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While sitting on a crisp autumn afternoon, I looked up at the sky often. The vibrant colored leaves of the trees laced the blue sky. It was a sight to behold. Autumn always keeps the sky open in my mind. I refrain from thinking behind me; I might dive deeper into life's gains and losses. I hesitate thinking forward; I might sow the seed of unfulfilled dreams. Thoughts flow unrestricted instead. I wish "Forever" will be a day like this; slightly overcast and strung perfectly on the necklace of days. . Sending you all autumnal cheer from California. . #TravelRealizations #californiafall #visitcalifornia #visittheusa #bayareabuzz #overfeltgardens

Just when the evening fell on the Neumarkt square in the old town of Dresden, Germany, the beautiful cobbled stone square entranced me completely. The setting sun, the ringing church bell, the intoxicating smell of the cafés, all commingled and flooded me with dreams - some realistic, some imaginary, and some filled with nostalgia of being unrealized. . The stringent chaos of life melted amidst the cacophony of the surroundings. In short, European squares are not just squares but a thoroughfare of inspiration to anyone present. No wonder, Dresden, was once called the Florence of the North. . #TravelRealizations #VisitDresden #DresdenCity #streetphotography #DresdenAltstadt #visitsaxony #visitgermany #germanytourism #streetsunset

"Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky"..... These profound lines by John Lennon in his album Imagine completes 50 years today. Still, it never fails to strike a chord whenever I listen to this beautiful song. . The romance in the words and the beauty in the tune always make me drift into an ideal world - a creation of my own mind. And I just close my eyes and utter the words... " Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too". . A forever dreamer like me often feels threatened by the harsh clutches of this pragmatic world. I often feel dreams have rarely any place now. But then I just close my eyes and sing... "You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one" . Life feels anew when such words fill our ears. Don't you think? . PS: I tried complimenting these legendary lines with a few photographs from a beautiful Swiss village, which I visited a few years back. After reading this post, listen to the song and head over to my blog to read about this beautiful village in Switzerland. The link is in the bio and in the story. . #TravelRealizations #villars #villarssurollon

Light streaming down from the oculus bridge in SFMOMA. . While there are now many ways to experience art and exhibitions online, I am a lover of museums. When I visit a museum or an exhibition, I keep my senses open to stimuli from all around; the subject of the museum and exhibition, conversations among visitors, museum architecture, and the sculptures inside. Not to mention, my all-time favorite fertile ground is inside the museum cafes. A sip of dark coffee does the magic, no matter how tired I am. . When I visited @sfmoma the modern art museum in San Francisco, I loved being showered by the light streaming through the atrium at the entrance. It was perfect and I was all set to explore the ongoing exhibition on pop art by Andy Warhol. . If you feel like reading today something new and relishing pictures that are unique then read my post about the exhibition. The link is in the story.💖 Just swipe up 😉 . #TravelRealizations #architecturephotography #museumphotography #urbanarthub #architecture_viewers

Outside, the sea breeze was hypnotic. Inside the hotel room, a beautiful painting, a dim light, a cozy sofa, a glass of wine, a book, and me - a surreal setting for thoughts and imaginations to interplay together. It was a summer night sometime in August. That night somehow melancholy impinged on my mind. I felt nostalgic and restless. I turned on my phone and played a violin track. The words from the book slowly permeated my being. The book became a rainbow in the clouds. . I know not whether it was the hypnotic wind outside or the music, or was it my favorite Chardonnay in the glass, or the photograph in front, or the book I was reading which played the trick. I started feeling better slowly. I quietly closed the book and looked to the silence of the night sky. . I am sure you all too can relate to this narrative. Travel moments are diverse and precious because it often makes space to meet ourselves, which we neglect while living a routined pragmatic life. . #TravelRealizations

