Sakura Season

Hello everyone. I apologize for not updating my blog for about 3/4 of a year... 

Anyways, I've got some nice pictures from this weekend! 

The cherry blossom trees in Baltimore finally bloomed lately. Now the city really has a nice spring vibe. I was going to DC for the cherry blossom festival last weekend, yet too many obligations were in the way so I couldn't. 

I was surprised by the amount of cherry blossom trees we have here in Baltimore! 

Some were taken in MICA's very own Founders Green dormitory, and some were taken at Mount Vernon Place, close to the Peabody area. 

Words can't express how much I love cherry blossoms! Someday I'll really have to visit Japan during their sakura season.

Cheers,

Veronica 

Before the Storm.

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I last posted. I have been back in California for almost a week. Next week, I'm finally heading over to Baltimore to start my college life! I'm a bit nervous but excited at the same time...

Anyways, I found some pictures taken during a short family trip up to 陽明山 (Yang-Ming Mountain) in Taipei. It was a beautiful day, right before a typhoon hit Taiwan. 

The sky was azure, and I thought I could see clearer from the mountain than I previously could. For some reason, this shot is particularly blue...

Shanghai.

 *None of the pictures I took really shouts "Shanghai!" when you look at them. I kind of just took whatever I found interesting.*

Over the weekend, I visited Shanghai. It's a place that means a lot to me; I spent three years there, met some awesome teachers and made some life-long friends. 

The city hasn't changed that much. Skyscrapers, clamor, semi-gray skies all felt so familiar. After arriving at the airport, I took the maglev to find Audrey, my friend from St. George's. I stayed at her place, and her family was more hospitable than I could ever ask for.

I went to visit my old school Dulwich College Shanghai. It was a pity that the guards refused to let me in, so I could only take a picture here.

東京 T O K Y O Part 3.

Hello everyone, this is my last post of my Tokyo series!

On the last day, my friend Hikari showed me around again. In the morning, we went to としまえん (Toshimaen), a theme park in Tokyo. It's a pretty old one, and the rides aren't that intense. What I really liked about the park was that there were very little tourists, so we could go on the rides as many times as we wanted. Most of the tourists were in the water park. We said we would go there next time. 

This year's advertisement for the water park. It says "teriyaki"  there... meaning it's time for people to grill themselves under the summer sun?

東京 T O K Y O Part 2.

Hello everyone, this is part two of my Tokyo 2014 series.

On the second day, we revisited a few places I went the previous summers, because it was my brother's first time visiting Tokyo. In the morning, we went to 浅草 (Asakusa). 浅草 is a very traditional place, famous for its temples and 祭り (matsuri) festivals. It's definitely one of the hottest locations to visit for tourists all across the world.

東京 T O K Y O Part 1.

Hello everyone, I've returned from my trip to Tokyo. It has been 3 years in a row that I go to Tokyo during my summer vacation, showing just how much I love that city. I had 3 full days to explore Tokyo. There's always too much to explore but too little time...that's why I still haven't been to other places of Japan, yet.

I would like to split my trip into three posts. Enjoy reading! 

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On the first day, I finally met up with my Japanese friend from high school, Hikari. She kindly spent an entire day to show my aunt, brother and I around. We went to 原宿 (Harajuku) and 表參道 (Omotesando); both are very famous shopping locations full of tourists, though the former is mainly for younger people, and the latter is more high-end. 

竹下通り (Takeshita Street) in Harajuku.

It's usually really crowded, but this was taken at around 10am.

Wolf, Forest, Magic, Adventure

I have just finished re-reading the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series by British writer Michelle Paver. I do have to admit that I don't read a lot, so I don't have much authority to promote books. However, I can surely say that this is, without doubt, an incredible series.

The story is set 6000 years ago in prehistoric Europe. Torak is a boy of the wolf clan. Along with his friend Renn and Wolf, they embark on adventures to defeat the wicked, power-hungry soul eaters who try to control all the clans with the power of the other-world.