009 Ireland Part 1

Ireland;
Dublin - Glendalough - Kilkenny
Our journey started Victoria station trying to work out how we convert our internet booking into a real ticket. When we eventually find the right machine everything works well. How do international (Non-English speaking) travellers cope?
We're a bit concerned that our carry on luggage is 1cm wider than the allowance. We are travelling Ryan Air and have heard they are strict - well they aren't. Sailed on, no issues.
Picked up the hire car and the Hertz guy tried to constantly upsell us, to the point of being annoying. Turned out they didn't have the standard size car we had ordered and he was trying to avoid upgrading us for free (He obviously hasn't met Frank before :))
Of note: You need a GPS, very few street signs and most are hidden!

I disappointed myself in that it had never crossed my mind that a different language is spoken in Ireland.

Dublin is not for sight seeing, it is for partying. You can easily complete a pub-crawl of more than 12 pubs without leaving the Temple Bar. Unfortunately Dublin almost exclusively caters to the Hen's night/ Stag Night clientele and the inner hotels reflect their clientele. However the Guinness more that makes up for it. It is served at two temperatures - you can have it at the same temperature it would be served in Australia or you can have it at the proper temperature :) 

We didn't know it at the time but we would see the sun every day. Sun, Guinness, what more can you wish for?

Trinity College, where we viewed the book of Kells 

The history is amazing and so much of it is such good condition. I love the churches and the graveyards. What hits you, as you read the graves though, is how many died young. We visited Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patricks, where the choir were practising. 

While it was sunny every day, the wind was seriously icy, so we bought Guinness hats; not that flattering but when you are that cold you don't care.

When in Kilkenny ....

but I was more partial to Murphy's

007 Japan in detail

For those who like detail :)

There was a great deal to observe in Japan, as the culture is very different to ours. There were also some things we learnt that may be of use to you if you decide to travel there.

Observations:

• There is a very large population, so be prepared for streets to resemble Melbourne during Christmas Shopping period :)
• Toilet paper "squares" are twice as big as ours!
• Toilets are available everywhere and 90% are European style. They are always clean and free. Only once was there a need to purchase toilet 'tissues'
• Even the majority of pubic toilets have the bidet/spray option; and the water is always body temperature, so no surprises :)
• Most underground railway ticket machines have a button to change the language to English as do many of the ATMs. ATMs associated with a Post Office seem easiest to use.
• The majority of staff at the railway speak English
• ALL food is top quality. Strawberries were individually wrapped.
• Young women often sing as they walk along
• There is piped bird singing in many of the stations
• Loudspeaker announcements are preceded by Disney like music. Was sweet at first and then felt a bit Orwellian. The notification sound to cross the road was often a cuckoo noise.
• No graffiti
• People do not use their phones on public transport
• You feel incredibly safe al all times 
• There isn't much that is actually old. As most things were built with wood they burnt down at sometime. Majority of buildings are under 100 years old.
• The Japanese love to picnic; they sit on uniform blue tarpaulin in parks; even when it's freezing.
• If you thought Melbourne had a lot of cafes, there has to be double the amount here.
• Bread is sold in packets of 3,5 or 9 slices
• You need to be fit, there are a great number of stairs to be navigated. You also need to take time to decide which exit you will take from the underground. You can walk miles and end up in entirely the wrong place.
• Train travel is cheap and efficient but in Tokyo quite confusing as there are over 7 companies, so choosing the right line is challenging. We were told even the locals carry a map.
• How can 128m people live so harmoniously? No car honking, No barging. Little noise.
• Get on a bus in the middle, exit and pay at the front.
• Bathroom mirrors are heated, so they don't fog up
• Women rarely wear jewellery

Things to consider:

• If you are selecting a hotel for the gym/pool check cost. At our first venue it was $40 per day.
• A room is not always the one shown on the internet. Hotels often show their best room rather than the one being offered (this is turning out to be true for most countries)
• Take your own pillow. Pillows often had just polystyrene balls and were hard and heavy.
• Don't buy duty free. Booze, especially spirits, are very cheap.
• If you prefer an apartment to a hotel there are lots of places to pick up pre-prepared food.
• Each temple is different. The attraction is manly the grounds, so if you have limited time, just pick the big ones.
• Looking for a cheap place to eat? Look for where there are mainly single young men inside. You walk in, select you food from a machine, displaying pictures of the food and pay your money. Then you are escorted to your table and the food arrives pretty rapidly after that - all freshly cooked. Mainly vegetables and noodles. Meat is more expensive but is on the menu.
• If you want to visit the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, book online before you go. It gets full quickly and even if people don't turn up they won't let you in. On the day we were there only 30 people actually turned up.
• It is OK to walk out of a restaurant if you can't work out what to eat. While we were adventurous, we did draw the line at uncooked horse meat, chicken necks  and cod guts!
• If you stand still long enough looking at a map, someone will stop and help you

What we saw/visited:
Osaka: Sitennoji temple & garden, Osaka Castle, Dotombori shopping area, Umeda Floating Garden, Kuromon Ichiba fish market, Sumiyoshi Tanisha shrine, Hankai tram, Tanoji, Kaitashinchi
Kyoto: Noji Castle, Gion, Maruyama Park, Kyoto Tower, Kinkauji temple, Ginkakuji temple, Kiyomizu temple, Inari temple, Imperial Palace grounds
Tokyo: Asakusa market, Tokyo Tower, Ginza, Tsukigi fish market, Costume museum, Hamarikuyu gardens

In conclusion:
We loved Osaka and Kyoto but Tokyo seemed soulless

008 London Part 1

We loved being tourists in London. While we've visited London many times before, it has always been for a specific purpose. It has been wonderful just being a tourist and going with the flow.

