Boston Public Gardens is a large park located in the heart of downtown Boston. It was built in 1837 and is next to Boston Common, another public park in Boston. As soon as I visited Boston Public Gardens, I immediately fell in love with its beauty. It was so well kept, so green, so lush, so relaxing, so tranquil. I couldn’t stop snapping shots everywhere and at one point, I nearly fell asleep on the grass with a smile still on my face.

Many people come to visit Boston Public Gardens to take a ride on the famous swan boats. A popular attraction at the park is the statue of George Washington. There were so many flowers in the park, but my favourite were the Allium flowers, they were so purple and round – so cute! You can’t forget those cute squirrels too though :)

Boston Public Gardens Video Guide in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1emoQ9VPes

Boston Public Gardens Photos in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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About The Thousand Islands (Ontario, Canada & New York, USA)

In late July of 2011, we decided to hit the road and make it to the 1000 Islands (The Thousand Islands). This is an archipelago (cluster of islands) situated in the Saint Lawrence River at the border of Ontario, Canada and New York, USA. It emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario and stretches for 50miles (80km) which makes it perfect for Canadians and Americans to visit and enjoy many of their summer hobbies such as boating, kayaking, fishing, and simply just vacationing in a cottage.

Kayaking through the Thousand Islands

It has gorgeous and serene atmosphere, especially when the water is still. Even when a boat zooms by, it makes small ripples in the water and then its back to stillness is no time. This made it perfect for kayaking which I never knew how much effort it would take! It looks so relaxing to watch, but not AS relaxing to do. Nevertheless, it was still extremely enjoyable. It was my first time kayaking and I was especially tense as I was worried I would tip over (which was silly considering how still the water was).

It was a great work out for my arms and abs and is relaxing if you aren’t as worrysome as myself. The second time I kayak I think I would be more confident so I would be able to take better strides, be a much more efficient kayaker and thus, enjoy it much  more.

Nevertheless, the Thousand Islands was perfect on a sunny day, it was so nice to just sit back in my kayak and feel the sun on my face and arms. The Thousand Islands is approximately a 3 hours and 30 minute drive from Toronto and approximately 6 hours from New York City. It was a worthwhile road trip.

Kayaking and The Thousand Islands Photos

Driving Directions from Toronto to the Thousand Islands

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It is very well known that baseball is America’s favourite past time and is a major part of Boston’s culture. The fans of Boston Red Sox (Boston’s team for the National Baseball League) are known for their fanatical devotion to the team and knowledge of their history.

Fenway Park is home of the Red Sox and is the oldest ballpark in the Major League, having being built in 1912. It has become Boston’s most iconic and cherished landmark, and is located west of Boston’s downtown core in the neighbourhood of Fenway.

We came across Fenway Park accidentally, actually. We were based in Back Bay, the neighbourbood just east of Fenway and we had biked all the way to west to Boston University on Commonwealth Avenue that morning. On our way back to our hotel in Back Bay, I noticed the Citgo sign – which means baseball. Everytime the Red Sox hits a home run over the leftfield wall at Fenway Park, the Citgo’s colourful logo is seen by thousands of fans and has thus become symbolic to baseball in Boston.

One sharp turn right on Brookline Ave, and we were there. If anyone could have seen our faces at this point when we caught sight of the beautiful ballpark as we rode over the hill, they would have known how delighted we were to ‘accidentally’ stumble upon such a grand thing. There it was, in all it’s glory: Big, green and lots lights. We were grinning as we pulled out our cameras quickly to take a bunch of snaps (see the Fenway Park photos above!)

We were lucky that we came across Fenway Park via bikes because we had such short time to spare and we could ride around quickly and get all the best angles. And because we had such short time to spare, we unfortunately did not have time to take the 1 hour tour through the stadium which would educate you in all its baseball history. But to our amazement the guy who guarded the entrance was kind enough to let us in for 2 minutes just to take a quick peak. He understood we were short on time and we were leaving Boston only the next day. How kind of him! It really made us feel so welcomed into Boston and that the people here were so friendly and generous. It was at that point, I had the great opportunity to take the beautiful panorama of Fenway Park.

At first we were upset that we did not have time to make a game, but this was better. We could see everything. We could see all 39,000+  seats, the Green Monster in full view (the towering leftfield wall that compensates for the relatively short distance from home plate. It alters the regular course of play as a lazy fly ball could actually drop over the Monster for a home run and what appears to be a sharp double into the gap may be played off the wall to hold the runner to a single), all the lights, the home base. I was so stoked, we felt so fortunate. It could not have been a better morning.

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In December 2007, my brother & I excitedly visited Disneyland in Anaheim, California, USA. It really was the happiest place on earth! My brother and I had a 2-day park pass and we sure had ear to ear grins for the entire 2 days.

We had quite the grand entrance, because as we entered through the gates there was a band there to great us along with the Mad Hatter (see above).

As we went in December, the entire park was dressed in Christmas decorations which we absolutely LOVED. The atmosphere was so fantastic – it was so joyful and festive but it was still quite warm and sunny. We could not have picked a better time to go to Disneyland!

