7.29.2016

501. Cirque du Soleil - "LUZIA" - A Waking Dream in Mexico

Cirque du Soleil Luzia opening
A few nights ago, my mom and I went to watch the new Cirque du Soleil show, LUZIA! LUZIA brings you on a journey between reality and fantasy to explore the rich, vibrant culture of Mexico. The show combines an extraordinary mix of breathtaking visuals and sounds to invoke your imagination and provoke your senses.

I was invited to their special preview night and brought my mom along. We watched it a day before the "official" opening night, and were treated to the ultimate VIP experience. This included premium seats, open food and drinks in the VIP tent before the show and during intermission, private washrooms, a terrace, and more. We had an amazing night and were blown away by the show.

LUZIA is a combination of the words "luz" ("light" in Spanish) and "lluvia" ("rain" in Spanish); two elements at the core of the show. Water was also integrated into the show for the first time. To represent Mexico, the team created a dream woven from memories, experiences and encounters, laden with Mexican culture, history and mythology. The audience was brought on a journey through a series of fragments based on themes of speed, monumentality, rain, animals and fantasy.

Cirque du Soleil Luzia Toronto
I totally thought we got front row at first..but it turns out there was a row AA & BB so we were in third lol.

Cirque du Soleil Luzia drinks
Cirque du Soleil Luzia food
Cirque du Soleil Luzia
Cirque du Soleil Luzia food
Cirque du Soleil Luzia food stations
Cirque du Soleil VIP food
The food was actually really really good. To be honest, I didn't expect it to be that good because I thought it was one of those events where the focus would be on the show rather than food..but I was wrong. They also served a lot of it so we ate enough for an entire meal. There were things like: curry coconut chicken empanadas, orange and kale salad, slow-cooked chicken skewers, patatas bravas, mackerel escabeche crostinis, carnita tacos, and a LOT more! I loved everything. Everything was inspired by the flavours of Mexico and served with an assortment of premium wines, beers, and soft drinks.

Cirque du Soleil VIP tent
As you can see..there were some extremely dark clouds that evening. We didn't think much of it at first but then literally the minute we were supposed to head over to the main tent for the show to start...it started thunderstorming really badly. It was pouring like crazy and the wind was very extreme..(we found out it knocked over a tree near the entrance as we were leaving). We were all in the VIP Tent still and didn't know how to get to the main tent for the show. It was so scary. I was afraid the tent would collapse because of the winds..and the rain started to come in because the wind was blowing it sideways..so they had to zip up the entrance and exits. The show was delayed a bit because of this. Luckily the wind died down a little bit so they transported us over, one by one, with umbrellas.

Cirque du Soleil Luzia
Cirque du Soleil Luzia butterfly
The show started off with sounds of a plane fading away as a parachutist free falls from the ceiling. He is a traveller falling into a land of memories. He lands, explores his surroundings and turns a giant key in the ground. This starts the journey as he is transported on a magical journey between fantasy and reality. The running woman with the large butterfly wings was the first scene. So beautiful and captivating..and I loved the metallic horse running behind her. The butterfly wings were a tribute to the annual migratory journey of the monarch butterfly from Southern Canada to Central Mexico.

Cirque du Soleil hoop diving
In this scene, the acrobats were dressed in hummingbird costumes as they leapt through hoops while performing acrobatic moves. A giant treadmill was used to generate speed and agility. The hoops were less than 30" in diameter. The acrobats leapt through sometimes feet first, sometimes backwards, sometimes leapfrogging over each other to jump through.

Cirque du Soleil Luzia Adagio
Cirque du Soleil Luzia costumes
I LOVED their costumes. In the first photo above there is a beetle walking around (in case you didn't notice)..and the bottom one there are a couple of spearfish and tuna fish. The tuna fish heads were my favourite. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good clear shot.
This scene was inspired by the golden age of Mexican cinema. The three porters would fling the female acrobat above their heads and over to each other, while she performs intricate flips.

Cirque du Soleil Luzia
Cirque du Soleil Luzia
Cirque du Soleil hand balancing
In this scene, a lifeguard gradually builds two rows of flexible canes to balance on as he performs different moves; balancing on one hand, doing push ups on them, holding the iron cross position, etc., up to 20 feet high above the stage!

Cirque du Soleil Luzia
Cirque du Soleil Luzia costumes
Cirque du Soleil Luzia
Here is my favourite costume!!

Cirque du Soleil Luzia
Cirque du Soleil Aerial Straps
Cirque du Soleil Luzia
This scene was so beautiful but hard to capture with still photos..much like the whole show I guess. The acrobat represents the demigod of rain, swinging around in a cenote (which I've always wanted to visit in Mexico!) while also interacting with a jaguar. It was a very graceful performance. There was a water hole in the ground as he swung around and whipped his long hair along the surface of the water, creating splashes and incorporating the water into the performance.

