Halfway thru my trip, I realised the importance of recognising some basic French.. Esp when it comes to food : p but thks to advancements in technology e.g. the prevalence/availability of free wi-fi in my hotels/ b&bs it wasn't too difficult to look up stuff or download free French-English apps to my iPod on the go heh. Cannot help wondering why the french word for mushrooms sounds like champions/champagne though...:)

Tmr we head to Provence... So far the pastry selection in Paris and Normandy have been somewhat disappointing- the Isetan basement at Shinjuku San-chome wins hands down heh. But we shall see... Interestingly I also chanced upon an elderly Japanese couple three days ago and chatted with them a lil in Japanese :)Looking forward to better weather and lovely fields of lavender in full bloom :)