Friday -
On the way to LA, the boys thought it would be a good idea to get gas station snacks.
They choose corn dogs.
In retrospect, not such a good idea.
Arrived @ UCLA around 8:30. Went to a discussion session, which lasted 'til 11:00. Then, dinner @ Koraku in Little Tokyo.
We've been here lots of times before. It's close to the Miyako (our hotel) & the JACCC, open late, and the food is diner-y (if diners served ramen) and perfectly adequate. I usually get the mabo tofu.
Saturday -
This was one of the longest days, ever. We taught 4 workshops, each with about 30 kids. I don't know if they were all tired or shy or what, but they were, as a whole, kind of quiet. Thankfully, there were former JT kids in each of the workshops, so we had people to pick on. They were good sports.
Lunch was outside (UCLA campus is absolutely enormous and really pretty). The kids had pizza, and the workshop leaders (SFTD, Kinnara, TP, On, & Zendeko) had bento. Mmm.For obvious reasons, we decided to skip that evening's semi-formal banquet/talent show/dance. Instead, we went with Mich, Kaoru, Mas, & Shoji to Al Gelato, a small neighborhoody Italian place somewhere between Beverly Hills & Culver City.
This is one of Michelle's favorite places.
She is really happy to be here.
They're famous for their red sauce, which is mellow & sweet. The spinach ravioli & homemade gnocchi were awesome.
And this is the world's biggest apple pie.
Gimmicky? Yes. But you want to try it, don't you?
Roy caves and gets the pie. It's actually quite good. Nice & tart, not too cinnamon-y, and served warm with a boozy caramel sauce.
I was impressed.
But you can't go to a place called Al Gelato and not get the gelato.We tried passionfruit (wow), lemon, pear, and mango. All solid.
Stay away from the green apple gelato, though. I tasted it, and it tasted like fake extract. But don't let that keep you away from Al Gelato!
Sunday -
Coffee from the hotel coffee shop. Note the cup.
Snacks from Yamazaki bakery. Freshly baked Japanese-y buns.
The Big Concert in the afternoon. And by big, I mean really, really long. It was 3 hours 15 minutes this year; much better than last year's 4-hour extravaganza. Oy.
Monday -
On our way home, we stop to see Yurika's friend, Rob. He composes soundtracks for TV & movies, and we wanted to see his fancypants studio.
He writes the soundtrack for a TV show called The Unit...
...and he as a lot of toys.
The wall of autographs. This place was used by a lot of bands. Ones that even I recognized.
A love letter from his boss.
Pan pipes, taller than me. How do you play these???