Tried to get into the Tardis, but no one seemed to be home

Iconic Big Ben

Went on the London eye. So well done. The guys in Melbourne can learn a thing or two from this.

On our way to Westminster Abbey came across a closed off section where they were filming a period piece.

While we intended to go into Westminster at 18euro ($27) each for entry seemed wrong.

Greenwich was just amazing. The park was just so impressive. The village was so well kept and so lovely. Can't believe the weather.

Just iconic :)



So it is from London to Dublin next. We've been staying in Earls Court (but never met a single Aussie!). The location is perfect, so we've booked the same hotel for when we return.

006 Tokyo

It is very interesting to understand when and if Tokyo became the capital of Japan. Just realised that Tokyo & Kyoto have the same letters :)

A girl can never get enough cake! This shop was a surprise because the Japanese food we have experienced has not been sweet. In fact when I had a bottle of iced green tea - it was just that. It was then I realised just how much sugar we add to everything,

The Shinkenshan train is amazing. As it passes the air doesn't move. Very efficient.

We have been so lucky with the weather and managed to get good views of Mt. Fuji.

Went up the Tokyo Tower around sunset. We were told the haze was Spring mist. Is this similar to Scotch mist? 

It was 21 degrees C.

Another wedding.

 

Tokyo isn't really for tourists, it is for shoppers. We found it a bit disappointing. The underground was seriously challenging as there are over 7 providers and we had to keep changing lines. Believe me you can walk a long long way underground between the different companies. Picking the right exit was also challenging and we often found ourselves quite some distance from where we thought. So glad we are fairly fit as there are endless stairs to climb. 

We went to Ginza, the first and only tourist trap we experienced in Japan.

 

All in all we loved Japan. The people are friendly and happy. It is safe, clean and extraordinarily well run. You could find good cheap places to eat with all food of the highest quality. Most prices were comparable with Melbourne. However entry prices to tourist attractions were mainly very inexpensive as was most of the travel we experienced.

005 Kyoto

Gion was the only tourist trap we came across and even then it was only the food prices. One of the few places with old buildings that are not replicas. 

There are several 'special' cherry trees and the evening 'light shows' were wonderful

Kyoto is definitely the temple city. It was our favourite place. The Japanese do everything so well. This is the entrance ticket - it was beautiful in it's own right.

The majority of the major river banks are lined with Cherry Trees. When you walk amongst them it is tranquil.

Our only sighting of a Geisha. (you have to zoom in to actually see her 

As this is a festival many Japanese don traditional outfits. Men as well as women. They look fantastic. Their hair is very ornate. There was a noticeable amount of giggling going on.  

Never found out why but many of the little stone statues have bibs.

 

One thing to note - if you don't like steps stay away from Kyoto! My calves were killing me.

We discovered a chain of restaurants where you order from a machine with photos, as you entered the door - made eating more predicable :) although most places have English menus - if you ask. We did leave one restaurant when we couldn't face anything on the menu, which included uncooked horse meat, cod gut & chicken neck.



Tokyo is next

004 Osaka

4,500 Cherry trees, in just the Osaka castle grounds leads to many romantic moments. We were lucky to witness 2 weddings - a western one and a traditional one (that was amazing - we watched for nearly 1/2 hour!)
Cherry blossom is kind of luminous and during the day when you walk under them the light is amazing - not sure how to describe it but similar to the light when you are standing on fresh snow.
In the evening the light shows start.
First day was very hot but it has been cold since then with flurries of showers.
I think the thing that stands out is the calmness of the people - no car horns or aggressive behaviour anywhere.
Entry fees are amazingly cheap - between $3 - $7. Food prices and shopping similar prices to home.

003 One small step for man one giant step for Ruth & Frank

Monday 1st April and Tuesday 2nd.
So it was 20 degrees overnight. On any normal evening sleep would be difficult but add to that the knowledge you just cannot sleep past your alarm and the result is you don't sleep. So at 4:10am we are up 5 minutes before our alarm is due to go off.
We are 5 mins into our journey and I ask "so you do have the passport?". Result? We screech to a halt. Panic ensues. In moving where did we put them? We turn around. I say that last place I saw them was in the travel pouch. We screech to a halt. We find the pouch and there they are. So we turn around and this time we really are off on our adventure of a lifetime.

Tip: if you don't like screaming kids, book your seats at the back of the airplane where they don't seem to put them.
We were just behind business class and we were surrounded. One screamed continually for 20 mins - no exaggeration.

On arrival we easily navigated the train system. Clean, efficient and the platform staff speak English.

The hotel is wonderful and located near the Osaka castle. We walked for several hours and watch the young people having picnics under the cherry blossom trees (which are exquisite and in full bloom - we are very lucky).  We were approached by a young man selling cookies. So our evening meal was a cookie and a beer - life is kind :)