Victoria BC, Canada - 2014

It was the weekend after a long weekend and we were looking for a destination that's close by with something new to explore. We agreed upon Victoria, BC. We planned to minimize the drive by taking a ferry from Port Angeles, WA. We started on a Friday evening and drove from Seattle downtown to Port Angles, WA. The ferry to Victoria was scheduled to depart at 09:30 pm, and we reached Port Angeles, WA at 08:30 pm. Ferry ride was pretty smooth. Reached Victoria at 11:30 pm.  The itinerary for our trip was to cover Nanaimo, BC on day 1 and then explore Victoria museum, and Butchart Gardens on day 2. The drive from Victoria to Nanaimo (200 kms overall) was good but it was not the best. We did stop at Cowichan bay for a bit, to have a cup of coffee and some croissant from an organic bakery. Nanaimo is a small town with a harbor and some neat views of the Fairway Channel. We spent an hour or so strolling around this town then returned to Victoria. We did manage to cover Butchart Gardens on the same day. My little one enjoyed walking around this "big park" with lots of flowers and a softy cone in her hand. There was a carousel in the garden that she enjoyed riding. We started Day 2 with breakfast at Starbucks and then headed straight to Royal BC Museum. Our main focus at this museum was Natural History. The Mammoth in this gallery is really huge and looked very realistic. We ended our trip by watching Island of Lemurs: Madagascar at the IMAX (in Royal BC museum). Few Pictures from this trip -

Friday evening Traffic on I5

View of pier at Victoria, BC from Coho Ferry

View of Fairmont Empress (famous for its tea time!) from Coho Ferry

Piece of Art at a shop in Cowichan Bay

First People's Gallery at Royal BC Museum

Mammoth at Natural History gallery in Royal BC Museum

Sea lion at Natural History gallery in Royal BC Museum

Fairmont Empress - missed the afternoon tea time!

Fairmont Empress (rear view)

Butchart Gardens

A fountain inside Butchart Gardens

Cute little froggy in Rose Garden at Butchart Gardens

Rome, Italy - 2014

7 days of roaming around in Roma (italian!) wasn't enough. But we did manage to visit "must see" sites in this one week. Pictures -

St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican City - 45 min in the waiting line but totally worth it.

At St. Peter's Square

Swiss Guard

The dome inside St. Peter's Basilica

Fontana di Trevi

Arch of Constantine - next to the Colosseum

The Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

Arch at Roman Forum

The Pantheon

Pompeii, Italy - 2014

Yes, it's Pompeii and not Pompei. "Pompei" is the name of the current city and "Pompeii" would be that of the ancient city (Roman ruins). We visited Pompeii via a guided tour covering part of Naples as well. Naples was a brief stop (couple of hours) in the 13 hr day trip from Rome. Pictures from the trip -

Forum at Pompeii

Theatre at Pompeii

Ruins of shops by paved roads

The Garden at the House of the Faun

Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius in the background

City of Naples

Narrow streets in Pompeii

Plaster cast of a dog

No :) this was part of the ruins but not from AD 79

Moclips and WA Coast, USA - 2010

This was one of the trips during summer of 2010 with few of our friends. We rented out a vacation rental by the pacific coast (Moclips, WA). We flew kites, played Frisbee by the beach, watched Soccer at a diner!! A well-spent weekend!  Pictures -

View of Lake Quinault

Flying kites by the beach was fun!!

Sunset at the Pacific Ocean

Hoh Rainforest

Spikemosses on trees in Hoh Rainforest

More mossy trees!!

Mushrooms :)

Florence, Newport and Waldport, USA - 2008

I would never forget this trip to Oregon coast! This was the first road trip (just days after my arrival in this country)! Everything around me was very different - roads, direction in which traffic moves, rivers and huge bridges, Starbucks (I fell in love with vanilla bean frappuccino and started drinking more n more coffee since then) , non-indian cuisine, etc., Pictures -

View of a pond in the middle of sand dunes in Oregon

Oregon dunes national recreation area

View of pacific ocean by U. S. Route 101

Sea Lion in the Sea Lion Cave

More Sea Lions!!

 

Oregon and Washington (along I-5) - 2010

Restating the fact of being in WA state - scenic drives!  My husband driving, Starbucks coffee in the cup holder, lovely scenic drive - best way to enjoy nature! This trip is along I-5 in WA and OR. Memories -

First Stop - Mt. Hood

Second Stop - Columbia River Gorge View Point

Third Stop - Multnomah Falls

Fourth Stop - Crater Lake

Last Stop on our way back - Mt. St. Helens

Baton Rouge and New Orleans, USA - 2009

Happy new year everyone :)

This post is about my trip to Louisiana in 2009 (when I visited my sister). It was a short trip (couple days!) - Pictures:

On the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Louisiana's Old State Capitol

The Huey P. Long Bridge over the Mississippi River