travel – Page 5 – French Californian

March 25, 2015

Hannah Wilson

Wandering Wednesdays

On Monday, the sun was out and all I needed to keep warm was a light jacket. I was on the hunt to find Easter treats in the chocolateries of Paris, but I also stumbled across tons of other great things! I walked all the way from Boulangerie La Moulin de la Vierge on Rue Saint Dominique, to the golden doors and dome of the Hôtel des Invalides, to the spring window displays at Ladurée, and the beautifully designed restaurants of Saint Germain and Saint Michel. I felt happy to be alive, and I think this batch of photos might be my favourite yet.

March 9, 2015

Hannah Wilson

Travel Diary – Sweden

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Our week-long trip to Sweden is winding down; tomorrow we head back to France via car, train, plane, and then another train.

This trip was essentially one big, continuous circle of fika, or coffee, sweet cakes, and light conversation. Of course, most of the time I didn’t have any idea what was being said, since I don’t speak Swedish! Knowing about five words – speedbump, frog, sausage, and beach – doesn’t get you very far in a real conversation.

I am in love with Swedish cakes, however. Nothing like texture of French pastries, the Swedes like softer things, much like their temperament. Sugar cake with a layer of butter in the middle, vanilla-cinnamon muffins with custard on the top, and cardamum rolls. They take their coffee strong, but not too strong. Not quite espresso, but way darker than the American cup o’ joe.

January 18, 2015

Hannah Wilson

Travel Diary – Amsterdam

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What better way to kick off the new year than travel to an undiscovered place? One of my goals for 2015 is to travel more around Europe, to discover it while I can, while I live so close to it all. Amsterdam was a spur of the moment trip, booked 1 month before, and it was exactly what I needed.

The first thing that struck me was how easy it was. I’m so accustomed to international trips being a huge production, very expensive, involving long plane rides, annoying layovers, and credit cards that may stop working at any moment. Living in the US, most people are so far removed from foreign countries that when the time to travel comes, one must uproot themselves and plan, plan, plan.

December 15, 2014

Hannah Wilson

Road trip to San Francisco – A Travel Diary

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Last week Erik and I took Highway 1 – a short road trip to San Francisco. Pacific Coast Highway is the road that hugs the pacific ocean, dangerously close at some points. It provides amazing views along the way though, and the curves in the road force you to slow down both literally and mentally.

We stopped in Big Sur, the Overlook Trail of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to be exact. It wasn’t so much of a hike, more of just a pathway to a lookout point. If we had more time, we probably would have done a proper hike, but this view was amazing regardless. That water was incredibly turquoise, which is really unusual for the Pacific ocean, at least for the beaches near LA. I’m used to the water looking a dark murky green.

September 30, 2014

Hannah Wilson

Road Trip Day 3 – Mont Saint Michel

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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 the final instalment – you can see day 1 HERE and day 2 HERE.

After waking up in our cute and comfortable Airbnb room, we decided we couldn’t leave Bayeux without seeing the famous Bayeux tapestry, which is recognized as an official piece of world heritage by UNESCO, and for good reason. It’s a major source of historical, cultural, and artistic information. I strongly recommend following the free audio guide because it guides you through the crazy (and sometimes funny) story being depicted. I usually bypass the audio guides at museums, but this one was truly entertaining, and essential in my opinion.

Next, we hopped in our car, and headed toward MONT SAINT MICHEL! After getting lost, of course. My favourite part of the drive was seeing little glimpses of the mont from a distance. The land leading up to the fortress is mostly flat grassy land, so the Mont really stands out on the horizon. It was incredible, really. The closer we got, the more it made me feel like I was headed towards Hogwarts! Too bad I didn’t get sorted into a house upon arrival… (I was hoping for Gryffindor). I wouldn’t be surprised if Hogwarts was inspired by the Mont.

September 17, 2014

Hannah Wilson

Road Trip Day 2 – Calvados & Bayeux

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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 2 – you can see day 1 HERE and day 3 HERE.

We arose bright and early in Rouen that partly-cloudy September morning, had a breakfast of chocolate-covered madeleines, then jumped in our little European car. After 25 minutes of driving in circles, a car ride that was interspersed with frequent shouts of panic and confusion, we finally found our way onto the correct motorway! The roads in cities can be absolutely impossible with their roundabouts, one-way streets, and indecipherable road name signs. (Somebody please tell me why the road names are in size-2 font and buried on sides of cluttered buildings???) Almost as soon as we found the correct motorway, we were already exiting onto smaller roads that ran through rolling green hills, dotted with cream-colored cows. Every so often we’d see lines of apple trees, evidence that we’d entered the region of cider production. Our first stop of the day was Cambremer, a central town on the Cider Route, which runs through an area known as the Pays d’Auge in the Region of Calvados. We didn’t do the entire route, which consists of cider distilleries, gardens, farms, and gorgeous country roads, but the few stops we did make provided a nice overview of the entire area.