England - Home base in Bershire and wiith wonderful family in Doncaster

Great Godson Alex talks tactics with batting partner to bring the team to VICTORY!!!  'at's my boy!

Proud Mum at daughter's graduation\

Chloe and class of 2010 graduate from St Pieran's - hope the Abbey is wonderful now Chloe

Nes, Andrew, Haz, Chloe & Archie (faithful hound) at the local cricket gound watching Alex

Paris

PARIS
Paris was wonderful, even if we were sick after picking up backpacker cold germs in the hostel in Barcleona. Michel and Amanda made it special for us - thanks guys. Enjo and Stephan our hosts at Maison Zen were also great. I highly recommend Maison Zen as a place to stay if you go to Paris.

L'Arc de Triumph

Notre Dame

On the Open Top Tour bus

Inside the Louvre - we were both drugged up on cold tablets - but we did it -we got to the Louvre!

You all know what this is - the difference is - IT IS MY PHOTO of the Eiffel Tower - I waz there!

..see here's proof

Mel in Napolean's Apartment in the Louvre - wow what a pad - decadence to the max!

The gorgeous Parisian/Aussie couple and our wonderful new friends Michel and Amanda (stay in touch you two we owe you a 'BBQ'!). If you ever visit Paris (especially my business travelling friends) go to Michel's restaurant Cafe Biblioteque (right next to the NationalL ibrary). It is wonderful, modern cuisine, very chic and of course Michel and his staff are fablulous.

Michel and I at Chatelet, Montmartre, Paris

                                Amanda - Amazing Radio France Journalist and Fantastique French/Aussie interpreter

Jardin Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin- Prime Minister of Israel in 70s and  Nobel Peace Prize Winner with Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres once owned this magnificent garden in Bercy (12th Arrondisement) in Paris. It is the most beautiful garden (acres of it) in the middle of a city and once all te grapes from around Paris were sent by train here to be made into wine - you can still see the train tracks although the vegetation is growing over them now. Rabin dedicated his life to making peace which is why the garden is serene to the extreme. There are several bridges, waterworks and top notch landscaping making it one of the most tranquil places in Paris.

Outside the Louvre

Egyptian Obilisk transported to Paris in the 18th Century (...I think ...) Amazing there is anything left in Egypt...they gave half away and the Romans seemed to steal the rest!

Mum I want to try snails - you order themI will try them - (after one) YUK! Mum you eat the snails I am having pasta!

Jardin Rabin

Moi Jardin Rabin

Le Bus - good way to see the city, but Paris did was not as good on it's service as Barcelona or Rome. The main route has buses every 10 mis but the two adjoining routes are only every 20 mins and finish at 6pm. This left us one minute short of getting into the Catacombs which close at 4pm and stuck at the Louvre without transport to get home. BUT we used the good old Paris cycle system, which is pretty good. Comparitively Dublin was cheaper for bike hire, but still great to have the access to the bikes to get around Paris.

Champes Elysees

Hercules in the Louvre

Michel and Amanda Vespering off...

Academie Nationale de Musique

Fountain at Place de la Concorde

Cookie and Bikky store in Bercy - soo YUM - we NEEDED a fix of english movie (saw Inception at Bercy Theatre) and ate yum yums

A building that Napolean wanted to be a Library or Museum or Opera House...it became a church

Looking up through the Louvre roof

National Military HQ

Japan 1-15 Sept

JAPAN

I did it - I found the Original Donald Duck at Disneyland!

Standard Japanese loo - you gotta be careful when you wake up 'jetlag drunk' to have a tinkle and lean on one of those bottons on the side by accident 'cos it sends jets of water that you never expected! The Japanese are clver they save space everywhere by having the bidet  IN the toilet.

Me and a deer on Meijima Island (near Hiroshima)

We were lucky enough to see a traditional Japanese Wedding couple on Meijimi Island

Teppanyaki Kyoto

At Shibuya Square Tokyo

Mel tying her fortune up for good luck

Kinkakuji - The Golden Pavillion Kyoto

Mel outside Kyoto Train Station with Kyoto Tower behind - about 100m behind the tower was our little Heinbo Ryoken nestled in a back alley with shops and restaurants. A little oasis in a busy city.

Temple entrance Kyoto

5 Pagoda Temple Nara

Giant Buddah in Teample at Nara

Our ryokan at Kyoto (Heinbo)





Feeding deer at Nara - day trip from Kyoto - the deer are sacred and wander the town - they even stop the traffic when they cross the roads.

Another potential career option for Mel after the Great Adventure - one of the American supervisors at DLand suggested she keep up her Japanese and come to work as a Disney Princess when she finishes school as they can only use 'western' faced girls for those parts. What a career option!

Washing hands before going into the Meiji Palace at Harajuku, Tokyo. Meiji was the Japanese Emperor at the turn of the 20th Century (1852-1912) and if I remember rightly the grand father of the current emporer. He brought western influence to Japan and befriended the French (quite amazingly there are signs of French influence everywhere and many French travellers). After he died the people of Japan committed to plant 100,000 trees in the grounds of his Palace, so it is now the most beautiful forest in the middle of a city.

Toystory float and Disney land

Himeji Castle near Osaka - through the "secret tunnel"!

Mel and her mate Deery at Meijimi Island

Mel in the chairlift on the way to the top of Meijima Island

In Adventure Land - Disney Tokyo

Hiroshima - The Dome - The A Bomb exploded 160m from this building. It is the only building remaining after the rebuilding of the city. The people were divided for years as to whether to destroy it or keep it as a reminder of what happens when a nuclear bomb goes off. As painful as it has been for them I am now glad they kept it. If this is what happened to a building imagine what happened to people and all living things. The building is World Heritage listed and has had work done on it to keep it standing in the state it was in 1945.

Children's Peace Shrine Hiroshima - built by and for the parents and the children they lost.

Coming in by ferry to Meijima Island - a 20 min train ride from Hiroshima and a beautiful island.

Disney show



Hiroshima

Lifesize 3D model of what happened to children on Aug 6 1945 when the world's first nuclear bomb was exploded on Hiroshima. This and a display of the remains of children's school uniforms that were peeled off their burnt and dead bodies by their parents left me feeling sick and dizzy.

Himeji Castle under reconstruction when we were there