Contortionist Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil contortionist
The contortionist was a little cringe-worthy at times, but amazing!

Cirque du Soleil acrobats
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil Swings
I loved watching the swings! There were two giant swings mounted on a turntable, which slowly turned while the acrobats performed, so the entire audience would see the show from all angles. The acrobats were thrown from one swing up to 33 feet in the air as they performed flips before landing on the other swing. Very entertaining to watch.

Cirque du Soleil Luzia
Cirque du Soleil Luzia

Luzia is Cirque du Soleil's 38th original production since 1984 and the 17th show to be presented in Toronto under the Big Top. It runs from July 28 to October 16 2016, making it the longest-running Cirque du Soleil show in Toronto so far. I highly recommend it..and would recommend purchasing tickets ASAP as I know a lot of nights are already sold out! Buy your tickets here and be transported to a waking dream of Mexico...


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7.27.2016

500. Milan | Snapshots Part 3

Dolce and Gabbana windows
It seems I reached the 500th post of my blog! Which actually is way past the 500th already, since I went through my entire blog once before to delete all the embarrassing posts/re-number them all lol. If I kept all the posts, I'm probably at 700-something.
I'm working on something pretty exciting for my blog at the moment which I wanted to dedicate the 500th post to, but that will take maybe another week or so to finalize. So I didn't want to wait that long to make a new post! I can't wait to reveal what the thing is though.

Here are some more random photos from Milan. Dolce & Gabbana shops were everywhere in Italy. There were a lot of designer stores in Milan but it seemed like D&G had the most boutiques. I really liked their windows. This window here in the photo below..I was standing next to this as I was opening my cough drops box I just got from the pharmacy next door. I didn't know it was Dolce & Gabbana at first and I actually thought it was just a little souvenir shop. I then saw the words "Dolce & Gabbana" on the window. I was confused at first then I realized what it actually was. Very cool concept!

Dolce and Gabbana Milan windows
Dolce and Gabbana windows
Dolce and Gabbana windows
streets of Milan
streets of Milan
Milan shopping
Milano
Luini Panzerotti Milan
This is a little bakery called Luini. It was recommended to me, so I decided to check it out. When I searched on the map..I was pleasantly surprised to find it was literally right around the corner/a few steps away from my hotel! When I went, there were a couple huge lines; one for each cashier, and even a security guy directly traffic. I got a tomato and mozzarella panzerotti to try. It was good and tasted very fresh but it wasn't amazing. I didn't understand the hype and constant long line ups but I guess it's one of those places where all tourists flock to.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
candy jars
Milan
Piazza del Duomo Milan
Milan Duomo
Duomo Milan doors
Whenever I travel alone, I love walking around at night to take photos of everything when it's more empty and not filled with tourists getting in all my shots. I really enjoyed walking around the Piazza del Duomo. The doors here were massive. It's hard to get a sense of scale in the photo though. I stood here for awhile just observing all the fine detailing.

Milan Duomo at night

Good night!

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7.17.2016

499. Capri | Snapshots Part 3

gelato in Capri
Here are some more photos from Capri! For the past few years, I've only used the camera on my phone to take photos. I used to use an actual camera before I decided it was too heavy to carry around.. and the camera on my phone is just as good (maybe even better) and a LOT more convenient. Now I've decided I want to use an actual camera again and maybe start doing videos as well, for my next vacation. I've been inspired after watching a lot of travel vlogs. I also want to try using a drone. But that will be when I really get into it..since I can barely even keep up with regular blogging these days. I think video editing will take up a lot more time though (I used to hate that course back in school..but now I am interested again). I really like blogging but I usually don't have much to write about for each post. So I figured maybe I should focus more on good quality photography and videos.

Capri blue waters
The blues of the waters are so beautiful. I took this shot while waiting for my boat to leave Capri. It was extremely windy that morning. So windy that they cancelled the high speed boat and I had to take the larger ferry instead..the whole ordeal which I already talked about in a previous post. I tried to take a photo of the big waves but I guess you can't really tell from a still photo. I had to hold my phone so tightly while taking this in case it blew away lol.

Capri harbour
Marina Grande Capri
scenes of Capri
scenes of Capri
Fendi Karlito
seafood penne
scenes of Capri
Punta Tragara Hotel view Capri
Punta Tragara Review

Punta Tragara Hotel
Punta Tragara breakfast
Punta Tragara Hotel breakfast
Punta Tragara restaurant
Punta Tragara pool bar
scenes of Capri
Just napping in the middle of the street...

scenes of Capri
scenes of Capri
Casa Morgano bathtub
Casa Morgano Review

Quisisana restaurant
First night's dinner at Rendez-Vous, the restaurant of Grand Quisisana Hotel

Quisisana Restaurant
Spaghetti Carbonara..I didn't like it that much. It was wayyy too filling.

macarons
scenes of Capri
scenes of Capri
scenes of Capri
scenes of Capri
scenes of Capri

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