I had a rather eventful weekend full of music and dancing and cheerful holiday merrymaking. One of those nights we attended the Queen Mary CHILL event featuring a brightly lit Alice in Wonderland themed maze. I'd say this was the highlight of night. I had been convinced that ice skating was included with the general admission ticket but I was clearly wrong. It was an additional $15 on top of the Groupon ticket we purchased. As soon as we saw the actual rink, we were ecstatic that we had decided against it. It was really small and absolutely not worth it, imho.

Though we arrived with only a few hours until closing, and despite it being really crowded (don't remember if I said it before but I dislike crowded places), all in all, I had a pleasant time. I was initially disappointed that the actual event was located outside of the Queen Mary, but it makes sense for this to be outdoors. There were carnival rides and many food booths, which mostly took only cash and which we failed to carry on us that night! We had already stood in line and were ready to order hot apple cider and warm, crispy churros to go with it, happy as could be. Then, the joyous light in our eyes vanquished as soon as they alighted on the sign "CASH ONLY". Our life force shriveled into cold black coals, the ghosts of our souls seeping out of our gaping mouths. We slowly and mournfully walked away. The sweet lingering scent of cinnamon and sugar trailed after us. Ah, I could almost taste it. Such treachery.

 So sad. A child lost her precious little mitten!

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What I wore:

Coat: Target (similar)

Dress: Choies

Oxfords: Miz Mooz

Beret: me

Photos: John & me

 Thought it was appropriate to make a post about our little adventure to The Rise exhibit. On display were thousands of uniquely carved pumpkins. There were simply too many to capture them all on camera so I've chosen a few I thought were especially interesting. As pictures are worth a thousands words, I'll let the pumpkins tell their story today. Enjoy!

 We visited Tanaka Farm last year and decided to stop by there again this year (mostly because our favorite Thai food place is here). And once again, the weather was in the high 80s. I often forget that my legs too need protection from the sun. So while the rest of me was safe, my legs burned that day. I already have a skin defect on my legs that make them darker than the rest of my body so this only makes it more obvious. Yay! Anyway, the corn maze is a must when visiting the farm. Because we went so late in October, it was super crowded. Any shots of my alone without others in them are pure luck and mad skillz. JK. As we really had to time them and do them super fast, they may look a little sloppy.

 We awoke before the sun showed its face this prospective day. Yes, we were tired and bleary eyed during the ride to the amusement park, but as we drew near our destination, an excitement built up in all of us and spread like an infectious disease. Suddenly, we were babbling and fidgeting in our seats as children do when they can barely contain themselves. And at last, we were there, eyes glittering and bright and smiles stretched across our faces. At last, we had arrived at Tokyo DisneySea.

 First and foremost, we began our second day in South Korea with a big, hearty meal consisting of soondubu jigae, which is a delicious spicy tofu soup. I especially love eating this in the winter. It warms you right up! I don't remember who but one of us ordered a spicy pork dish. And as it when one goes traveling, obligatory photographic documentation of the things we noshed on shall consume this post in its entirety.

 And so begins another weekly installment about my adventures in Japan. It was inevitable that we would visit one of Japan's greatest landmarks: Tokyo Tower. I personally love this shot of the tower. The matrix of steels from the base appears sharp and dramatic and the top floor looks as if it is being consumed by flames. Of course, it doesn't show you what it looks like from a distance, but you'll see for yourself in a bit. A blurry photo of the view from up top can be seen below.

 I still don't know what to make of this bedazzled monument of love. It's actually kind of cute in a way. I can see why this tower might be popular with couples. It's dim and quiet inside and has a lovely view of the city all lit up in the darkness of night. Quite romantic, no? Who wouldn't want to take their date here?

 After touring the tower, our next stop was the famous Tsukiji fish market. As it was still night, and the market did not open until 4 or 5 in the morning, we had many, many, hours to kill. We resorted to silly antics to amuse ourselves. It was going to be a long night, after all. I'm not sure if we even slept at all. I think we might have gone to an internet cafe for a little while. With a couple of hours left til opening, we trudged groggily toward Tsukiji only to realize with utter devastation that there was already a long line in front of the entrance.

  And finally at long last we entered the world of Tsuji. Oh, Tsukiji! This is a fish lover's paradise. It is the largest fish market in the world and many sushi/sashimi (and seafood) restaurant owners come here to get the best pick of freshly caught fish/seafood. I absolutely love sushi (nigiri/sashimi) so this was a dream come true. Watching the auction was an unforgettable experience. Slivers of the tuna were sliced off and presented in a row for the bidders to examine. And one by one, each tuna was sold off to the highest bid.

 Real wasabi is hard to come by in the States so when I saw this, I was ecstatic. It's expensive so I can see why restaurants often use horseradish "wasabi". Anyway, we were eager to eat after the auction. It was difficult to choose which restaurant to eat at because 1) they all served really fresh fish and 2) they all had really long lines.

 I don't know what possessed us to visit a museum (I think) after Tsukiji. We'd had no sleep the night before. I remember being so tired we were saying nonsensical things and the word, delirious, often popped up in our conversations. As you can see, some of us were knocked out cold on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, I could not summon the will to capture more photos of our time there. It was very beautiful, but it was all I could do to keep walking.