A much belated Happy Chinese New Year!
I know this is nearly a month late now, believe it or not.. How the time flies! Hard to believe we're already sliding into Mid-March...Feels like just yesterday that we were saying our vows at the Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel but that was nearly a month ago now! Sheesh. Antho has already watched the entirety of the Office twice since then, and it's only a matter of time until he's finished it again. It's such pleasant background noise, though, and it's fun finding new dimension to the characters with the repeated viewings illuminating little details and interactions we'd missed previously... but anyway, enough lamenting the passage of time, let's focus on the pretties! This post will be focusing on the China Lights festival and there are going to be LOTS of photos, so I've split the photos into three separate posts with the next two coming out on the 14th and the 15th, so if you like these make sure to check back for the rest!
And pretty it most definitely was!
Have you ever been to a Chinese Lantern Festival? I 'm a bit embarrassed to admit I haven't been to many, despite having lived in Asia for three years... I visited one when I was in Seoul in 2016 and I'll have a post about that experience up in the next couple of months, but this is the second one that I can recall ever going to. I mean, there would be lanterns abounding at festivals in Urayasu or at any temple I visited while in Japan, but they were a very different sort of variety.
It was a cold night in late February when we went, and unfortunately by now the event has long since closed up and moved on. It ran from January 19th to February 25th and we caught it very near to the end of it's stay. Because it was so cold and windy on the night we visited, the evening performances were cancelled and we were left to simply meander about the lights listening to the ambient music as we wished. It was a wonderful experience and despite the cold we enjoyed ourselves. There were several vendors providing hot foods, from grilled chicken to yakisoba and donuts, and we were extremely grateful for them! We got some pork yakisoba and the freshly fried donuts, with the vendor using a fun contraption to drop the little balls into the hot grease as you watched. This meant SUPER fresh, steaming hot donuts coated in sugar, perfect for the cold weather! Anttho also kindly got me a cup of coffee, which didn't take me long to drink but helped warm me as the temperatures grew colder as the night crept deeper.
I would wholeheartedly and happily recommend anyone curious about the event simply bite the bullet and go! I was a bit trepidatious about the $20 per person fee, but we really had a nice time walking through the park taking in the displays. Excellent date night idea, just make sure to bundle up to stay warm!
More photos below!
Check back tomorrow for more photos!
Until then~
💖
XOXO,
NAU
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