Katie and Neil in Bali - a bike ride

Our hotel had bikes for guests to use, and so on the first day there, we decided to get our bearings by venturing out around the local roads. It was so nice to be instantly surrounded by palm trees and paddy fields and to see everyday life going on around us, and the temperature was perfect. 

On our second day, even though a smidgen of saddle sore had kicked in, we signed up to do an organised bike trip where a local guide took us around the surrounding area. We started off with breakfast overlooking the stunning view of Mount Batur and then wove our way down through villages where we saw locals weaving bamboo, many temples, and of course the endlessly luscious paddy fields. It was all topped off with a delicious slap up buffet lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Katie and Neil in Bali - the hotel

After a long flight and a five hour stop over in Hong Kong we finally arrived in Bali at 2.30am. We were lucky to be able to stay in the sister hotel to the one we were supposed to be staying at, as it was closer to the airport. The next day we were driven to Alam Ubud, our hotel, which was beautiful. It was in the middle of nowhere, (about 15 mins drive from Ubud) surrounded by palm trees, jungle and paddy fields and was just what we wanted. We were warmly greeted by the staff, given flower garlands and asked to take our shoes off so that we could soak our feet in a cooling foot bath. 

We were then taken to our room, which was more like a villa, with its own private terrace and spa area below. We were amazed at the noise coming from the jungle in front of us and I could only imagine what weird and wonderful things were making the noises. 

Upon arrival, our feet were immediately plunged into cool water.

A cleansing floral foot bath to wash away the dirt of Tokyo!

We had breakfast every morning overlooking the pool.

The infinity swimming pool looked over the luscious jungle and to the river valley below.

This was our bed. Our view was through the window to the jungle outside.

We had our own private spa area under our room.

This film footage gives a feel for our view as well as for the weird and wonderful sounds we could hear from our room.

Bali hai

Well, we're off on our summer hols tomorrow and I can't wait! Bali is the destination (with lunch in Hong Kong en route) and here's a taster of what we're hoping to see. I'll be back in just over a week, so see you then.

July morality poster

July's morality poster poses a rather unflattering stance. This bloke clearly has no idea of personal space! The caption reads "I'd like to sit too. There should be enough room".....

Peach Heads

My friend's husband was playing with the Peach Heads last night, an Allman Brothers tribute band, so I went along for a quick view and it was a lot of fun. I'm afraid I knew nothing of their music, until a very familiar instrumental came on. It took me ages to work out why I knew it. We finally realised it was the theme tune to Top Gear.....

Amoroso

On friday night a group of us went out to a lovely restaurant called Amoroso, a tiny restaurant with just bar seating. It is owned and run by one man, who also does all the cooking and serving, as well as explaining each dish, and serving a wine appropriate to each dish! You often find these "one man bands" in Tokyo and I find it amazing how they are able to juggle so many things and make it look effortless. It's an evening of entertainment where you get to see how each dish is prepared as well as hear about the ingredients used and where each wine has come from.

As each course was served in front of us, the chef would explain what had gone into each dish.

There were ten of us and he would cook, as well as plate up, each dish.

The dishes were beautifully presented.

At the end of the evening we were each given a cigarillo, personally lit by our host with a blow torch....

Kunitachi

Today I made a little pilgrimage to Kunitachi, a university area which has a lovely, relaxed feel to it. The reason for the pilgrimage was to go to the twice yearly sale at Antique John, a little kimono shop that often has great finds. It proved to be very fruitful and you can see some of my purchases here.

Afterwards, we had lunch at a neighbourhood restaurant sitting at a tiny table. We were served scrumptious tempura and soba, washed down with green tea.

Life is hard....

The weather has been rather gorgeous recently and Tom was making full use of it yesterday. He has found his new favourite place out on the balcony - life is so hard for a cat!

First hibiscus of the year!

A good guage that summer is here is when we get our first hibiscus. Well here it is, although it's looking decidedly like rain is on its way today......

I hate rain

I spied these Banksy-esque images scattered around Shibuya the other day, with the caption "I hate rain". Some are stickers and some are spray painted. I'm presuming they are the work of a local artist. If anyone can shed some light on them, please do!

A beach run

I went for a run along this lovely beach this morning with my friend Sanna and her sweet dog Ethel. It was beautiful and completely empty apart from the odd surfer or cockle-picker, and a perfect getaway from the noise and heat of the city.

Hot Chip and Bloc Party

Yesterday we went to a "music festival" which was interestingly named "Hostess Club Weekender" - not sure why. It was held over two days, but we decided to go to the one on sunday as Hot Chip and Bloc Party were both playing. It was a fab afternoon/evening, despite the hangover.....

Getting wiggy with it

Everyone loves a chance to don a wig and last night was the perfect opportunity as our friends Rachel and Richard hosted a wig party. It seems that everyone made a special trip to Don Quixote to find that special item.....

Leo Sayer and Nana Mouskouri.

The girls.

Our lovely hosts.

Beautiful flowers

We just received these beautiful flowers from mum and dad for our wedding anniversary. What a lovely surprise! Thanks mum/Robyn and dad/John. x

The end of the day

Last night there was a typhoon with strong winds and heavy rain. We woke up this morning to lots of tree and plant debris lining the streets with many locals diligently sweeping up the area around their homes. The strong winds meant that today was a gorgeous clear day with amazing cloud formations and this is the view from our balcony this evening - pretty stunning!

Two years!

Two years ago today, Neil and I were planning for one of the biggest days of our lives - our wedding day! It was held on 18th June 2010 and was such a fab day. We have many happy memories of it all. 

Last night we went out to celebrate our two year anniversary at a gorgeous little restaurant called Le Japon, two minutes walk from where we live. It's an intimate place, simply decorated in blond wood, and using beautiful pottery items sourced from around Japan. You sit at the counter where the chef, Koichiro Nakada who owns the place with his wife, prepares the most amazing set menu. He uses a fusion of French and Japanese food, but only ingredients that are in season, many of which he harvests from his allotment that day. It was the perfect way to celebrate.

Koichiro prepares the food at the counter in front of you, whilst explaining what he's doing.

Corn ice cream - an unexpected combination and beautifully salty!

Pork tenderloin wrapped in cabbage leaves with a pepper sauce - divine!

Black sugar pound cake and brown rice ice cream - scrumptious!

It was all washed down with a crisp, chilled bottle of Marlborough sauvignon blanc.

At the end of the meal, the chef brought us this very sweet anniversary candle. 

Note the words - "Happy Anniversary 2th"!

Rugby at Gaienmae

On sunday, Neil took me to a rugby game where Japan were playing Tonga at the Chichibunomiya stadium. It was a rather small, personal affair compared to Twickenham stadium, which is the only other one I've been to, and rather more subdued. I'm embarrassed to say that I still have no idea what the rules to ruby are, but I still love watching it and Neil was happy to talk me through it. Sadly Japan lost.....