Photo taken by Daynah using Camera+ on the iPhone 4

Day 2 in Canada was a day of passing through beautiful towns and taking walks in these amazing cities.

We spent the entire day in Niagara Falls yesterday. It’s a good idea to get a hotel there since it’s about 2 hours from Toronto. Day 2 in Canada was mostly driving to Toronto and stopping at various places along the way.

We drove by the Niagara Botanical Gardens and saw so many busses pull in that we had to stop by ourselves! The gardens were beautifully maintained and contained all sorts of plants. Walking around was quite relaxing, especially on such a nice day. There were also horse carriages giving tours of the gardens. And in the center of it was also a Butterfly Conservatory. There were lots of photo ops here. The only thing lacking were the roses. They’re not in season yet, so some parts of the gardens were flowerless.

We left the botanical gardens and took a left. If you drive for a few minutes, you’ll pass by the Niagara Floral Clock. Be sure to turn on the curvy street and stop by! It’s a giant functional clock made perfectly out of flowers. You can see a photo of it above.

We continued to head East and stopped by a little town called Niagara-on-the-Lake. My friend Claudia suggested that I visit it, and I’m so happy she did. This town was gorgeous! Every lamppost had a big bouquet of flowers hanging from it. Everywhere you looked had colorful blooms. The only difficult thing in this city was finding parking, and I can see why! It took us a while, but after driving up and down the street a few times, we found street parking. This city had lots of unique little shops and take a nice walk to each one. We stopped by The Epicurean Restaurant for lunch. It’s a cute little restaurant tucked away from all the excitement happening in the street. The food was quite fresh, and they make it when you order it. Albert highly recommends the beef pot pie. (See food pictures!)

By 5pm, we hurried off to Toronto. The drive there wasn’t as spectacular. They closed down the Gardier Expressway, so you had to take the Lake Shore Blvd (almost like a highway) that parallels it. That means you get all of the local city traffic. It took about 30 minutes to go a few miles. On the bright side, look to your left and you’ll see some amazing ads made of plants and white rocks. It looks lovely! And on your right side is Humber Bay. You’ll see piers, parks, and beaches as you drive to your hotel. It’s a slow, but scenic route!

After we checked into the hotel, we took a while into Downtown Toronto, in search for a good place for dinner. The city was packed! There was a music festival happening, and people singing on the sidewalk, and just excitement everywhere. We walked around a bit and found a place called Fine Asian Bowl, which was mostly Vietnamese food. Delicious!

After dinner, we took the subway and headed toward the CN Tower. We got there a bit too late, and they were closing up, so we ended up taking some night shots with the tower instead. We walked back to the hotel after, which was very close by!

There’s so much to see and do in Toronto.. that I wish I had another day or two to explore.

Tips: To-Do list if you’re driving from Niagara Falls to Toronto..

• Visit the Botanical Gardens
• Take a photo with the Niagara Floral Clock
• Stroll down the streets of Niagara-on-the-Lake. I hear that they have nice wineries too, so visit those if you have time.
• Have lunch here, I recommend at The Epicurean Restaurant
• American and Canadian money are inter-changable in Niagara Falls and Toronto, so no need to exchange them at the airport.

Disclosure: Many thanks to Virgin America and Klout for their special promotion. I was given free roundtrip tickets for LA-Toronto as part of a Klout Perk. #VXToronto

Photo taken by Daynah using Camera+ on the iPhone 4

Niagara Falls was such a magical experience. I touched the Falls up close and felt mother nature’s beauty and power.

Thursday night, Albert and I hopped on a plane and headed to Toronto (one of Virgin America’s new stops). It was a red eye flight so I was trying to get as much sleep as possible. Every seat has a tv, but I was good and didn’t flip through much of he entertainment.

Our plane landed in Toronto at 7am EST (to me, 4am PST) and we hurried off and got our rental car and drove to Niagara Falls. It’s about 2 hours away from Toronoto. The weather in Canada could not have been more perfect! It was sunny, nice, and warm and I was just overjoyed.

We headed straight to see one of the ace wonders of the world! You can easily see the Niagara Falls from the Fallsview Casino. Just walk out to the back patio, and you’ll see the natural beauty from a distance. Follow the path on the right, take a ride down the steep hill, and it takes you right in front of the Falls. Believe me, it’s an amazing sight! I could probably stand there for hours if they sun wasn’t beaming so much. You can stand right next to where the water falls over. There’s a railing of course, but it’ll take your breath away nevertheless. Once you’re done snapping your photos, take a walk and follow the path to the left side.

Be sure to have your sandles on, because your journey to the Maid of the Mist will leave you soaked with fantastic memories! It’s a boat ride that goes right into the mist of the waterfall. Once you get on the boat, the best viewing area is on the left side and if possible, closer to the front. I can’t really explain it, but being that close to the waterfalls was quite an invigorating experience! You’re given blue ponchos to wear so your clothes and bags don’t get wet, but your feet/shoes might. Oh, and your face and hair will definitely get wet, even if you’re on the bottom deck! Be sure to bring a water camera and capture the magical moment!

