27 March 08

I made an important acclimatisation step forward by going somewhere I hadn't been to with Nick, and the journey involved a change of tube line (which I'd avoided having to do so far). Of course, it went smoothly, and I felt a lot more confident as a result.


I met Tracy (and Lottie, 5 weeks) at the gates of the British Embassy, where she works, and she had asked Sharon along too, with her baby, Taylor, who is Emily's age. We walked along a veritable avenue of cherry trees in full blossom regalia.
It was lunchtime, and extremely busy with Hanami viewers stopping suddenly to take snaps. Understandable, as it really did look very pretty. We carried on to Yasakuni, the controvertial national shrine for war dead, which was being set up for a Hanami festival, and sat on some tarpaulins laid out on the ground. We had our picnics then all had to feed our babies. It was quite busy but I managed to make myself decent; it was uncomfortable without back support though. A nice afternoon, and I felt quite hopeful that Emily would have a few little playmates when she's older.