When in Japan...

This is the oldest hotel in the world, founded in the year 705, and still run by the same family: Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan. The hotel in Kyoto has thermal spas, high quality cuisine, karaoke, and it's set in a peaceful wooded area, surrounded by mountains.

Travel adventures

Last Wednesday there was a ladies' lunch at the lake in Treignac for a monthly get together and to give me a jolly send off. 

I started my journey to Spain on Friday and stayed the night in a hotel in Toulouse because the train and flight timetables clashed. I noticed a hairdressing salon opposite the hotel and had the brilliant idea of retouching my roots and having a trim. Three and a half hours later, I emerged looking like a cheap hooker with yellow hair on most of my head, with brown hair at the back. Was I furious? Yes, and didn't have time to correct the total disaster. The family was very nice and said I looked good (ha ha).

Julia, Ana, yours truly and Pili (Julio's wife)
As soon as the local salon opened, I was there like a shot. Now I'm a brunette again.

The journey itself went very well, without any incidents. I received a very warm welcome. I'm staying with my cousin Julia, who's 88 years old, but looks younger than me! She was a stunner when she was young. Julia made a delicious paella on Monday, and keeps feeding me all the time. It's a very Spanish thing... She has a wicked sense of humour and finally conceded that I looked like a hooker with the yellow hair. 

Cousin Josefina, my mom and Julia at a flamenco show. Two of them seem very emotional...

Paella!

We went to see an apartment on Monday afternoon. It's very well equipped, with top of the range appliances and comfortably furnished, with a/c and all that. The only snag is the old fashioned decor, with a lot of gold and horrendous pictures on the wall. The owner used to live there, so I kept quiet, not desiring to offend. I sent the link with photos to Billy and he agreed it looks like a museum, so we decided to call it a tourist attraction. Hey, if I have enough beds,a kitchen and somewhere to sit, the rest is immaterial. The rent is very reasonable for the location, a prime spot in Armilla. The building's entrance is spectacular, with marble floor, many beautiful potted plants and a modern elevator.

All I need to do now is register as a resident, open a bank account, transfer my pension and join the all-free, excellent Spanish health system. Julia's daughter is helping me navigate all the bureaucracy involved in the process. 

It's all very exciting and positive. Hasta la vista, amigos!

[I'm beginning to think in Spanish, a good sign.]

Going places

I've been a bit erratic with the posts lately. My sister Dora and I have been busy trying to organise a trip to India! Dora loves travel and needs a companion, so I've been recruited...

We're doing what is known as the Golden Triangle: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

Delhi:

Agra:

Jaipur:

After doing this touristy bit, we'll be heading to Southern India. We're going to a retreat in Cochin, Kerala, where we'll do yoga and have therapeutic ayurvedic massages.

We could have gone to Australia!

It took us 30 hours to get home, door to door. When we went to Australia it took us only 26! Joking aside, the journey back wasn't as smooth as the journey to Munich. There were some long waits between coaches and trains this time. Then, to make matters worse, our train from Limoges to Uzerche, where our car was parked, was initially delayed for 2 hours, before being cancelled altogether. Apparently it collided with a person on the line. The next train was also delayed and we would have arrived home 3 hours later than originally planned, around 2 am if we were lucky. The other passengers were going to Brive, we were the only ones stopping at Uzerche. A very helpful SNCF employee sprang into action when he found out the second train was still in Paris! He arranged for a minibus to take all seven stranded passengers to their destinations. 

We arrived home at 12:30 am. Pirate was nowhere to be seen, but Pirouette was incredibly happy to see us. We put the heating on and had to wait for the place to reach a bearable temperature before we could go to bed. That's our Munich adventure! I uploaded some pictures taken at the Olympia Park and Nymphenburg Palace.

Pause for cake: 

The grounds of Nymphenburg Palace :

People playing curling, skating or posing on the frozen river:

The wildlife:

The statues are shuttered in the winter:

All in all, it was a very white landscape! 

It was hard to say bye bye to Emilia...

Last day in Munich

We're celebrating Billy's birthday today, then we'll board the coach to Paris later on, at 9 pm. It will be another looong journey... I'll be back blogging on Sunday. 

Emi is a champion at making funny faces, she makes us laugh and drool in equal measure.