NYE in New York

New Years Eve / Christmas Holiday in New York, New York - Still! :-P
Plus little bit of Boston!!

For my previous posting on this beautiful city:
http://natalieskirakira.blogspot.ca/2014/12/christmas-in-manhattan.html

Enjoy!!

Christmas in Manhattan

Holiday Vacation in New York, New York! 

Osaka Day 3: Tempozan Ferris Wheel

We also got on the giant ferris wheel called Tempozan which was almost the highlight of the trip. It literally is the largest in size in Asia and second to London Eye in the world. You can have the panoramic view of the sea as it's right by the strait shore, the mountains, and the whole city. They only offer 2 transparent passenger cars so we took the time to claim it! It was set up very cleverly with transparent stickers to help you understand and give guidance to different buildings and part of the city. 

Open Hours: 10 AM - 10 PM (Ticket sales until 9:30 PM) 

Transportation: 5 minute walk from Osakako Station (Chuo Subway Line) 

Admission Fee: JPY700 

Address: 〒552-0022 1-1-10 Kaigandori Minato-ku, Osaka City

Osaka Day 2: Osaka-Jo, Kita, & Amerika-Mura

The second day of my Osaka trip stretched for the full day from morning to finish. Osaka Castle or Osaka-Jo is one of very historic sites that you can find in Osaka. We happened to go on a day where kindergartners (so i presume) had their field trip. It was very grand and very well maintained considering it goes back to year 1597. Then we walked around Minami's Amerika-Mura area for bit of shopping and visit to a cafe. My friend SJ insisted we wait for sunset to go up the Floating Garden of Umeda City and then onto Hep Five Ferris Wheel to finish!

More details of the trip after the jump! :-)

Osaka Day 1: Dotombori

I wanted to share some photos from my last trip to Osaka. Being a third largest / second most important city of the country, there are beautiful historical sites as well as more modern and vibrant new quarters.

This trip happened rather spontaneously while I was travelling in South Korea. The weekend getaway was perfect with great food and lots of shopping around Dotombori on the first day. Osaka-Jo, bit of Kita for Umeda Sky Garden, and other Minami areas including Amerika-mura the second day. and Tempozan Ferris wheel the third day.

Due to the abundance of photos, I divided my posts to 3 parts based on my itinerary above. Enjoy! :-)

Amsterdam Photo Journal

Hallo everyone! Let me take you on a trip to Amsterdam... :-) 

Many more photos after the jump!! Enjoy!! 

Robert & Louise, Marais Nord, Paris

One of the greatest part of travelling is trying out different restaurants that's more than your weeknight takeouts or all the pretentious restaurants I (unfortunately) enjoy. Introduced by my Parisian friend, I had lunch in Marais last time I was in Paris for - and it was just parfait. 

Robert & Louise can be found on the main road of Marais and is a well known place for perfectly grilled entrecote. After googling to get their address, I now realize there are numerous praises and candid reviews on Tripadvisor as well. It was the flawless encounter for my experience while resting my tired shopping feet. (Wow, I sounds so spoiled!) 

Venezia Tour in 24 Seconds (Video)

This is a short one today. I've been wanting to publish this for some time but I needed to get consent from my dearie who appears in this short video. This pretty much / more or less / sums our trip to Venice from a month ago. Apologies on the quality of the file by the way... I'm not a super techy-techy person as it can be concluded from the iPhone photos I post. Anywho - Enjoy! xx 

For slight detailed version of my trip to Venezia, please follow the link below: http://natalieskirakira.blogspot.ca/2014/10/buongiorno-venezia.html

P.S. Please comment below if you can figure out what Ryan is mouthing ;-)
Hint: We're in Italy! 

Cinque Terre - Riomaggiore

Italia is the one country that I have a special bond with in my heart. It was my first backpacked European country and I also studied at University of Siena as an exchange student. The following summer after graduation, I took my parents back to Italy as their 25th wedding anniversary celebration. And now, my husband and I went back as our honeymoon. Staying in Tuscany, we decided to take a spontaneous day trip to Cinque Terre.

These lovely towns along the coastline is uniquely colourful and breathtakingly beautiful. As one rides the trains in transiting between the 5 villages, the scene of sparkly water with sunlight reflecting is something you can never forget. My husband literally dropped his jaw at this majestic scenery.

Annecy Photo Journal

This Swiss city is located 1.5-2 hours away from Lyon. The clear crystal waters are always astonishing. You can look right through the water - I would think one could even drink it straight! Although it was in Summer that I was in Ansi for, the water was still quite cold. Obviously they are known for the beautiful lakes & delish ice cream! 

Paris Photo Journal

This post is literally to share random photos from Paris in Summer. Enjoy! <3 xx

 

I still remember the breeze against my cheeks from the park trail where used to be old train tracks. I long for the day I return to Paris!! 

Buongiorno Venezia!

Venice is one of the cities that I encounter in Hollywood movies quite often: couple of 007 movies including Casino Royal, the Tourist, and Italian Job! I have been to Venice for the second time now and it probably is one of the most stunningly beautiful cities I've been to. 

Being surrounded by water, and that's quite literally, visiting Venice in gorging summer may not be the greatest idea. You will still enjoy it and its beauty & the romance never goes away, but one may be drained from the heat and the humidity more easily. I remember my last visit in August of 2011 somewhat close to my above description. This time was middle of October for Canadian thanksgiving week. It was just perfect! Now please join me in my photo journal for my trip to Venezia!

Paris Je t'aime!

I like travelling but I don't enjoy being an obvious tourist.  I have never gone on group tours but I absolutely refuse to as well.  It's like cramming for an exam - the tour guides are very helpful in explaining the important bits but we only touch on the "important bits."  Maybe I want to explore the other sides too!
My latest trip to Paris (/pa.ˈʁi/) was perfect in that sense because I was hanging out with "the local" - my closest female cousin who lives in Lyon. I spent 8 days in Paris and will recommend a few places/things to do.

Tdot_Fall Colours

Hey guys,

I'm Jane: one dearest friend of Natalie - haha!

I decided to partake in kira-kira blogging so I could share some of the amazing places I've been to in Toronto and other vicinity.  My interest mainly lies in photography, cosmetics, and of course good food!

My first post is on my recent trip to Algonquin Provincial Park and Rouge Park, where everyone falls in love with the beautiful foliage one will face in just north of Toronto.  On my birthday weekend, my girlfriend Kathleen asked me if I could accompany her camping trip to Algonquin park.  I knew it falls right during the peak colorful season (which usually lasts from late Sept to early Oct) and simply could not say no.

So here it 

Montreal & Quebec City

Within Canada, city of Toronto is the major hub of travelling and offers variety of transportation to nearby cities. We flew to Montreal this time, and of course this was before I fell in love with the trains, and being a cheap student, I had done way too many 10 hour bus rides to New York already.

Quebec is exquisitely beautiful in a way it captures the essence of mini-Europe. 

I was accompanied by my photographer friend Jane and here are the photos (much better than my iPhone shots to be followed in other posts... tee hee!)