Back home!
Japan was a wonderful and unexpected jaunt, but the pace of the short trip was hectic and I feel I need another vacation! Have been sleeping off the jetlag and exhaustion the past couple of days.
We covered a fair bit of ground for ten days including Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Takayama, Shirakawa Go and Tokyo with stops at several places enroute. Like most escorted tours, we were taken to a lot of places with little time at each. Not quite my style of travel. But the payoff to putting up with the punishing schedule, was the interaction and bonding with a bunch of wonderful, talented women.
I have loads of images of course, even if I was still not quite familiar with the extra bulk and features of my new camera. Shall take a while to sort them all out. In the meantime here is a silhouette of the same Torii (gate) of the Itsukushima shrine that I said Sayonara with.
The Urge To Wander 
Missed you too and I can’t wait to see your pictures!
Thank you 🙂 The task of sorting those images seems a bit daunting at the moment…shall get to them in time 🙂
A stunning silhouette. So glad you had a wonderful trip and look forward to seeing your photographs.
Thank you Ruth, look forward to sharing the details as well 🙂
Welcome back, Madhu. This is absolutely gorgeous! Can’t wait to see more!
Glad you like it Naomi. Shall post more as soon as I have them sorted. Look forward to catching up with your blog and all my other favourites as well 🙂
Welcome back Madhu :)! You were missed
Likewise Boomie. Look forward to some fun wordplay over at your site 🙂
Hooray there you are! If this is an example of what you have seen I’m really looking forward to more!
You are generous as always Gilly 🙂 I often wondered whether the quality of my images merited the lugging around of the heavier gadget. I do not – yet – see such a vast improvement. Not the fault of the camera though 😀
Looking forwad to hearing all about it and seeing more photos. This one is lovely.
Thank you Kathryn 🙂 Shall post more soon.
I was wondering where you were! Now I know 🙂 Waiting for more 🙂
You must have missed the Sayonara 😀
Oh… yes I did miss that one!! I just saw it… But that’s not all I missed… 🙂 Welcome back 🙂
All agog to see and hear more, Madhu. I know exactly what you mean as it took forever to get my head round the Porto photos. We’ll wait patiently.
Can’t wait to see your Porto photos too Jo. Appreciate the patience 🙂
Missed you too, Madhu – and if this is the standard of photos we can expect, we are in for a real treat 🙂
Happy to hear that Marianne! And hope my photos don’t disappoint 🙂
welcome back Madhu! Yes, Japan and its colture is absolutely stunning… I agree…
tks for the beautiful pictures
have a lovely weekend :-)claudine
Thank you for stopping by Claudine 🙂
Glad to know you’re back, Madhu! Japan must have been so beautiful this time of year. I was recently in Indonesia (travelling with Bama) for all of four days, and it just wasn’t enough time! Hope you’re all rested by now. 🙂
We shall both just have to return shan’t we? 🙂
Enjoyed your posts on your visit very much.
Looking forward to seeing all your pics
Thank you. You might get more than you bargained for in the coming weeks 🙂
Beautiful photo. You have been missed. Glad you are safely home. Looking forward to seeing your photos.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Nice to know Francine 🙂 Thank you.
Wow! Sounds like a whirlwind. I can’t wait to hear the details.
Yeah, that about describes it!! Shall post some pretty soon 🙂
your beautiful posts and equally-beautiful spirit have been missed! welcome back!
the image is lovely!
z
Ah, that is so sweet of you Lisa! Missed you too 🙂
Lovely shot!
Thank you Jennifer 🙂
Welcome back… and glad to see you back on track. 😉
Happy to be back Eliz! Missed my daily dose of the blogospeher 🙂
Those whirlwind tours can be overwhelming. Glad you had a great time and welcome back. Looking forward to your Japan posts 🙂
A couple more days would have eased things a bit, but I realise one size does not fit all and people have all kinds of constraints. Look forward to seeing you here Judy 🙂
The photo is utterly lovely! Yey! I see another Freshly Pressed post in your future. Welcome back (to the blog world, at least for us here in the web). 🙂
You are generous and kind as always Imelda 🙂 Missed you too!