After you get off the boat, you walk into a fun souvenir store. When you leave the store, you can pick you your Maid of the Mist photos! It’s green-screened, but looks magnificent! This is a good wifi spot and you have a nice view of the Falls there too.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Niagara Falls on a Friday or Saturday night, watch the spectacular fireworks show over the waterfalls. The show starts around 10pm, so plan accordingly. After the show, take a walk down to the rails and watch the waterfalls change colors in the night. The lights will be on until midnight.

If you’re up for some adventure, check out the attractions at Niagara Falls. From what I heard from locals, the Maid of the Mist is the best ride, but I also had my heart set on “Cave of the Winds” too. You can climb up and see the back of the waterfalls. If only my vacation was a bit longer.. :)

Tip: If you don’t have an international phone plan, there’s free wifi at the Toronto Pearson International Airport, in the FallsView Casino (next to the water fountain0, and in the gift shop after you get off the Maid of the Mist. ;) Check into Foursquare after you get off the boat… you’ll get a special badge!

Disclosure: Many thanks to Virgin America and Klout for their special promotion. I was given free roundtrip tickets for LA-Toronto as part of a Klout Perk.

I’m just packing for Comic-Con right now… I guess you know what booths and sessions I’m attending. :)

More about Items in the photo: The Guild, Dr. Horrible, Glee

I had an amazing time at the Jordin Sparks concert at Club Nokia tonight! It was quite exciting to be in a room packed with her screaming fans. Jordin came on stage at 9pm and brought so much energy to the crowd, it was hard not to sing and jump along! I kept the jumping to a minimum though since I didn’t want to drop my camera. ;)

She sang every song from her latest album, and through in a few new ones. She also added “No Air” and “Tattoo” to the set as well.

I was there to do a photoshoot of the concert for Beatweek Magazine, and had a great time while doing it! Here are some of my favorites!

And some videos! Sorry about the blue-ish color. I don’t think the app was compatible with iOS 4, but the audio is fine. Qik video of “Art of Love” by Jordin Sparks and Guy Sebatian.

Love Jordin Sparks? Go see her now on her Battlefield Tour! She’ll also be starring on Broadway in “In the Heights” from Aug. 13 – the end of November. Go see her in New York as well!

More info:
Beatweek Magazine
JordinSparks.com
Latest Album (Battlefield)

“Battlefield” by Jordin Sparks is on sale now.

Disclaimer: I received complimentary concert tickets as part of Beatweek Magazine’s media coverage.

I’m just sitting at home, relaxing, and enjoying my iPad!

So I went to the Apple store early today and was surprisingly, I was first in line! Sadly, it was really cold and freezing… and I didn’t want to lose my place in line, so I skipped lunch too.

By the evening time, the Apple store employees felt bad for me, so they let me pick up my iPad early since I pre-ordered it online! Isn’t that great? I couldn’t believe it either! I was quite overjoyed as you can see from my expression below.

I just couldn’t stop smiling! Well, now I’m home, relaxing after a long day of standing in line in the freezing cold weather, and just enjoying this lovely iPad. Hope you had a great April Fool’s Day too. :)

I stopped by Hallmark today and saw this. It’s adorable! “We got the Tweet.. we got the tweet… we got the tweet!” It made me smile today, hope it does the same to you!

A few days ago, I heard Ryan Seacrest mention that Orianthi will be playing at my local Best Buy this weekend. I’m so happy I caught that announcement!

So my friends and I met up today at Best Buy and watched her perform a few songs from her album. She performed “Drive Away,” “Bad News,” and my favorite “According to You.” For those of us who came earlier, we got a pre-show when she was doing her sound check. :)

If you haven’t heard her music yet, you’ll soon find out that she’s an amazing guitarist. She’s worked with incredible musicians like Carrie Underwood, Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, and Michael Jackson. Here’s a full interview with her from iProng Magazine.

You can purchase Orianthi’s Believe cd or take a listen to the album below:

My autographed cd!

Slideshow from the Concert

Related Links

• Orianthi.com – Her official website
• Orianthi interview with iProng Magazine
• Live Qik Video: Bad News & According to You
• Live Qik Video: Drive Away

I attended the Software Development for iPhone and iPod Touch Seminar today, presented by Steve Hayman.

He briefly talked about development for the iPad (which is very similar to iPhone / iPod Touch development), as well as how to create web apps and native apps during the presentation. Above is a UCR native iPhone app that he created with us in under 15 minutes. Wow.

Here are my notes from the seminar.

What a dramatic night sunset! Today’s weather was just lovely. I was especially happy to see the sun after all the storms and flooding we had in the last week.

I was inspired to work on my flower garden today, so I headed out to Lowe’s.

On the way to the store, I saw these lovely snow-capped mountains!

After searching around the garden section, Albert and I decided to buy the pretty red velvet tulips. We spent the late afternoon cleaning out the front yard and removing the old plants. Now I have pretty blooming tulips to greet me every morning. I hope they grow big and bloom a lot this spring!

It’s Friday and the last day of the week-long storms that keep passing through California. It stopped raining for the most part, so I went out for dinner tonight at Panera Bread, and stopped by Target to get a few things. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I walked down the candy section. Everything there was PINK and RED! And if you’re a Hello Kitty fan, there’s a ton of stuff for you to check out!

Aren’t these Valentine Hello Kitty dolls cute?

I haven’t been out much this past week. But below was my secret on how to tweet and stay warm at the same time. :)