We were there for 2 days and 3 nights so mostly stayed in town. First afternoon, we went for a boat cruise. Next day, we took the city tourist train around town, had fondue for lunch, took a funicular ride up to a posh hotel and did a bit of walking through the streets of the old town.

Next day, we checked out a couple of sights, had lunch in a nice cafe looking out on the lake, went to visit a fortress from WW11 set in a mountain out of town. Interesting, you could say. More walking through the town. And so the pictures - a bit random - no photos of the fortress!

These are real swans! Below, they are not real mushrooms

And that is Luzern, folks. It was an amazing place. So picturesque. The first day was a bit misty and the mountains couldn’t be seen but next day was very clear and you could see the snow against the blue sky. Stunning. So now on to St Moritz at 7.35am. Our trains are always very early - no wasting time lying about in bed!