I'd love to be on a motorbike!
Driving around the mountain roads, such beautiful views
What are Microsoft saying with this ad?
"We mark all your email as spam, so you don't have to waste time reading it."
Tux and Quake III
Suppose there's no denying where my allegiance lay prior to my first Mac. Tux guarding my favourite game of the time.
Cool Nokias from the past
Found two of my old Nokia phones in the loft; the 8110 'banana phone' and the 7110 with slide/WAP. They were so cool!
Leeds Castle
Visiting Leeds Castle today. So many people, but the sun keeps popping out.
Palácio National da Pena and the Castelo dos Mouros
Walked around the beautiful Palácio National da Pena this morning, then the Castelo dos Mouros. Relaxing now.
Lisbon’s Mosteiro dos Jerónimos
Visited Lisbon's Mosteiro dos Jerónimos this morning. This is a photo of the cloister. What an amazing building!
220km/h Alfa Pendular
Today we're taking the 220km/h Alfa Pendular train to Lisbon, where we'll spend the next three nights.
An unsuccessful first Portuguese meal
Nowhere opens Sunday. Tried bacalhau (salted cod) at the only place we found.
Porto Castle
Arrived at our hotel in Porto. It's a castle, and we've got a tower suite with 270-degree views! Can see the sea too.
Staying at Le Chateau Japonais
The Toto washlet, with its spray and heated seat, has been very much missed since leaving Japan.
A couple of snowy scenes during today’s heavy snowfall
I particularly liked the image of a man trying to create a seated snow figure on the bench; and the fact that in both photographs, the British flag provides almost all of the colour, in otherwise very white scenes.
Beautiful sunset this evening, with snow on the ground
Dad would have loved it, and been out with his camera.
First meal back in England, a carvery roast dinner
Turkey and beef, two large Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, peas and carrots, and a good smothering of gravy. Delicious!
We went with my family and some friends - ten of us in all - for an £8.50 per person carvery, on the way home from the airport.
Leaving Nagano for Tokyo on the shinkansen
The apartment block smack in the middle of the photo is where we've lived for the last nearly two-and-a-half years. So very strange, and a little sad, to think we will never return to it.
This is what 5590 yen (£38) of sushi looks like
After the strenuous removal activities of yesterday, we ordered take- away from Kurazushi (くら寿司) for an easy dinner tonight. Each two-piece plate of sushi is just 86 yen (60p) on weekdays, so it means there are 130 or so pieces of sushi in this photo! Needless to say, even with six adults we had lots left over, most of which can be safely eaten tomorrow. There are quite a few varieties of fish in there, as well as some meat. One of my favourites is the sukiyaki (すき焼き) - the ones with egg and beef, in the middle of the top-left tray.
Goodbye to our apartment in ハイツ見晴し
No more waking up to fine views like this!
