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!
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.
California is a wonderland of trees with some of the tallest and largest trees in the world. I gazed in awe when I saw the Coast Redwoods, Giant Sequoias, and Monterey cypress trees for the first time, and they never cease to amaze me even now. Walking among the most ancient of the ancient trees in the world in California has an unparalleled charm and made me fall in love with trees – the majestic hearts beating for centuries. I love exploring and framing the iconic and super scenic Monterey cypress trees and tunnels near San Francisco with my camera on weekends and can’t wait to share them with you all.
During my decades-long travels, whenever and wherever I came across exhibitions, museums, events, or memorials celebrating women, I acquired a piece of memento for my collection. Eventually, I built a montage of travel souvenirs that celebrate women. They all inspire me and give me the strength to achieve new milestones and set new goals. I hope these souvenirs and their stories will inspire you too as they do to me.
Celebrating women – A Montage of travel souvenirs! #InternationalWomensDay #ChooseToChallenge Click To Tweet
Winter in California is varied and beautiful. I stood amidst the snowfall after driving a couple of hours on one weekend and cherished a pleasant and sunny winter afternoon at the beach on another weekend. If you are in a mood to explore the beautiful corners of California in winter, during or after the holiday season, there are a plethora of options. Each has its unique lure. Since I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am fortunate to have experienced them all. So let me help you plan some wonderful winter weekend gateways in California.
Winter in California is varied and beautiful. Explore snow-filled winter getaways in California from the San Francisco Bay Area. #Travel #VisitCalifornia Click To Tweet
Charlie Chaplin, one of the most powerful protagonists in world cinema spent the last 25 years of his life in Vevey Switzerland, one of the pearls of the beautiful Swiss Riviera. While living in Lausanne, I got the opportunity to visit Chaplin’s World, the Charlie Chaplin house in Switzerland. It was wonderful to know about the bright mind and creative man behind the baggy pants, tight coat, small hat, oversized shoes, and a cane in the hand through his everyday life, portrayed thoughtfully inside his house. I gained insight not only about his personal life inside the mansion but also his artistic creations in the newly built studio film museum, in the same premise. The visitors here get to see the recreated scenes and characters built with wax from the famous movies of our beloved tramp. If you are like me whose childhood Sundays in India mostly began with a Chaplin show or are interested in Chaplin, the passionate artist, the comic genius, and the cinematic innovator who worked on both sides of the camera, come along with me and explore Chaplin’s world.
On one fine chilly December morning, we boarded a train from Berlin to Magdeburg, to see and feel the Christmas spirit in one of the oldest cities in Germany on the river Elbe. Christmas celebrations in old European cities with thousand year long histories have an unparalleled charm. After boarding the train, the fresh sunlight slanted across the train window and I saw the slow unfurling of the winter morning from the train window. I reached my destination after a little more than an hour, the journey being perfect for my brain to prepare for new scenes and scents.
Fall colors in Napa Valley are spectacular especially in the first two weeks of November, after the harvest season. Autumn paints the vineyards in gold and fills the eyes of spectators with delight. This time of the year, when nature undergoes a metamorphosis, I have always loved witnessing the process. The brevity of the fall season adds momentum and I choose to chase the colors of nature. In this pandemic stricken year when I can’t go far, I drove to Napa Valley and witnessed the sun-dappled gold vineyards and beautiful wineries along the Silverado Trail. I walked through the vineyards surrounded by fall colors and loved the wonderful experience. I felt restored and rejuvenated. I captured the resplendent vineyards, both small and big with my camera and couldn’t be happier. So, come along with me to Napa Valley through this photo essay. Sip a glass of wine, snuggle inside a blanket, or curl up in a deep armchair and explore.
