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    Friday Links

    New York New York! I always thought the best festival in Japan was Okayama’s Naked Man Festival – BUT I’ve just read this and I think I might have to check this one out too… Chinese people are learning how to behave abroad so they don’t shame their country. If you’re in Japan and wonder what it would be like to work for Peaceboat, click here – I have a load of friends that are doing this/ have done this and they all love it! Hilarious idioms from around the world – like having tomatoes on your eyes in German! THIS is what I want for my birthday, take note people!…

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    Allergy Testing

    How much is that doggy in the window? It only hit home when a friend said to me: “You know it’s not normal to be like this every morning?” I call it my ‘morning sickness’ but often it happens throughout the whole day and night. I sniffle. And sneeze. And my eyes are so often itchy, runny and red. The back of my throat will itch like crazy and there’s nothing I can do about it. Occasionally I will cough or have a sore throat, but all this came on so gradually and over so many years that I didn’t realise how badly it was affecting me – I was…

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    Four hours in Brussels

    Mussels in Brussels… I’ve been to Brussels many times now, often with work for EU coverage, but occasionally also for a fun trip to see a friend who lives there. We normally use it as a stepping stone – stay one night and move on to Brugge or Holland. On a recent trip back to Liverpool, the cheapest flight we found was via Brussels. There was a connection at the airport in two hours, or four hours. We thought it was crazy to be in the land of delicious chocolate and not try at least to get some, so we challenged ourselves to do all the exciting things in Brussels…

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    Five Places I want to return to!

    Take me home… I found this really fun blog post idea at www.booked.net – Top Destinations to Go There. Basically, I had to think of five destinations I would like to return to. ONLY FIVE? I have so many favourite places in the world and so many more to discover. It was a hard choice, but here is what I came up with: Paris, France It annoys me immensely that the best Ramen in the whole world is in Paris, but there you go. I would go back in an instant to eat Ramen at Naritake. I want you all to know that I have eaten SO MUCH RAMEN in my life…

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    PicMonkey

    Photoshop me baby! I have been browsing the internet a little bit to find something that makes photos a little more interesting for you all and makes our blog look pretty. I’ve been working on my photography, but if I’m totally honest, the camera is so heavy and I don’t want it to get nicked and and and… so many excuses. When I look at the photos from our camera, I’m shocked at how beautiful they are. So last night I found this really cool (and totally free) website called PicMonkey. It’s so easy to use, even I figured it out with Jason’s help – haha. You put your photo…

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    Friday Links

    Twistin’ the night away… 60 Habits You Formed In Japan That Will Never Work In Your Country.  My friend’s rock video! It was set in my little town when we both lived there and was nice to re-watch and see all the old sights and the people 🙂 Kitchen Surfing – you order a chef to cook for you and your friends at your home – amazing idea – hint hint… Tattoos with a difference! This week a lovely friend of mine had a bike accident and is all black and blue – she is lucky she was wearing a helmet! Hopefully this will help cyclists stay safe! So many…

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    Grüne Woche

    Three little piggies went to market… The best thing I have seen this year so far is a moonwalking ginger pig – yup, you read that correctly – and you can see it too! Last year a friend invited us along to an event whilst regaling tales of cute dogs, chicks and food from every country in the world. With the mention of food, Jason and I were of course ready with our shoes on – haha. I’m feeling lazy and my wrist is hurting a lot these days (sad face) so I’m just going to steal the official introduction of Grüne Woche. Established in 1926, International Green Week is taking place…

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    Making our House a Home

    Our house, in the middle of our street… We have been living in our lovely apartment for 9 months now. I LOVE IT – it’s black, white and red, has wooden floors, a spare room and a record player – literally my dream home right in Berlin. When we moved in it was already furnished and painted, so we got lazy and just kinda left it as it was. Even though we hung up some paintings in the extra room and put up a new shower curtain, that was pretty much it. I’m getting all crafty and plan to make some curtains and make the place a little more ‘us’ and…

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    Ishin – Best Japanese in Berlin?

    Oh I do like to be beside the seaside… As you all know, Jason and I are obsessed with Japan and more than anything else, Japanese food! We have been hunting around Berlin for somewhere good Japanese food and we have had one absolutely horrendous experience and a few good ones. However, there is just one place that we keep going back to called Ishin Restaurant (from the heart). There are 5 dotted all over Berlin, but we go to the one in Mittelstraße as it is near Dussmann where we love to get our cheesecake dessert. In general, it’s impossible to get really delicious fresh fish outside of Japan. However, salmon seems…

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    Wonder Waffel

    Some kind of wonderful… Some of the ladies at work were chatting about the new Mall of Berlin that has opened near Potsdamer Platz. I don’t like shopping or even window shopping, but when someone mentioned the best waffles they have ever eaten, well… you know me well enough by now, I was suddenly interested. Wonder Waffel really was delicious. It’s also a fun experience – you start with an empty waffel and you choose which fruits, toppings, extra toppings and sauce you want. It takes a while to make it, but at the end they even write your name on the plate. All a bit kitsch really, but it was…