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A Waking Dream of Mexico (LUZIA by Cirque du Soleil)

I am a fan of Cirque du Soleil. And as a fan of Cirque du Soleil, when I learned LUZIA would be performing in Southern California (Los Angeles and Costa Mesa), I knew I had to attend. So, did I attend? Why, of course!
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A Fleeting Encounter at the Niomon Gate

Whenever I’m abroad, I always get amused at how we, as people can encounter so many people (strangers) only to see them once. It’s strange how the world works, isn’t it? When I was in Japan, this amusement (or amazement rather) seemed to heighten since there was hardly ever a day that I didn’t hang out on a train filled with people I didn’t know.
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San Gabriel Lunar New Year Festival

The dragon at San Gabriel Lunar New Year Festival If there’s anyone that likes free things, it’s got to be me.
As a freebie lover, I attended the San Gabriel Lunar New Year Festival, a free event held at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse.
Parking wasn’t an issue as I was able to park on the street for free. Their event parking lot was also for free but already full by the time I had gotten there and I actually had gotten there before the start time of the festival. Meh. So, even though I had arrived early, by the time I decided on a parking spot, the festival had already begun.
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On Top of Miyajima Island

View of Seto Inland Sea from Miyajima Observatory Never in my life have I walked as much as I did while in Japan. Each day I was there, I walked anywhere from 20,000 – 30,000 steps and this was a good thing. A very good thing. (So good that I hope I can attempt to walk that many steps every now and then in the states.)
One of my most intense “walks” in Japan would have to be while on top of Miyajima Island (Hiroshima, Japan). Yes, while on top of Miyajima Island.
My travel companion and I had originally pondered the idea of hiking from the grounds of the island all the way to the top of the island. This of course didn’t happen. Due to time constraints, we decided it was best for us to take a one-way ropeway trip to the “top” of the island. I honestly was feeling a bit chicken about this since I had never been on a ropeway before but sometimes, there’s a first for things and this just happened to be one of those times.
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What I Don’t Miss About Japan

Vegetarian options at Tokyo Disney Sea Lack of Vegetarian Food 🥕
You can live off of convenience store onigiris but you can’t live off of them for too long. Besides, the likelihood of your onigiri being available at all times is slim. (I managed to survive off of seasoned seaweed onigiris, inari sushi and junk, like fries.) Vegetarianism is a joke in Japan but I knew that before coming to the land of the rising sun and somehow made it work for me despite going hungry here and there during my trip.