It wasn't so long ago

Another photo of sakura, taken in Osaka.

How long has it been since then?

Not very long, actually.

But it feels almost like a dream to me now.

Early in the Morning

My first official day in Japan. Or at least a fraction of it. Watching the sun rise, a great way to start the day (especially since I had to wake up at such an ungodly hour). A crescent-shaped croissant for my first round of breakfast. Sakura that has yet to bloom near the bus station. Two cute, fashionable girls hiding from the cold wind; they were there for quite awhile, I'm not quite sure what they were waiting for. Passed by a steampunk-esque area on the way back to the airport. I didn't fly all the way to Japan just stay overnight at a hotel, of course! That morning, my family and I went back to the airport to take a flight to Hokkaido. It's my most favorite place on Earth, I think.

First Night

A night-time arrival in Osaka, Japan. After a flight, bus ride, cab ride, a lot of standing and waiting to get to our hotel, I still managed to take these photos. I couldn't resist taking pictures of the hotel room; it's so cozy isn't it? Cozy being a euphemism for tiny. Ha ha. The view from outside the window was luminous and quite relaxing. I dropped dead on the bed that night.

Sakura

What I'd give to be underneath the cherry tree once more, 

watching the delicate pink petals fall softly like snow.

Last Summer in Europe,

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since my vacation to Europe last summer, and here are a few snippets of the trip. My family and I went around the Czech Republic, visiting places like Karlovy Vary where we stayed at the Grand Hotel Pupp (pronounced poop!), Cesky Krumlov (I refer to it as Shrek town because it's so medieval-esque), and Prague (the capital). Beautiful country --- the third photo looks more like a postcard, doesn't it? It was taken in Karlovy Vary! After a week, we crossed the border to Hungary where I found out that Budapest is actually divided by a river into two areas  : Buda and Pest. Amazing! We also took a day trip to Austria where most of our time was spent shopping and eating --- as we do in pretty much every vacation. Did you know that the European diet is very rich in vitamin B? Lots of BEER or any other alcoholic beverage for that matter. And I found out that I don't get red after drinking alcohol, so that's good.. Although I hardly ever drink, ha ha. Plus, we met this golden, headless street performer guy that started doing the peace sign at us, so we went over to him to have a photo taken! So funny.

The Czech Republic could very well compete for the prestigious honor of being my favorite country; I loved every place we visited, I loved the Becherovka, I loved the cold weather, I loved the protein-rich food, I loved the vast, yellow acres filled with canola. In a few days, however, I will be on my way to my absolute favorite place on Earth: Japan. Goodbye life savings and figure, LOL. I'm so excited!