It has been a while, and while I have been gorging on pastries and shivering in warm coats across the world, my blog has been suffering from serious neglect.

I am writing from Perth, Western Australia, for the 3-day Good Friday weekend, and since I last wrote, I have been back from Paris and off to Malacca for 24 hours, and Japan for two weeks. I'm off to India next week for work, and in the meantime I'm hoping to go to a white sand beach in Malaysia for the weekend with some Aussies. I can't complain about my life being dull.

Now I am faced with the challenge of deciding how to start back up my blog when there is so much to write! The warm, azure Indian Ocean is calling me, so I can't stay on my computer too long. With that, let's see how much I can get through...

Little did I know when I was standing in line at La Duree in Paris that there would be a La Duree waiting for me in Ginza in Tokyo. Tokyo and Paris have quite a bit in common, actually. More than one would expect given the contrast between the modern lit-up skyline and manga/hello kitty/maid/goth fashion movements of Tokyo and the classic, historical architecture and haute-couture fashion of Paris.

While they seem quite different on the surface, Paris and Tokyo share many key features.

1) Amazing pastries. I expected to lose weight when I went to Tokyo! All these tales of blowfish and octopus pizza had me totally unprepared for the amazing plethora of tasty Japanese food an pastries! The selection of French-inspired pastries is everywhere, and I even had a conversation in French at a French bakery in Daikanyama, as I ordered Sakura macarons (cherry-blossom flavor). In addition to their french cuisine, Japan has amazingly good other food that I gorged on for 16 days. Teppanyaki, okonomiyaki, meiji-yaki, yaki-tori, soba, ramen, tempura, sashimi, sushi, gyoza, pepper lunch, freshness burger.... You'll never go hungry for top quality, yummy food in Paris or Tokyo.

2) The parks. Parisians and Japanese love their parks, and in spring they flock to them. Japan is just finishing up the hanami, or cherry-blossom viewing season, during which the parks are full of Japanese people taking in the view, while eating, drinking (a lot!), singing, wrestling, wearing costumes, and doing all sorts of other activities that seem appropriate when you are welcoming spring with a 40 of Asahi.

3) They love their tiny dogs. Both Paris and Tokyo have tons of beautiful gardens where people walk little tiny dogs in little tiny outfits. Dogs in hand-bags, dogs in stores, dogs prancing along the streets in couture...Paris and Tokyo had this covered long before Paris Hilton joined the scene.

4) Fashion, fashion, fashion. While Paris is famous for its couture houses, Tokyo is famous for its crazy, wild fashion. Ever wanted to dress like Little Bo-peep? No problem, "Innocent World" has the wardrobe for you....While Tokyo has a much more colorful fashion scene, both Paris and Tokyo have discerning populations who live for the most up to date couture out of Paris. Someone told me that Tokyo accounts for 80% of Cartier's profits. They know what they want, and they are used to having the money to buy it. I'm curious to see how the fashion houses fare with their Japanese market as the Japan economy continues to suffer.

There is much more to say about Tokyo- my hanami, my singing bathtub, buddhist sakura weddings. However, right now, a pavlova is calling my name...