Hannah Wilson

February 12, 2017

Hannah Wilson

Cathedral Light (& thoughts on religion)

I’ve had the chance to visit lots of Gothic cathedrals in Europe while I lived in France, and one thing that always fascinated me was the light inside of them. It’s elusive and fleeting, but always beautiful because of its rarity, so I thought it was time I dedicate an entire blog post to it.

But before we get into that, I thought this would be a somewhat appropriate time to talk about my views on religion. I haven’t publicly spoken about it before – as far as I can remember – and I don’t often discuss it in-person. But today, I’m putting it all out there! If religious discussion doesn’t interest you, however, just start reading at the line break further down.

Yamtcha Boutique - Frenco-Chinese Cuisine | French Californian

January 25, 2017

Hannah Wilson

Bonne Adresse: Yam’Tcha

Like 3 Comments Paris, See & Do

In French, a bonne adresse is literally translated as: a good address. It’s a place to eat, drink, or hang out, usually a business, that you would recommend to all your friends. Today I want to share one of mine in Paris.

If you’re a fan of Chef’s Table: France on Netflix, you have probably seen the episode featuring the Franco-Chinois cuisine of Adeline Grattard and her husband Chi Wah, who run a Michelin-starred restaurant called Yam’Tcha in Paris. I certainly do not have the budget to go to Michelin starred restaurants, nor the patience to try and get reservations, so thankfully they have a more casual, affordable counterpart in the same neighborhood that they call “Yam’Tcha Boutique,” where you can get fresh food from a sreet-side window, or sit in the tiny dining area sans reservations. My Stepdad, being really into the Nexflix show and a connoissuer of fine tea, made me promise that I would go have a taste of their famous Bao and high quality Asian tea before I left Paris, and I made good on that promise at the last minute, just a few days before moving away, with my friend Daniela.

January 13, 2017

Hannah Wilson

The Absurdity of the New Year + Resolutions

Like 2 Comments Diary

Even though the calendar is just a construct humans created to try and give themselves a sense of control over passing time, the new year is here, and to many of us, it means something. On one hand, any moment of any day is worthy of starting something new, but on the other hand, it just so happened that our move out of France and into America perfectly coincided with the start of 2017.

I don’t fully believe in New Year’s Resolutions. In fact, Facebook recently reminded me of a “memory” from the start of 2014 when I declared, “My New Year’s Resolution is to not have a New Year’s Resolution.” The contradiction in that statement highlights the ridiculousness of thinking that the start of a new calendar somehow has power. It doesn’t have any power (unless of course you believe that the movements of the solar system makes a difference). What really has the power is you – but that power can theoretically be accessed at any time. If you want to create your own way of organizing time, with 4-day-long weeks, 12-day-long months and 10-month-long years, then you can do that. You can then assume that every 4 days is the start of a fresh new week, it’s like your own personal Monday, a chance to begin new tasks and set new goals for the next 3 remaining days of your week. It’s just a system.

December 16, 2016

Hannah Wilson

A Solo Trip to Avignon

Like 1 Comment Travel

For a while I’d been considering the idea of traveling alone. I’ve read many articles about females safely exploring the world solo, and I don’t think there’s any reason why a woman shouldn’t be able to go places by herself, just like a man would. The majority of travel destinations are completely safe and you won’t be seen as a target just because you’re a lady – In fact, my friend who visited me for a week was shocked that she didn’t get a single cat-call or lewd glance when she went for a morning jog in Paris, because stuff like that happens to her regularly when she goes for jogs through her city in Southern California.

I was never nervous about safety when it came to traveling alone, and I never felt like my gender was barring me from having awesome travel experiences, but I suppose what kept me from doing it was the fear that I’d get stranded, lost, or my bank card would suddenly stop working and I’d have no money. But those are all things that you can take steps to prevent.

Au Revoir, France - How Living in France has Changed Me - French Californian

December 14, 2016

Hannah Wilson

Au Revoir, France

Like 4 Comments Diary

It’s the night before our departure and as I write this I’m sitting in our dark hotel room as Erik watches Netflix on his tablet in bed. Everything feels strangely normal.

Our old apartment is completely empty, our 5 boxes of belongings have been shipped, and our two suitcases, two duffel bags, and two backpacks are almost completely packed and ready for the flight tomorrow. It was a lot of work and stress to narrow down all of our belongings into a handful of boxes, but it feels so good to have a fresh start.

December 3, 2016

Hannah Wilson

My Etsy Shop & Photography Journey

Like Comments Art

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally ready to officially announce that I have an Etsy shop for my photography! I wanted to share with you a little bit about my journey with the camera, and give you a proper introduction to my new shop.

My Journey with Photography

Photography has been an interest of mine since high school. It began as a hobby, then I decided to study it at a very expensive private art school in San Francisco, which I quit after 2 semesters. I just wasn’t loving it—at least not enough to justify going into major debt.

I kept photography on the back burner for years, but something clicked last Thanksgiving, when I invested in my Nikon D750. Dropping a large sum of money on a single piece of equipment somehow gave me permission to act like a real photographer. In fact, even though I had been avidly taking pictures of things regularly, I was extremely hesitant to label myself as a photographer. It felt too high above me.