dahlias – French Californian

December 13, 2015

Hannah Wilson

Daydreams of Tulip Fields

For the first time ever, I’m welcoming a guest blogger! Suzette, from the travel blog Try Something Fun, is here to share her experience of the beautiful Skagit Valley tulip fields in Washington.

Flower gardens are one of my favorite things to see when I’m traveling because they bring me peace. They truly drain the stress right out of my world. There are other reasons as well; gardens are often designed with cultural concepts in mind. In Japan, some gardens are examples of harmony between man and nature. I can definitely see the truth in that, because the colors and shapes orchestrated by nature just amaze me sometimes.

September 12, 2014

Hannah Wilson

Road Trip Day 1 – Giverny and Rouen

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My best friend Natalie and I decided to take a quick 4-day road trip through France, more specifically, Normandy. What follows is an account of the events, sights, and stories that took place. This is just part 1, you can read day 2 here and day 3 HERE.

Day 1 technically began with an extremely early wake-up alarm, a bus ride, lengthy walk to the car rental office, and subsequent loss of direction. Somehow, we ended up on the wrong motorway about 20 minutes into the trip, but with a bit of spontaneous redirection, we were able to get back on track. It seemed this first mishap would set the tone for the rest of the trip, as we became lost – without fail – every single time we turned the car engine on. More on that later…

Our first real stop (if you don’t count a McDonald’s egg McMuffin pitstop), was Giverny! It was my second time there, and it was just as beautiful as the first. Last time, it was early spring, the garden overflowing with multicolored tulips. This time around, it was late summer, so the greenery was much taller, much more overgrown, and the dominant flower was the Dahlia. Dahlias as big as your head, no joke. Here I have inserted Natalie’s hand for reference.