What better way to enjoy Disney but on a horse carriage?

I love Disneyland Main Street because of all the stores! There were parlours and boutique stores and this was my favourite – penny arcade!

In one of the many stores – we spent a lot of time marvelling at all the cute souvenirs. Too cute!

Here are one of the many Disney houses. They are so colourful and adorable!

We always had time for happy snaps of ourselves. :)

The famous teacup ride!

The Haunted House

I got splashed on Splash Mountain! It was so much fun.

I love Disneyland because you can dress up like a cartoon character for even just a minute as you pass by a store to try on these cute hats. Here’s my brother in a Goofy Hat! Hehe!

And here’s me in the wizards hat from Fantasia! Hehe!

I love this photo – here’s my brother in Pooh and me in Tigger :)

And of course there was Santa who graciously came to visit!

Disneyland was beautiful at night as all the buildings were lit up.

The Disney castle was so stunning at night!

At night, people filled Main Street to catch a glimpse of the Christmas fireworks. In December as it approaches the big day, Disneyland holds nightly Christmas fireworks to celebrate (see below video).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TakWxhpSsUg

And afterwards, there was “snow” (some fake white flakes poured down from the lights). Regardless of the fakeness of the snow or not, it was so beautiful! It was my first time I ever experienced “snow” falling on me and it was a beautiful thing to experience in Disneyland.

HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!

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Japantown, San Francisco

Japantown (??? Nihonmachi) in San Francisco is also known as Little Osaka, Funayville and J Town. It is the largest and oldest Japanese town in the United States and spans over six blocks on Post Street, between Laguna Street and Webster Street. The focal point of Japantown is the Japan Center, which opened in 1968 and is three Japanese-oriented shopping centres.

Peace Pagoda, Japantown

The other main focal point of Japantown is the Peace Pagoda (shown above), a five-tiered concrete stupa which was designed by a Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and was presented to San Francisco by the people of Osaka in Japan. It is located between Post and Geary St at Buchanan and is part of the Japan Center complex. Look how small I am compared to this Peace Pagoda! It’s absolutely massive.

Japantown is full of Japanese restaurants, supermarkets, indoor shopping malls, hotels, banks and other shops, including Kinokuniya.

I took my brother here for his birthday to treat him to lunch!

This was the first time I’ve ever had such good Japanese food before. It was so authentic and it was so much food! Mmmm.

Miyako

(Japantown, San Francisco, California)

1707 Buchanan St, San Francisco, California

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“The Bean” is so unique because it has the appearance of a giant drop of liquid mercury, and the mirrored surface offers such an amazing reflection of the city’s skyline. It’s absolutely breathtaking on a bright, clear day as the day I was lucky enough to visit. To get this seamless smooth shiny surface, “The Bean” was created using a huge number of individual stainless steel plates and many hours of polishing.

The great thing about “The Bean” is that you can get a different shot of it from every angle. You can wander around and spend hours here trying to get every shot! I did that for a very long time until I realised that you can even go underneath the bean and it was a whole another world!

I was absolutely stunned by what I saw underneath the bean. Because it was concave under, the reflections was incredible! If you were under the mission of taking every shot at every angle before.. try taking every shot at every angle now! It was insane! Hahaha.

And then I realised you could take the funniest photos of yourself with the types of angles and reflections you get from “The Bean’s smooth surface. Then I spent much more time going around shooting myself like I was some sort of model…

 And don’t forget the kinds of photos your friends can take of you too! OMGOSH ALL THE ANGLES! How do we stop with all the photos…..

 In all, I really enjoyed “The Bean” experience. At first, I was wondering why all these Chicago tourists were so keen to see such an odd sculpture. I would think “a bean? seriously? you want to travel to Chicago to see A BEAN?” But I was thoroughly surprised at how much fun I had at this thing and how much time I spent here. You’ll only believe me when you see it yourself.

Cloud Gate (The Bean) Location

Source: Wikipedia

Cloud Gate is located at Millennium Park (201 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601, United States)

View larger map

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Times Square is one of my most-loved places of the world. I’ve visited Times Square on several occasions and I still can’t get enough of it. I love all the street lights and glamour that makes it so appealing to me. That’s not to say that I love places like HK or Vegas.. But there’s something in that atmosphere that I love. I could just sit there in the middle of the street soaking up all the atmosphere.

Times Square Photos

Times Square was originally named Longacre Square and was renamed to Times Square in 1904 when The New York Times relocated their headquarters building to One Times Square. One Times Square is now the famous building that hosts the New Years Times Square Ball Drop every year.

I first visited Times Square with my brother in November 2007, the second time in February 2009, then many multiple times after that. I enjoyed the flagship stores of M&M and Hershey’s but also the lights of all the musicals.

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My brother and I had the great opportunity to visit our long time family friend Takako at Soka Gakkai University of America (SUA) while she was studying there. She had the most wonderful privilege of being admitted into this campus and made the move all the way from Australia to study here.

