Day Two at the Expo. No breakfast. We ate ice cream sandwiches at 7:30 AM.
We stood most the way on this one stop on the train to the Expo. Japan doesn’t consider us old, since there are 10,000 one hundred year olds. (too bad).
Stumbled into getting our picture taken in front of a green screen and we chose this background.
We took the huge escalator to the top of the Grand Circle and walked halfway around the expo to get to the blue setion for today.
Beautiful flowers.
We charged these orbs and then heard all about the stations of the exhibit. I think this was Norway.
Artsy photo. I I took a selfie of me and I am shown on the mirrored ceiling too.
Holland?
We listed a wish on this AI table and then ran upstairs tto find it written on the ceiling. This was Joy’s wish for youthful optimism. Cool!
Since we didn’t have breakfast at the hotel, we ate at Belgium. I had a mushroom on bread meal with Belgium Fries (and MAYO!!). Then we stayed for a Belgium ice cream sundae with crunchies and whipped cream. MMMM!
No sure what country. But it was very cool See video below.
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Again. Cool. It spun around slowly.
Music from Australia.
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Saudi Arabia. The blue artwork was all tiny little beads. And there was a full and actual recording studio going on .
These people were actually making this video as we watched.
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Thailand was fantastic. And it was especially meaningful because Joy and I were in Thailand together. And then we got in line and received a 15 minute chair massage when we were really to drop. It gave us another 3 hours!!
MASSAGE!!!!!
This machine was drawing a zen garden in sand. Amazing.
We waited in line for 1/2 hour. I tried to talk Joy out of it; but she said we owed Ukrane that much. I now agree and so glad we did. This exhibit was brilliant. It looked like a Walmart, but we used their handheld devices to scan the “UPC codes” and descriptions of what they have been through and what they are trying to accomplish showed up. And the NOT FOR SALE was so poignant.
Joy asked how we could help and the kid pulled out his phone and called up this website — UNITED24.
Joy blurted out “We love him!” And the kid said “As do I.”
It was just so moving.
I remember being in Dubai at the 2022 Expo visiting a young woman and man at the Ukraine exhibit when we asked about the impending attack by Putin. They just laughed and said “That will never happen. Putin has been threatening this for the past 4 years.”
We were comforted by getting the real scoop from locals.
SADLY, 3 weeks later Russia invaded Ukraine. 😰😱
I was so sick in Bhutan I missed the dress-up night. This made up for it a little.
Had a dinner in Poland. They were very organized — you could have a meal with meat or without. Turns out I could eat everything on the plate!! And the juice was delicious.
I love the dishes too!
We tried our trick about eating at the country and then sneaking into the exhibit without the wait. It didn’t work in Belgium nor Poland. The pic of me is supposed to look like I’m an astronaut.
Thought this was ingenious!! — Those Polish!!