Spectacular!!! I love it. Thanks for sharing!
Thank YOU for stopping by to see it 🙂 Miyajima is even more beautiful in reality!
Lovely photo – I look forward to seeing lots more (though I do feel for you, the task of sorting through huge amounts of photos after a trip is always daunting!)
Thank you Lucy. Yes that and the catching up with the blog reading and comments after the break! Always overwhelming 🙂
Lovely photo to start with, Madu. I’ve missed your posts, and can’t wait for what’s coming. An escorted tour can be daunting to deal with the schedule, but there is the upside of hitting places you don’t have to look for on your own, as well as the friendship of the group you’re with.
Thank you Angeline. Yes, I guess there always pros and cons. The company is the best part though.
Beautiful photo! Welcome back!
Thank you. Delighted to be back DJ 🙂
Welcome back, Madhu. Love your photo. What type of camera do you use? (I’m polling photographers as I’m planning to get a new one.)
I went through that phase and am not sure yet whether I made the right choice. My main camera was a Nikon 5100 with an 18-200 lens. This image though was shot with my trusty point and shoot – a Nikon Coolpix – that has done well by me all these years!!
Hey Madhu … welcome back to the blogosphere! Your warm, friendly presence has been missed!
Ah, that is nice to know Stephen! Thank you very much 🙂
Great to see you back here again, Madhu. 🙂 Love your silhouette pic, and look forward to seeing some more of your travel photos once you’re back to normal.
Thank you AD 🙂
A beautiful silhouette… 🙂
Thank you LeDrake 🙂
Welcome back, Madhu! Such a poetic photo — an introduction of your vacation, perhaps.
Thanks Amy. I borrowed a photo of that gate for my farewell post, so thought I’d post one of my own to mark my return. Glad you like it 🙂
Can’t wait to see your images! Welcome back.
Thank you so much Ruth 🙂
Gorgeous silhouette shot. We were just speaking to some friends last evening about traveling to Japan and I’m ready to pack my bags. Can’t wait to read more about it in your upcoming posts.
Thank you LuAnn. You will love Japan! Shall post more images in the coming weeks.
Welcome home! You were missed~Elisa
Thank you! Missed you too Elisa 🙂
Gorgeous, Madhu … and so good to have you back! Looking forward to lots and lots of Japan pix – i’ve never been – and your usual lively and informative posts 🙂
Thank you Meredith. You are about to have Japan coming out of your ears 😀
Bring it on!
This is such a lovely, peaceful shot! Beautiful, Madhu!
Thank you TRS 🙂
Welcome back! Look forward to more photos of that beautiful country.
Take care
Glad to be back Adwoa 🙂 The catching up is taking time though. I will be off again on the first of December!
gorgeous Madhu
Thank you Mezza. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Hiroshima Prefecture! Some of my ancestors were from Hiroshima. I’ve worked in Japan a few times (Osaka area) and I love the country.
Welcome back and I’m looking forward to seeing postings from your Japan trip.
That is where you inherit your creative side from I guess! Do you speak Japanese fluently?
Lately I keep seeing the pic of this gate in the water…and now I know where it is!! That’s amazing!! Thank you!!! 😀
Cannot wait until you begin posting photos and your account, Madhu.
Just the post name, Tadaima! made me nostalgic.
In another life I KNOW I was Japanese.
WEEEEEEI A BIG WELCOME BACK!
Ahihihi …. I’m still catching up on your old blog posts and your new blog posts. I’ll catch up in time … hopefully. I don’t want a single blogpost. 😉 I’m fanatic, I know.
You know how I have practiced a tuck and roll style of traveling. 😉
Beautiful, Madhu!!! Welcome back! I’m doing “blogkeeping” too!