Oh boy, where do I even begin? May was quite generous month with tons of memorable days and important events. Perhaps the most important of them all was the news of my promotion – I was moved to the Public Affairs Specialist position. It’s a career I’ve been wanting to pursue for a while now and am super excited for this fantastic opportunity.
In other news, we celebrated my 32nd birthday with a trip to Shibazakura Festival by Mt. Fuji. It was a real gift to have a clear view of Fuji-san and see the vast fields carpeted with colorful flowers. We then proceeded to have birthday dinner at Shima which serves one of the best wagyu beef in town. It’s not the best I’ve had in Japan, but the dinner was still delicious.
Speaking of memorable dining experiences, I also wrote a full recap of our anniversary dinner at 2 Michelin-starred French restaurant Pierre Gagnaire Tokyo. Now that was a fantastic date night!
I’ve written before how fortunate I feel about knowing so many fellow bloggers around the world. There are so many talented bloggers whose writing and imagery I admire, and whose travels inspire me on a daily basis. Meeting them in person brings me even bigger joy. Mid-May I had a chance to meet incredibly inspiring Em from Catch52 who recently embarked on a new journey in her life: she quit the job to explore the world and write about it! She is smart and beautiful inside and out, and I will be forever grateful for all the blogging tips and advice she gave me during our meet-up.
Last but not least, we traveled to China (call it a belated birthday trip) and crossed this beast of a destination off of our bucket list. I will be honest, I came back with mixed feelings as it was a love-hate relationship from the get-go and I will tell you all about it in the upcoming series of posts about Shanghai and Beijing. One thing is for certain though, stroll along the dazzling Bund and hike up the Great Wall of China were one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Featured Articles
I recently visited a newly opened sake bar and restaurant in Tokyo which I highly recommend. Sake Scene Masufuku effortlessly pairs French dining with Japanese sake tasting. I particualrly enjoyed the refined and elegant decor influenced by the timeless Japanese aesthetics. 
I also wrote a guide to Odaiba for my Tokyo’s Neigborhood Strolls column, have a look and get inspired to visit.
Favorite Reads:
Erin from Oregon Girl Around The World, who by the way has amazing sense of humor, wrote a comprehensive list of 65 decidedly Danish things she learned while living in Denmark. Among of my favorites were “Swearing is perfectly acceptable. Danes favorite English word is F*#k” and “Buying used clothing is acceptable. Vintage is better. But the shoes. Those are BRAND NEW.” Do yourself a favor and read the rest on her blog!
Angie practically made me believe I traveled to Maldives via her fabulous photos (blog and YouTube Chanel) of her luxurious stays.
Meanwhile, Jamie‘s recent trip to HK not only brought a serious food envy (Yum Cha dim sum, do I need to say more?), but also made me pick up the phone and call my grandma! I also felt the pain Joyce from Local Girl Foreign Land endured while migrating her blog from WordPress.com to the self-hosted website. If you are not a tech savvy person like myself, but are considering the move then her tips/experience might be helpful.
I also discovered a gem of a blogger recently – Sara from Me and Orla. She is an Instagram guru and shares tons of invaluable tips on how to up your “instagame”. I downloaded her 7-Day Guide and am already noticing significant changes on my account after falling her advice.
Finally, I want to finish off this post with a video that made me very homesick. Here’s a video by Culture Trip of a thousand-year-old tiny church perched on top of the 131-foot pillar rock. One of many wonders of my beautiful country Georgia.
That’s Pretty much it for the month of May. I know this post is a bit belated, but then again, I was traveling. Thank you for reading!
xoxo, nano
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You had such a wonderful May! I hope June is just as good to you xx
Happy birthday!!! So cool that you got to meet Em and I can’t wait to read about China. Thank you for mentioning me!!
Thank you, Angie! xx