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Author: awaywiththebirds

  • James’ and Sara’s Excellent Antarctica Adventure

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Days 2-3: The cruise begins…. The remainder of the travel to the Scenic Eclipse does not rate a mention because it was so uneventful! In Buenos Aires our only outing was to return to the fantastic meat restaurant we had visited in 2016, El Mirasol, and indulge in 1000 gms of baby beef ( enough…

  • James and Sara’s Excellent Antarctic Adventure

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Day 1: Travelling…. Day 1 of the excellent Antarctic adventure was not so excellent….. Arrived at airport on Tuesday morning Feb 14 to board a LATAM flight to Buenos Aires via Auckland. Took ages to check in and plane was delayed by about an hour, however it finally took off to Auckland.  As we reached…

  • James’ and Sara’s Excellent Antarctica Adventure

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Day 0: Sydney with 1 sleep to go Antarctica 2023 Well it’s been a 2-and-a-half year wait to get to this holiday, so it had better be good. We are arriving a few days ahead of when the Antarctica adventure actually begins in case of any delays in arriving. I must have known that Auckland…

  • Japan 2022 Day Last

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Day Last: Tokyo Well, today we all did our own thing so here’s a collection of our sights and sounds. Here’s what you can buy if you have a spare 15,000,000 yen….a Lexus LC 500. James is trying it out. Some sights from teamLab Planets Tokyo… a very unusual immersive experience Also saw some immersive…

  • Japan 2022 Day 11

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Day 11: Tokyo Post script to yesterdays blog…..Sammy, the bus we were referring to was our coach, not a normal public transport bus. The day started with a visit to Kappa bashai street, a street where you can buy anything kitchen related, from knives and bowls to the plastic food which Japanese restaurants display as…

  • Japan 2022 Day 10

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Day 10: Kamikochi to Tokyo Robyn wanted to reassure us that we return home, we can come to her place to get some Japanese vibes We got a VIP sendoff when we left Kamikochi with all the staff lined up to farewell us (there is no shortage of staff here!) The road to Matsumoto was…

  • Japan 2022 Day 9

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Day 9: Kamikochi Spent a large part of the day walking alongside the river, and through the forests of Kamikochi. The Kappa-bashi bridge is an iconic symbol of Kamikochi. Originally a drawbridge it was rebuilt in 1910 as a suspension bridge. The present bridge, which was completed in 1997, is the fifth generation of this…

  • Japan 2022 Special food edition

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Special edition: Japanese food By Sally Cohen ( who happens to be a great cook) In Japan they eat seasonally so at our special Azusa kaiseki dinner we had chestnuts and ayu (a river fish) which are eaten in autumn, as well as sea eel, sashimi, steak, buckwheat (soba) noodles, mushroom rice and a special…

  • Japan 2022 Special other edition

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Special edition: other interesting stuff By various authors, Phil, Sally, Les and Sara Music use in Japan The Imperial Hotel in Tokyo has a bath which automatically fills and when it is filled, it plays ”Ode to Joy” to let you know that its ready. Shrine etiquette When one decides to make a donation to…

  • Japan 2022 Special onsen edition

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    awaywiththebirds
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    Special edition: A beginner’s guide to Japanese onsens By Julie Reeves, from onsen virgin to onsen native The Japanese love their onsens and partake of the spring waters often. But as novices there is etiquette that we must observe.  1. You should change into the hotel- supplied onsen outfit before entering the onsen. This can be…