Japan is a bucket list place for me too. I have a thing for Japanese gardens, bonsai and the snowboarding there is next level too by all accounts.
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Really nice change after Tokyo. Stayed at Intergate and went straight to markets for cooked fish and then through one of the Geisha districts where we ate Spanish as you doâŠ.
Next day into the brilliant gardens around the Castle Park and Kenrokeun. Art museum a bit weird. Tried for a beer on the way back at the Jigger Bar St Louis but closed, so into the Samurai area for Gyoza. Perfect with local Lager.
Spent time trying to find a Japan shirt with Endo on the back for my young bloke. No luck so settled for nameless Japan shirt instead. He can add it back in Oz.
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I bought a raccoon penis.
If your next question is why - a lad on the subway said, âHey, bro, you wanna buy a raccoon penis?â, and I said âYepâ.
$6.
Itâs dusty and my cats hate it. Thatâs how you know you got a good one.
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So many questionsâŠbut why is it on top of a picture of Edwin Van Der Saar who has not shaved since leaving united ?
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Whatever you need, boyo.
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Philadelphia Museum of Art rebranded. The new name is The Philadelphia Art Museum. An important distinction.
The new logo speaks to me, for some reason.
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Mods, shouldnât this be in the Breaking News section? 
Flagging this for being off topic.
I went for two trips recently and felt the need to share some rambling thoughts.
The first trip involved a hike in the French part of the Pyrenees and the second was a business trip to Verona. Both were exhausting for contrasting reasonsâŠ
The Pyrenees trip was with a local hiking club and we went as a family as part of a bigger group of 60-80 people. My wife and the kids did climbing for the first day and I choose to go on an intermediate level hike. The hike was about 1200 m in total elevation and about 12 k in total length. It is a hike I would have made fairly easily back in the day but I havenât hiked properly since about 2004. Anyway, I made it around and was thoroughly exhausted at the end of the day. The weather was amazing and the views stunningâŠ
The second trip left me exhausted all all levels⊠Left on Monday with most other colleagues that were travelling and got to Verona via Munich. Then got to the hotel, only to discover that my booking was not made. Of course they were full so I had to make another booking some 5-6 km away from the rest and which was further away still from the site we would be holding the meetings the following two days⊠Feeling tired and a bit dejected after getting to the hotel, I went for a run through the city. The city is wonderful, full of small streets, old houses, a coliseum like ancient ruin and of course the Juliet balcony. Needless to say I ran naked (not literally as any onlookers would have immediately brought up the contents of their last mealâŠ), w/o my phone, and of course got lost a bunch of times - so a planned 4-5 k turned into about a 7-8 k run. This was in the end just what I needed so all good. The meetings themselves were exhausting on a number of levels and as they brought together pretty much the whole pipeline - from discovery to development to manufacturing and filing - having to digest the shear diversity of subjects was quite draining. Of course my presentation was the last one on the following day and so gradually got more and more angsty - but all went well at the end.
The contrasting ways to be exhausted is a thing. But maybe Iâm one of those that could just be exhausted by doing nothingâŠ
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But what a view! Access to mountain lakes and alpine air are one thing I miss about living in Adelaide.
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Just dropped my daughter off at Indianapolis airport. Sheâs going further than Iâve ever been: Indy-Chicago-Hong Kong-Perth. Going to Perth to be a bridesmaid at my nephewâs wedding. Sheâs all checked in and her apprehension is turning to excitement.
I have never been to Australia or the Far East. Need to put that right at some point. Proud of my adventurous daughter. Compared to many of her peers, she is well traveled. She just said she was excited to go to another country where they donât like Trump! Love it.
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Sheâll have a great time. Aussies are very welcoming and hospitable. Theyâre also much more civilised than you would expect, especially if you were basing your judgment on the ones on here.
Iâve never been to WA, but would love to go. Itâs got a lot of good stuff to see. I hope sheâs got some time to enjoy it all.
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We went there for a holiday in 2001. Loved Perth and WA in general. It really is a very long way from anywhere else, though.
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Sheâll be there for about a week and will travel the area a bit and see the sights and so on. Nephew and his fiancĂ© live there, both got their Masterâs in the UK in Geology then got jobs with mining companies in Australia. They really love the life in Western Australia and are close to my daughter, who is excited to be a bridesmaid.
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Are they in Kalgoorlie?
Not sure, just asked. I was under the impression they were in Perth itself, but could be wrong.
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Could be based in Perth and working in Head Office, but more likely FIFO to eithe Kalgoolie (Gold Mines) or up to Port Headland for Iron Ore.
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hahaha
My short time in Australia (5 and a half month) were the best days of my life.
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Your daughter will enjoy Perth. Plenty of space, ( Western Australia is the size of all of Western Europe so lots to see), modern, geographical beauty and mild weather.
Guaranteed she will head to Rottnest Island for a day trip where she will see these weird ass creatures called Quokkaâs.
Personally I like to head a couple of hours South to Margaret River which is one of the countries premier wine regions and surf beaches.
Look forward to hearing about her experience.
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