An Adventure in Toronto~

Leaving the Winnipeg airport.....

It was actually kinda cool seeing everything below but that was literally the only thing I enjoyed about the flight[s].

Toronto airport! ....which is actually in Mississauga.

After checking into our room & dropping off our bags, we immediately headed out in search of food. I loved this beautiful little park [thing?]. There was a woman playing with her dog but it looked like private property.

My favourite thing about Toronto is how the shop staff matches their shop's aesthetic. This was a gorgeous pin-up clothing shop, and the sales associate was dressed fabulously! I do regret not buying the sailor shirt I found here...

We went to Tango Palace Coffee Co and I asked the barista to make me their best coffee drink. He made me a cortado which was ah-mazing.

Heading out for breakfast the next day....we had planned to buy groceries and eat in our hotel room to save money, but Toronto has such lovely cafes.....

Walking by the park again.

We went to Ashdale for breakfast because their food sounded delish. [Everyone posts their menus on their windows here, which I LOVE, cuz you can also see the price range.]

I was torn over whether to order a cortado or their matcha chai latte. I'm so skeptical about ordering the same drink in different places because what if they screw it up?!

And.......they screwed it up.

My brekkie sandwich [bacon, eggs, aioli sauce and english muffin] was ah-mazing, but after choking down the cortado I had to order a matcha chai latte to wash the taste out.

It's funny because their sign literally says they do espresso. WHY WAS IT SO BAD THEN.

I found a pretty tree.

Headed to the CN Tower! Rok said we should do touristy stuff in town and I agreed cuz I've always wanted to go on the CN Tower. [Although I was more excited for the gift shop.]

I AM SO UPSET WE DIDN'T GO INSIDE THIS ABORIGINAL ARTS GALLERY.

Crossing Yonge Street.

I liked these little portholes on the Tower the best.

Standing on the infamous glass floor.....which wasn't terrifying to me in the slightest. 

Is that enough skyscrapers? Okay, moving on.

We paid extra to go all the way to the top.

Then we went to the aquarium which I wasn't too pumped about.

Massive fish.

Dory.

Massive lobster. The only part I liked about the aquarium was the moving sidewalk that goes in a tunnel through the tanks. It was cool seeing sharks overhead.

I went on an adventure up the other side of Queen in search of an entirely new concert outfit. There were soo many pretty flowers.

Found this tank in a resale shop for four bucks. I also attempted to convert the shop clerk to the GazettE. Almost worked. [He thinks they're pretty, at least.]

We were told to get to the concert at 5, we'd be let in at 6, GA would be let in at 7, and the show would start at 8. We got there at 4:30 and found out people started lining up at 10 AM. 

The show was ah-mazing.

And we made a new friend; Christine! Oh and I spent my life savings on merchandise. No regrets.

On my adventure, I found a little independent book shop and got my hands on the last book in the Raven Cycle! [I was.....disappointed. So disappointed by this book. Ugh.]

Roku wanted to ride on a streetcar, so we went on them TWICE. My verdict: Not really special.

The intersection outside our hotel.

We spent an entire day on Queen Street West. I spent the majority of my money at this Japanese shop, Sanko.

We visited The Paper Place which I LOVED. The entire shop is so, so lovely. I spent like fifty bucks here on journals, washi tape and origami paper. I'd love to go back.

And then we found this ah-mazing shop....I think the name was Originals something. idk. I'm in love with the Alice shoes by Irregular Choice.

On our last night we went out for sushi! We were kinda iffy at first, but the food turned out to be great and the service was wonderful.

Leaving Toronto....everyone in Winnipeg is rude af, but the airport workers are so nice. In Toronto, everyone is so nice....but the airport workers are rude af. Go figure.

We took an itsy-bitsy plane to Ottawa where we then took a bigger plane to Winnipeg, and then drove 2.5 hours home.

And this is what Amane did as soon as I cleaned out my luggage.

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A Package from Osaka~

Hello everyone! My name's Kuri and I'm the most spoiled girl in the world. =D

I met Yukiko in March 2014 on My Language Exchange. [I can't believe we've been friends for 2 years already!] Yuki-chan has been helping me learn Japanese and I'm supposed to be helping her with English. I'm not the best teacher, but I've noticed that Yuki's English has improved so much in the past two years! My Japanese has not improved. Ha ha! Yuki's a great teacher but I'm not the best student. I want to push harder at my Japanese studies so I can carry conversations in Japanese.

 Yuki-chan and I regularly send each other packages. I recently sent her a package in January, and I've been working on another package full of sweets for her! Yuki loves maple candy so I've been busy searching for lots of it =)

 Today I was surprised to see a package from Yuki in the mail! She always sends me the loveliest packages full of my favourite Japanese goodies. [Everything is also beautifully wrapped.] I immediately whipped out my camera so I could take pics of it...

Hello Kitty stamps and Japan washi tape on the side~ the washi tape is so cute!

Disney Princess stamps! Ahhh! I think on my next package, I will add some stamps =) I usually just pay in full but Yuki can collect the stamps! I cut out the front part of Yuki's packages and save them in a binder.

These are soo cute! Hello Kitty socks for my niece!

She's gonna love them =D Yuki-chan usually sends a goody for my niece in these packages.

Peko x Sanrio character sweets! These are strawberry flavoured. Hello Kitty and My Melody are my favourite Sanrio characters~ 

'For sale in Japan only.' I'm lucky that Yuki-chan sends me treats like this that I wouldn't get anywhere else!

BLUEBERRY POCKY! YAY! I shared this on FB a while ago~ it's blueberry-flavoured heart-shaped Pocky for 'maximum happiness'. I'm so happy that Yuki-chan sent me this! Thank you!

'Stylish kirigami'; According to the book, 'Kirigami' is Japanese craftwork that involves using scissors or utility knives, tracing patterns. It can create a variety of fascinating silhouettes.

I've never heard of kirigami before so I'm very excited to try this! The book has tons of paper that I can cut out and use for kirigami.

A birthday card from Yuki-chan! Japanese cards are so cute~

I love the way Yuki-chan decorated the back of it! Both sides are so pretty. I usually display cards on my wall, but this card can stand up so I will display it on my dresser.

A postcard of a park in Kumamoto prefecture of Kyushu. It looks beautiful!

My first ever volume of 'LaLa', a monthly manga magazine! This one has Vampire Knight on the cover which is one of my favourite manga / anime series. 

This is the March 2015 issue. It's in perfect condition and it will make a lovely addition to my 'Vampire Knight' shelf where I house my manga volumes and the anime series!

This pretty folder was tucked into the pages~ Zero and Kaname! 

Another VK goody....

A delicate black handkerchief! This is soo pretty.

And one more....

A Vampire Knight mirror! It's so beautiful and I feel really cool having it...ha ha! I hope I don't break it!

Some of Yuki's beautiful wrapping. She used little kitty stickers [so kawaii!] and washi tape that looks like a vintage newspaper.

Inside was this BEAUTIFUL fabric that Yuki-chan suggested I use for my Tarot cards! How did Yuki know I was looking for more fabric?! Sometimes, I think she might be a witch too ;)

And a few sweets! The little green sweets are so yummy. I think I'm going to try the Blendy Stick as soon as I finish this post. Blendy Stick is an instant coffee brand sold in Japan~ Yuki has sent me a few different flavours before. This Hello Kitty Blendy Stick says 'From Kyushu' and it's strawberry flavoured!

Thank you for such a beautiful gift, Yuki-chan! I am so lucky to have a great friend like you ♥  

~

xo,
Kuri

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