Today is all about London ♥

I thought I’d take a little break from the France related posts and sneak in a cheeky one about London. Cause what’s not to love about London?!?! (ok-apart from the traffic, crowds and the fact that almost everything comes with a hefty price tag). Even so London has so much to offer and I just love to discover new places each time I go to visit. In all fairness I can say that I have come to know Tokyo a lot better than London (since I lived there) and Tokyo still holds a special place in my heart, but it’s not quite like London.

The Amazing Food that France has to Offer

One post that cannot be missing from the ‘France’ series is the one about food. There is no surprise that the French cuisine is very famous all over the world. Although not to everybody’s taste there is no question that it delivers intricate, extraordinary flavours and uses some of the most complex techniques known to the cooking world. There is no doubt that you can find some of the best restaurants in the world scattered around France and we were pleasantly surprised in our last two trips there, to see an array of offers which made eating out more accessible.

Discovering Grasse

After the not so positive first encounter with the streets of Grasse we decided to give it another go. At the end of the day we were due to spend two weeks there, so it was only fair to try and dig deeper. After (thoroughly) checking the map and after a Google search to find out where the (right kind of) action was taking place, we adventured back out.

A New French Journey - the beginning...

Well it has been just over a year since my last post which also marked my return from the land of sake and sushi. But just because I can no longer report on the intricately amazing Japanese culture from the perspective of a relative ‘local inhabitant’, it doesn’t mean that these petite feet, walking in petite shoes, did not carry me to other new and exciting settings. In this past year several other locations have been added to my otherwise humble portfolio, but this is something I will come back to at a later stage. At this particular moment I would like to make this post about my latest adventure, among the lush green hills of Provence and the glamorous, slightly sandy, promenade in Cannes.

♥ Japan

My stay in Japan is rapidly coming to an end and in less than a month I will be back in the UK. I am sad to go as I still feel that Japan has so much more to offer, but at the same time I am sooooo incredibly excited to see all my friends and family. However one thing I am a little bit treading is the moment when I see everybody and they ask: ‘So, how was Japan?’.

To Kabuki or not to Kabuki.....

In my determination to experience as many Japanese things as possible before going back to the UK and leaving without any regrets (as they say, better regret what you’ve done, not what you haven’t) I was more than happy to accept an invitation from the ladies from my Nihongo Kurabu to go and see a Kabuki play. It doesn’t get more Japanese than watching Kabuki, not only because it is a traditional Japanese play dating back from the 17^th century, which combines a story line with traditional dancing, but also because it displays some amazing traditional Japanese costumes, intricate makeup and of course all the lines are related in Japanese.

Momiji vs Sakura

Momiji (aka autumn leaves) and Sakura (aka cherry blossom) are 2 well known phenomena in the Japanese culture. If you get a chance to speak to any Japanese about nature related things they will tell you that each season has a certain phenomenon related to it that gives them the opportunity to feel more connected with the nature. Spring has the Sakura, summer has the flowers in blooms, autumn the Momiji and winter has the snow (when it happens to snow….if it ever does).