Blog - Travel Realizations

Christmas Lights in the San Francisco Bay Area

Last Updated On November 27, 2021

Christmas lights in the San Francisco Bay Area will light you up with delight this winter. Not just San Francisco – a timeless urban retreat, but the cities like San Jose, San Carlos, Fremont, Palo Alto, Monterey, and Oakland, offer magical wonderlands of Christmas lights and decorations and exude a cheering warmth. Stroll the mile-long stretches of streets decked with sparkling lights and see the houses beautifully and creatively festooned with decorations and soak up all the festive spirit. Christmas is a perfect time to make new memories together with family and loved ones. Here is a list of fabulous places to see Christmas Lights in the San Francisco Bay Area where you can bask in the glow of holiday light displays. A magical ambiance awaits you at each of these places. Plan your December weekends ahead and enjoy.

Happy holidays 🎅!

Fall Colors in Rocky Mountain National Park

By Chirasree Banerjee

Last Updated On August 25, 2021

Fall colors in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado are a vibrant spectacle which I was lucky enough to have witnessed. The cornucopia of bright yellow of the aspen trees in Estes Park, the gateway town to the Rocky Mountain National Park, instills a delight that far outshines any of the minutely curated beautiful Instagram feeds. The fall foliage in Grand Lake is visual poetry. Grand Lake is another nearby town located just one mile from the west entrance of the national park. My trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake, and Estes Park, suffused with the golden glow of autumn, has acquired a permanent shelf-life in my memory. I hope this travel guide and memoir will inspire you to plan a trip to greet autumn amidst the majestic Rocky Mountains.

Spirit Island in Canada – A famous icon of the Canadian Rockies

By Chirasree Banerjee

Last Updated On August 1, 2021

Spirit Island in Canada, a famous icon of the Canadian Rockies, is remote and is only reachable by a boat, a kayak, or canoe. When I was exploring the majestic Canadian Rockies, the wilderness all around evoked in me a quest for remoteness – a place completely cut-off from the complex world we live in. The postcard-perfect Spirit Island which is not easily accessible seemed a viable option to taste the essence of a far-away remote land, surrounded by untamed nature. I embarked on a cruise from Maligne Lake – a boat trip that revealed the ongoing metamorphosis of my sensations to me unlike any other. My mind at the time was untrammeled by convention and could listen to the inner flux. The postcard-perfect Maligne Lake and Spirit Island, which is part of Jasper National Park in Canada (a UNESCO world heritage site) filled and flooded me with inspiration. I was drowned in their poetic impressions.

Glacier National Park – A travel guide!

By Chirasree Banerjee

Last Updated On June 27, 2021

The Glacier National Park, home to some of the greatest scenery in North America, came to my mind while planning a summer trip with family. Long habituated to the ever-increasing rush, the hustle and bustle of the San Francisco Bay Area, I wanted to visit a place that is distant, remote, incongruous, and is disappearing or is transformed by climate change. I savored the impressive scenery and built beautiful memories while traveling responsibly before all is gone forever. The Glacier National Park in Montana, together with the Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, is a UNESCO world heritage site, which offers a contiguous high-country wonderland of innumerable rocks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, woods, and mountains. Although I was not consciously following any particular trend, I later recognized that Glacier National Park belongs to a new kind of bucket list item known informally as “last chance travel” because the park is on track to lose its glaciers within a generation. I enjoyed every moment I spent in this park with my family and wanted to share with you the joy of spending 4 days filled with wanderlust and wilderness. Before you plan and go to witness the Crown of the Continent, read this travel guide to the magical and stunningly beautiful Glacier National Park.

Lake Tahoe in Summer – Perfect 4 days!

By Chirasree Banerjee

Last Updated On May 26, 2021

A trip to Lake Tahoe in summer from the San Francisco Bay Area gifted me a much-awaited break from the whirlwind of city and the complexities of modern tech-driven life. Lake Tahoe, the largest Alpine lake in North America greeted me with a dash of dark blue and thousands of sparkles under the shining sun. I felt I stepped in a veritable Eden. Iridescent flowers bloomed in unrivaled abundance and the small streams everywhere whispered the arrival of summer. I visited places that remain closed during the winters and hiking through numerous state parks was an absolute pleasure. Away from crowds and popular touristy spots, I chose the north shore of Lake Tahoe this time and spent four idyllic days in the lap of nature.

