For all you foodies out there, this one is for you! I’ve heard from so many folks that Vancouver, Canada has an outstanding food scene. Restaurants, food trucks, and cafes with an international flair. So naturally when heading to Vancouver on holiday this summer I was looking forward to trying out some great food places in this Pacific Northwest Canadian city. We got recommendations from many people familiar with Vancouver; from friends, from Hitesh’s office colleague who vacations in Vancouver often, from Hitesh’s friend John who lives in Vancouver, from our hotel concierge, and even our shuttle-bus driver; when you mix them all together what we ended up with was a smorgasbord of food places that were all awesome. Here is a look at where we ate and highly recommend for any of you planning on visiting Vancouver, Canada. Continue reading Vancouver EATS
Category Archives: Flower Power
In Flower Heaven at Butchart Gardens. Victoria, Canada
If there was a heaven for flowers Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada would be it. Butchart Gardens is flower heaven on earth. I visited Butchart Gardens over 25 years ago and it left an indelible impression on me. I had never in my life seen such a beautiful place. That visit was way before Hitesh and I had kids and became a family of five. That trip stuck with me forever and I have wanted to share that awe-inspiring feeling I had when walking though flower heaven with my girls. One of my ulterior motives for going to Vancouver on a family holiday this summer was so I could take the kids to Butchart Gardens. Did it look as spectacularly beautiful as the first time I saw it? YES! YES! YES! Continue reading In Flower Heaven at Butchart Gardens. Victoria, Canada
Summer Holiday in Vancouver, Canada
Hello everyone! Hope you are having an awesome August! Our August has been great. We just returned from a fun one week summer family holiday in Vancouver, Canada. This holiday is exactly what the family wanted for a summer vacation this year. The twins had already been on a itinerary-packed school trip to Italy, Sri and I had already been on a fun Yoga and Art inspired trip to Paris, and Hitesh had been on a couple of international business trips this summer as well – we were all looking forward to a family vacation that was going to be relaxing while giving us enough things to do to keep it interesting and fun. Vancouver fit this criteria perfectly!! A short 2-hour flight from San Francisco to Vancouver made this our fastest airplane ride for a family vacation. Continue reading Summer Holiday in Vancouver, Canada
Dahlia Love ❤️
There is something magical when dahlias are in bloom in the summer garden. With their vibrant in-your-face colors, intricate petal formations, and stately presence it is hard to gaze away from the glamorous dahlia. It only seems fitting that these spectacular flowers should look so ethereal especially given how their origins can be the makings of a fairytale story complete with villains, heroes, espionage, and even deadly sacrifices. Continue reading Dahlia Love ❤️
July in the garden. Lillies, dahlias and other stuff.
July arrived with a big bang of summer heat in our area. Temperatures went up into the 80s and even in the high 90s. But surprisingly my garden held up well, I only guess it’s because of all the giant trees in our garden that provide welcome shade to plants and people alike. The summer heat enticed all my lilies and dahlias to burst into bloom. I did have lots of other perennials blooming but my eyes and camera kept gravitating towards dahlias and lilies. When lilies and dahlias are in bloom it’s hard to focus on anything else – sorry other beautiful perennials. Here is a look at how my garden did in July. Continue reading July in the garden. Lillies, dahlias and other stuff.
Rose Petal Ice Cream
Rose petal ice cream is an exotic flavor that will transport you to the bazars of the Middle East with every spoonful. For the ice cream to get that strong rose floral scent and a dreamy mauve color it helps to use dark colored fragrant rose petals. I find the best fragrance and deep intense rose colors are on my David Austin English roses. In this recipe I used petals from Wise Portia and Bishop’s Castle. Continue reading Rose Petal Ice Cream
Roses Costes on 239 Rue Saint-Honoré. Paris, France
My daughter Sri and I discovered the most charming florist during our recent visit to Paris this summer. We would walk past this florist every evening on our way to dinner. The tiny florist was breathtakingly beautiful. All they carried were roses. Roses in glorious rich colors. Since we always seemed to walk past the florist late at night on our way to dinner, the shop was always closed. But that didn’t stop me from taking these sensational photos. Continue reading Roses Costes on 239 Rue Saint-Honoré. Paris, France
June in the Garden
Summer finally arrived in our area in June 🌞 with temperatures warming up into the 70s, 80 and for a few days even in the 90s. In the garden the heat brought into bloom all types of lillies. Asiatic lillies, daylillies, calla lillies, and a couple of oriental lillies. The first flush of rose blooms are over as are nasturtiums which have already set seed and which I pruned down and collected the seeds. Dahlia tubers started leafing out and our veggie plants are getting nice and bushy too. The heat is bringing into bloom so many perennials and plants such as lavenders, fuchsias, carnations, geraniums, and succulents too. Here is a look at my June garden. Continue reading June in the Garden
Anjali’s New Herb Patch
Anjali’s herb garden packed with herbs that we can cook with to our hearts content has been the envy of mine for years. Her herb patch always looks full and lush and always and I mean always looks happy 😊🌿🌱🌿. Continue reading Anjali’s New Herb Patch
Marvelous May in the Garden Part II
My marvelous May in the garden continues with more flowers blooming nonstop. It seems all flowers love cool spring like temperatures. Every day that I am out in the garden I see more and more flowers in bloom. Everything from astromeria, geraniums, pelargonium, dianthus, dahlias, freesias, roses, lilies, nasturtiums and even amaryllis and mums are in bloom! Did I forget anything? Probably. Here is a look at what more plants are blooming in my May garden. Continue reading Marvelous May in the Garden Part II