Fall colors in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado are a vibrant spectacle which I was lucky enough to have witnessed. The cornucopia of bright yellow of the aspen trees in Estes Park, the gateway town to the Rocky Mountain National Park, instills a delight that far outshines any of the minutely curated beautiful Instagram feeds. My trip to Rocky Mountain National Park opened up possibilities for savoring the auburn colors of fall. Crisp morning hikes, forests dotted with multicolored leaves, a profusion of colors everywhere in the nearby towns, beside the lakes, and early evening sunsets were like reading poems, one after the another. When leaves herald autumn, they blaze and hint at renunciation gracefully; a profound lesson to learn from nature. . Read this travelogue and a travel guide on my blog Travel Realizations. Hope this guide help you plan a great fall trip. The link is in bio 🍂🍁 . PS: Happy Birthday National Park Service - NPS -America's Best Idea 💖. I penned down my experience of visiting the beautiful @rockynps during fall. Isn't it a beautiful way to celebrate your birthday! . #TravelRealizations #thinkingofRMNP #rockymountainnationalpark #nps105

Every year the August wind brings back memories of one fine day in Switzerland. The harmony of a bucolic life touched me so much that day, that irrespective of the maelstrom of the present circumstances, I drift away to this far away land. These pics were taken in Spiez, a beautiful town on the shore of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland. I was on my way to Interlaken and got to see a glimpse of this town during a stopover between connecting trains. . Right now, here in California, when I look outside from the window beside my desk, the last rays of the sun fall upon the trees and the wind makes the leaves flutter. A beautiful scene no doubt, but completely different from the memory of the cloud enshrouded calm of the mountain town in Switzerland crisscrossing my mind at the moment. . I am enjoying this delicious blur of past and present and trying to understand the crux of being. Sometimes past in its entirety is prolonged into the present and often the present overshadows the past and the future always lurks behind with its promise. And we endure the flux. . It is time no doubt that holds the essence of life and perhaps of all reality. And we, emotional beings, keep on seeking and searching for the balance between the past, present, and future. . Follow - 👉 @travelrealizations #TravelRealizations #ChirasreeinSwitzerland #myswitzerland #inlovewithswitzerland #slowtravel #Switzerlandwonderland #iloveswitzerland #Californiablogger #bayareablogger

Spirit Island in Canada - A famous icon of the Canadian Rockies and one of the most photographed natural landmarks in the world! . Spirit Island in Canada, a famous icon of the Canadian Rockies, is remote and is only reachable by a boat, a kayak, or canoe. When I was exploring the majestic Canadian Rockies, the wilderness all around evoked in me a quest for remoteness - a place completely cut-off from the complex world we live in. The postcard-perfect Spirit Island which is not easily accessible seemed a viable option to taste the essence of a far-away remote land, surrounded by untamed nature. Soul-stirring Maligne Lake and Spirit Island, which is part of Jasper National Park in Canada (a UNESCO world heritage site) filled and flooded me with inspiration. I was drowned in their poetic impressions. I embarked on a cruise from Maligne Lake - a boat trip that revealed the ongoing metamorphosis of my sensations to me unlike any other. My mind at the time was untrammeled by convention and could listen to the inner flux. . Read along and I hope this memoir inspires you to visit the soul-stirring Spirit Island and Maligne Lake in the Canadian Rockies. Head over to my blog Travel Realizations and read this road trip guide. The link is in bio @travelrealizations

The incessant rain; The riot of green in the forest; The splashes of droplets flying in; All but gone and yet not gone. Still refreshing, still rejuvenating my dawn. . Whenever my futile try to transcend the conundrums which the world presents to me every day come to a halt, I often choose to remember a day from the pages of my life worth remembering. Today just when the hot day was retiring slowly, I wished for a few drops of rain but alas! I invariably turned the pages from my past days and came across a rainy road trip in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. . Good days add meaning to our existence, no wonder! When my brain revisited a beautiful memory, my otherwise ordinary Saturday suddenly became a little brighter, a little better! . #TravelRealizations #ChirasreeinAmerica #GreatSmokyMountains #findyourpark