About Soka University of America

Soka University of America (SUA) is located in the beautiful Aliso Viejo, California which is part of Orange County. Orange County is so lush and green with such gorgeous real estate, filled with mansion homes and this great establishment fits right in. Above, is a photo of Founders Hall.

SUA was established in 2001, with the motto “Be philosophers of a renaissance of life; Be world citizens in solidarity for peace; Be the pioneers of a global civilization”. It is just a small sister school to Soka University of Japan, however it is still a great step forward towards Kosen Rufu (Japanese for World Peace).

Daisaku Ikeda, the 3rd president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and founder of SUA says that “the mission of Soka University of America is to foster a steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life.” SUA offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in the Liberal Arts field.

I was lucky to visit SUA during a Scottish festival! Everyone was dressed in kilts and playing harmonious music by the water! It was so joyful.

As above, you can see that the campus is quite large and beautiful. It has such gorgeous surroundings as well.

Here’s my brother and I standing outside Gandhi Hall in tribute to the great man.

Here I am with the statue of Gandhi, Ikeda Library and Takako with some awards received from around the world

Soka University of America

View larger map

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In Chicago, I went to see Shrek the Musical! Shrek was held at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago which is really pretty in itself.

Shrek the Musical at Cadillac Palace Theatre Photos

I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy it because it seemed like it would be corny but to my astonishment – it was very funny and entertaining.

The people who played the roles of Lord Farquaad, Donkey and Fiona was absolutely amazing. It was hysterical that the guy who played Lord Farquaad had to be on his knees the entire show to be short and stumpy. Hahaha. It was fantastic how they made everything work as a whole.

My favourite scene is definitely “What’s Up, Duloc?”. It’s so joyful and colourful.. but not only that – full of hidden jokes. Actually the whole show was full of hidden jokes that aren’t in the movie. If you ever get the chance to see it – I really hope you will go!

After the show I really had to make sure I got myself a souvenir. I am ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THE GINGERBREAD MAN, I must add so I could not resist getting the puppet right shown in the middle of the below photo. SO ADORABLE!

And here are a bunch of photos of me outside the theatre.

(Btw – how annoying that some annoying guy annoyingly had to point in my direction when this photo was taken?)

GO SEE SHREK!!!!

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On my trip to Chicago in September I did a guided food tour with Tastebud Tours which takes you to 5-7 food locations in the historic Chicago Loop and Millennium Park. Bring your stomach to this tour because the food tastings are enough for lunch and are included in the Tastebud ticket price (US $44.00 for the Millennium Loop Tour)

Be sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes because you’ll be going to each spot on foot! This was good to ease the digestion of all the food you’re gonna eat. Haha.

The tour always starts at Pizano’s Pizza which is Vince Vaughn and Oprah’s favourite pizza restaurant! At 11am, there was already a line outside this restaurant!

Pizano’s is located at 864 North State Street, Chicago

This is the VIP room – where Oprah & Vince Vaughn would sit to hide away from the public.

At Pizano’s we got to try regular pizza and their famous Deep Dish pizza. In my opinion, this was much better than the Deep Dish pizza I had at Uno’s.

The next place we went to is Sarah’s Candies.

So many chocolates!!

Heart candies! Awww.

And various other sweets and cakes :) We came here and we got to try her famous brownie.

Next stop was The Drake Hotel on Lake Shore Drive.

The Drake Hotel is so pretty that this bathroom was voted the best bathroom! Never knew there was such a thing.. hahaha.

Our next location was Downtown Dogs at 804 North Rush Street, Chicago which is famous for the Chicago-style hot dog!

Heaven on Seven is a authentic cajun restaurant right in the heart of the city! That’s the most fantastic thing about Chicago is that you can find almost every food right in the city.

It has amazing atmosphere.

Here we got served some yummy rice with chicken and gumbo.

Look at all this hot sauce! Heaven on Seven recently had a promotion where if you brought in a bottle of hot sauce that they didn’t already have that dinner was on them! This is what led them to this awesome hot sauce collection. So cool!

Hahaha don’t you love the name of these sauces! Cracker.

The Billy Goat Tavern was our second last stop. Enter at Your Own Risk!

Do you recall the Saturday Night Live sketch in which a short order cook would yell out to incoming patrons? Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Cheezborger, No pepsi.. Coke!

Finally – our last stop was Candyality! This store has a variety of candy and is really unique because once you choose a bunch of candy in this store and checkout, they will give you a personalized analysis of your personality depending on the type of candy you’ve chosen!

I don’t remember my personality analysis at all but it sure was interesting! Haha

The store also has some interesting types of chocolate. No weight gain chocolate? Really? Hahaha. Lies.

Candyality can be found at 520 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago where all the other great shopping resides.

If you go to Chicago, you must do a food tour because you get to do a taste test of different restaurants and types of foods in the one day. You needn’t worry about getting your stomach too full though I was pretty stuffed after this tour. Tastebud Tours was great because it they really offered quite a unique experience.

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3. Shrek: The Musical in Chicago