Hiroshima Day Trip

We decided to spend a day in Hiroshima to visit the A-Bomb Dome.  From Osaka, it's about a 2 hour train ride via the bullet train, and since we have a week pass, we definitely want to maximize our use of the bullet train.  :)

Breakfast on the train.    :)

The train was SO comfortable we took a nice nap after breakfast.  

Cute Totoro pastries at the Hiroshima train station

Once you arrive in Hiroshima, don't forget to purchase your return ticket so you won't be stuck in town!  We decided to go to Kobe after just to try the Kobe beef (common, how cool is it to say "I've had Kobe beef in Kobe").

We visited the memorial museum first, which is a good idea if you want to have some context before seeing the a-dome.  It was a gloomy rainy day in Hiroshima, so it kinda add on to our overall mood after visiting the museum.

The A-bomb dome is the only structure left standing after the bomb in 1945, and it has now been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After visiting the Dome, we definately needed something (i.e., yummy) to cheer us up.  We originally wanted to visit the Shukkei-en Gardens, but since it was too cold and it was raining, we opt for Okonomiyaki time!

We took a short streetcar ride to Okonomimura (or maybe we walked, I can't remember now), a building that is dedicated to Hiroshima style Okonomiyak.  Yum!

YUMMM!

Hiroshima style okonomiyaki is different from other okonomiyaki in the sense that they have a lot more cabbage - so I guess it's the healthier option?  :)

Trip Summary

• 9am - bullet train from Osaka to Hiroshima
• 11am - Hiroshima Memorial Museum
• noon - Hiroshima Memorial Park & A-Bomb Dome
• 1pm - Shopping on the way to Okonomimura
• 3pm - Okonomimura for Hiroshima Okonomiyaki!
• 5pm - Train back to Osaka via Kobe

Other Japan trip reports

Osaka

- Osaka Aquarium

- Museum of Housing and Living

- Toka Ebisu festival at the Imamiya shrine

Hiroshima

- Memorial museum + A-bomb dome + Okonomimura

Tokyo

- Tokyo DisneySea

- Meiji shrine

Our Engagement Story

We got engaged almost a year and a half years ago, in February 2012.  I was in between jobs at the time, and we decided to go to Disney World for a week, since I'm a big Disney fan but have never been to Disney World before.

On our second night at Disney, we had a dinner reservation at Cinderella's Royal Castle:

I ordered shrimp cocktails and beef tenderloin, which was so-so (I find that most of the character dining restaurants focuses more on the character experience and less on the food anyways):

 I knew something was up when the waiter came and told me my "special dessert" was ready.  The dessert was hidden beneath a silver dome.  When he lifted the dome, this was what I saw:

Everything after that was really a blur... I was so overcome with emotion that I couldn't quite recall what happened.  Thank goodness for Disney Photographers on scene to capture the moments!  G got down on one knee and said something which I presumed was along the lines of "will you marry me".  It was so beautiful and romantic.  Not to mention perfect for a girly girl like me!   :)

The whole restaurant cheered when I said "yes".  It was such a happy feeling to know that everyone there was sharing their best wishes with us.   We left the restaurant just in time for the "Wishes" fireworks outside the castle, which again, was so incredibly magical.

We continued to wander around Magic Kingdom afterwards and came across Tinker Bell's Magical Nook.  We didn't know if the nook was still open as it was close to midnight at that point, but and as it turns out, Tinker Bell and her friends were there!  They made a big scene when then found out we just got engaged.  Here is a picture of us totally embarrassed by all the attention:

Tinker Bell LOVED my engagement ring.  This is one of my favorite pictures - Tinker Bell's eyes were so dramatic!

It was the PERFECT proposal.  Not to mention Disney gave us these "Just Engaged" buttons so for the rest of the trip all the cast members and other guests kept congratulating us.   :)

December Babies

The unfortunate part about being a December baby is that you're either:
     a) stuck studying for final exams, which typically happens during early December, or
     b) stuck celebrating your birthday along with x'mas.

I belong to the former early December group, and I vividly remember spending all my birthdays either at home or in the library cramming for various exams.

This year is no different.  I spent the afternoon of my milestone birthday studying in the library, I guess you can say that I have a lot of people "celebrating" with me there.    :)

On the bright side, my friends are generally sympathetic to my "birthday library routine" and would usually bring me a small treat to cheer me along.  This year, I got a delicious red velvet cupcake along with a green tea set from David's Tea.

Do you have a birthday tradition?  If so, I would love to hear about it!

AGO First Thursdays

The art and cultural landscape in Toronto has slowly been changing for the past 15 years - museums, art galleries and concert halls are all transforming into a cool and hip place for youngsters to handout. 

My friend and I had the pleasure of checking out AGO First Thursday this week.  The one thing I was particularly impressed by was the quality of food that they offer.  They have these food stations set up right by the entrance, and considering the event started around 7pm, everyone who came at the opening hour was hungry and appreciated the munchies!

We ordered the porchetta sandwiches with chili-garlic fried rapini, which was delicious and a real steal at $5!  The only suggestion I would offer is to toast the porchette.  It's such a shame to have a cold bun served with a gourmet sandwich.

My friend really wanted to try the "cronut" - a cross between a croissant and a donut, and it was also surprisingly tasty!  I've never heard of a cronut before, but apparently they are the new craze. 

We ordered a caramel one and a chocolate one, and they were both delicious!  Light and fluffy like a croissant, but sweet and satisfying like a donut.  

After washing down our meal with beer and wine, we got to toured around the gallery a bit.  I wasn't particularly impressed by the live exhibits, and as the gallery closed off 3 out of the 5 floors, there was not much to see...

Would I go to another AGO First Thursday?  Probably not.  Art is enjoyed best when the surroundings are quiet and peaceful, and I found it hard to appreciate paintings when there is so much movement and distractions around.  Still, I applaud AGO and ROM for their efforts in trying to bring innovation to these cultural hotspots, and doing something new and different.