Musings of one summer evening! . These days, I take a long walk during the evening. While walking, memories of different summers flood my mind. Warm memories from far away lands, melancholic ones, happy ones, and neutral ones! Similarly, sometimes fragments of songs silently surface in and with subtlety change the course of my thoughts. Fragments of past journeys, various songs, incidents, and events often undergo a metamorphosis and I find myself cherishing the flux. Past doesn't alter but the accumulation of its fragments alters the reality of my evenings. The same paths feel new. The same houses look slightly different. . The randomness and arbitrariness of my mind, surprise me the most. The gush of pleasant wind, the grey sky, the soft lights inside the houses play with my mind and often jolt me into the nuances of recollection and imagination. . When you go out walking, do you ever feel such randomness of free-flowing thoughts, unburdened by the pressure of real-time factual updates on social media? . PS - A pic from Canada. I was all surrounded by a green refreshing summer morning. A fragment from past summers. . #Travelrealizations #ChirasreeInCanada

One of the enduring pleasures of summer is a trip to the beach - the blankets and umbrellas, the briny air, and the rhythmic water. But sometimes when we can't make it to the beach, an exciting alternative is poolside. Today when the heat waves are soaring record high outside in California and yet the mind and heart wanted to lose free (especially after a year of lost summer due to pandemic), I spent a relaxing day by the pool. Thanks to all the new and useful outdoor gear from @surviveoutdoorslonger , I spent a carefree day. The bowls, strainer set, and sink all came in handy. . I quickly washed all the fruits, kept them inside the lightweight bowls, and savored them while reading a book. . Thank you so much @surviveoutdoorslonger , for sending me useful outdoor gear which can be used not only while camping but also by the pool. Gear that makes the outdoor stay a delight is my favorite, no wonder! . #TravelRealizations #SOL #surviveoutdoorslonger

Our daylong excursion was almost over. I remember sitting down inside a restaurant while driving along the Icefields Parkway in Canada - one of the world's most stunning roadways! While waiting for the food, I looked outside the window beside me and couldn't take my eyes off from the view. The grey clouds parted and the sorbet rays of the setting sun kissed one of the peaks of the Canadian Rockies. . I quickly ran out from inside the restaurant with camera in hand. The temperature fell substantially. The cold breeze blew and my hands shivered without the gloves and I clicked just before the cloud enveloped the eternal show. Curtain fell. Adieu, sun. I welcomed the evening with a drink in my hand inside the restaurant. One of the tourists started playing his guitar. Oh, such evenings are to die for. . Read more sunset stories. The link is in bio @TravelRealizations

I always love capturing the essential interplay between solitude and beauty with a camera. Each enriching the other, each magnifying the totality of the spirit from which all art springs. Spending a beautiful weekend in Healdsburg, California - a wine and culinary epicenter. Happy weekend to you all 💖

The turquoise water, the trees afar lining the water's edge, the soaring peaks of the Canadian Rockies all together felt like an infinite treasure of beauty. I wanted to envelop the vista and bring it back beside the window of my writing table! I would see it day and night, dark and light, when my pen stops or even when it flows. But alas, that seems an impossible task. So I thought it is better to see and feel this slice of paradise, slowly, deeply, and intensely. . That's an excerpt from my blog post Chronicles of Canadian Rockies - Banff, and Jasper! The link is on my stories. Swipe up and soak in 💖 . #TravelRealizations #Spiritisland #chirasreeincanada #CanadaVacations

The Glacier National Park, home to some of the greatest scenery in North America, came to my mind while planning a summer trip with family. Long habituated to the ever-increasing rush, the hustle and bustle of the San Francisco Bay Area, I wanted to visit a place that is distant, remote, incongruous, and is disappearing or is transformed by climate change. I savored the impressive scenery and built beautiful memories while traveling responsibly before all is gone forever. The Glacier National Park in Montana, together with the Watertown Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, is a UNESCO world heritage site. . Read along and let me inspire you to hit the road. I hope you will love it as much as I did! Head over to my blog Travel Realizations and read this road trip guide. The link is in bio @travelrealizations