Lake Tahoe in Summer – Perfect 4 days! #Travel #LakeTahoe #California Click To Tweet

Salt Lake City to Yellowstone – A road trip guide!

By Chirasree Banerjee

Last Updated On April 23, 2021

The Salt Lake City to Yellowstone road trip during one summer gifted me days when I escaped to the extraordinary. On this road trip – history, art, and culture, the charm of old and small towns, grand sceneries and lush greeneries, wilderness and vastness, wildlife, and geographical wonders greeted me with open arms wherever I went. The long road morphed into a storybook studded with stirring panoramas, horizons that instill wanderlust and moments of inspiration. The Salt Lake City Temple Square, Logan Canyon Scenic Byway, Bear Lake, Grand Teton National Park, John D Rockefeller Jr Memorial Parkway, Yellowstone National Park, and Mesa Falls were some of the exuberant highlights of this super scenic road trip. The speed, the sun, the wind, the fantasy of never looking back, and the sheer diversity of vistas – these are some of the memories forever etched in my mind from the trip. Read along and let me inspire you to hit the road through this road trip guide. I hope you will love it as much as I did!

Salt Lake City to Yellowstone – A road trip guide! #RoadTrip Click To Tweet

San Francisco Bay Area Gardens to Visit in Spring

By Chirasree Banerjee

Last Updated On April 8, 2021

I love exploring the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area gardens in spring. Springtime in California is the best time to explore the beautiful state both far and near. The weather gets warmer, and the signs of the season pop up everywhere. All the places with vibrant new green leaves on the trees look prettier every day. Spring blooms are ephemeral yet perennially beautiful. Therefore, if you want to know where to see the best of the Bay Area gardens, today I bring you my top picks. Read along!

Spring break in California – Best places to visit

By Chirasree Banerjee

Last Updated On March 27, 2021

In California, spring unfolds beautifully. The mild temperature, the effusion of colors, and wildflowers everywhere whisper to explore the outdoors during spring break in California. This time aptly coincides with my birthday and the spring break at my daughter’s school. I choose places that are beautiful, invigorating, and have plenty of learning opportunities and activities to keep our minds and muscles busy. Sometimes though, we choose to relax and imbibe the vibrancy of our surroundings. Let me present you with a few beautiful places to celebrate spring in California.

Hello. My name is Chirasree. I have been traveling for almost 11 years to places all over the world. I enter into a separate reality during my travels and enjoy the allure of escape from the mundane. I seek beauty through nature and human-made creations. Because beauty is powerful. I seek knowledge. I observe, absorb, and write about the places I visit and the profound realizations and inspirations that each place has to offer.

I lived in Switzerland for six years and dwelled in absolute beauty, day and night. The house of Herman Hesse in Lugano, Freud's house in Vienna, and Mesolithic paintings inside the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, India inspire me and have influenced my thoughts and made it multi-dimensional. Now, I live in the heart of Silicon Valley in [...]

Travel Realizations

Celebrating Experiences

Christmas Lights in the San Francisco Bay Area

Fall Colors in Rocky Mountain National Park

Spirit Island in Canada – A famous icon of the Canadian Rockies

Glacier National Park – A travel guide!

Lake Tahoe in Summer – Perfect 4 days!

Salt Lake City to Yellowstone – A road trip guide!

San Francisco Bay Area Gardens to Visit in Spring

Spring break in California – Best places to visit

Stay in touch

Subscribe to my Blog

Search

About me

Your Appreciation is Welcome!

JOIN ME ON INSTAGRAM

travelrealizations

Popular Stories

LET’S CONNECT ON FACEBOOK

Facebook Posts

Follow me on Twitter

JOIN ME ON INSTAGRAM

travelrealizations

GET MY LATEST POSTS BY EMAIL

Connect with Travel Realizations