Travel Adventures and Photography
I was in for a surprise when I boarded the Amtrak Cascades train in Vancouver, heading to Seattle. The restoration of the historic King Street Station in Seattle is a truly beautiful sight and I recommend it to anyone visiting the city. Originally built in 1906, the railway station is actually on the National Register of Historic Places. Over the years, unfortunately remodeling concealed the original ornate Read More
Always on the lookout for unique things to do in Los Angeles, I jumped at the chance to attend an afternoon at the Greystone Mansion's Concours d'Elegance. I'm not specifically a car person, but the stunning colors and curves of the collection showcased this year got me very excited. Weird, I know. Located at the Greystone Estate in Beverly Hills, the annual Concours d'Elegance continues to be one of the most exclusive Read More
Do you ever struggle with whether to go on an adventurous vacation or a relaxing one? You don't exactly have all the vacation time in the world and there is never time for a vacation after your vacation, so it's all about getting the balance right. Costa Rica's Guanacaste Province on the Pacific coast is a destination that truly caters to both. The small village of Nosara is home to 5,800 residents and is a great place Read More
I recently did a road trip along the California coast and I thought others might benefit from my legwork to find the best places to spot wild sea otters. California sea otters nearly went extinct in the early 1900's due to hunters wanting their soft fur, and later the animal officially became an endangered species. Their numbers are very slowly improving now with about 2,700 known to exist in California. These are the Read More
Recently I had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks in Paris taking photographs that capture some of the timeless, iconic settings that make Parisian life so dreamy. For only a short period of time, a small collection of my Paris photographs will be available for purchase in the Etsy shop "Parisian Moments" (an online marketplace) owned by one of the top selling photographers on Etsy. Every piece of work is printed Read More
Camera: Sony NEX-3N Iso: 200 Focal Length: 28mm Aperture: f/6 Exposure Time: 1/20 On the route between Los Angeles and Lake Arrowhead, along the CA-18 Highway, you'll have several chances to soak up the sweeping vistas of San Bernardino National Forest. As I watched the fiery sun fall below the horizon, "blue hour" lasted no more than five minutes, casting a moody blue light over the mountains. It was an appropriate end Read More
The coastal California getaway known as Crystal Cove is about as hidden as it gets; driving along the Pacific Coast Highway you would never know what awaits below unless you've been there. Each year, over 25,000 visitors stay here in California's last surviving historic beach community which flourished from 1935 to 1955. It is an excellent spot for families exploring the tide pools, cocktails with friends, passing through on a Read More
Tea. Pastries. Paris. Here is my collection of the best Paris tea rooms: Mariage Freres Parisian tea room first opened in 1854, having been France's oldest tea importer dating back to 1660. It's hard to miss with their dozen tea emporiums in Paris, four of which have tea rooms and 500 varieties of tea. The original tea room in the Marais has a calm atmosphere and colonial decor, where experts will help you choose Read More
A town located in central Bali, Ubud is popularly known as ‘The Center of Art of Culture’. It was described to me as a town made up of small villages, each of which specializes in a different creative art: silver and jewelry, basket weaving, oil painting, batik and textiles, and some seriously amazing wood carving. I am so glad I didn’t hesitate when deciding where to spend most of my time in Bali. In fact, I extended my stay Read More
With Paris being today's most popular tourist destination in the world, you wouldn't think there are any 'hidden' gems to speak of. I however, may have found one courtesy of my culture-loving Parisian friends whom I visited recently. Do you know of Le Jardin des Plantes, the 69-acre botanical garden in the 5th arrondissement? Across the street from that garden is a little oasis where we spent an afternoon sipping mint tea and Read More
