It's that time of the year again. During late March to April Cherry blossom season (sakura) is all over Japan. Beautiful pink trees all over the city and pink petals on the ground, Cherry Blossom season is truly a remarkable experience. 

But why wait to go to Japan? Last year, I was so happy that I stumbled upon these cherry blossoms while visiting Washington State and Oregon. Japan was always on my ultimate travel list for Cherry Blossoms but when I saw them in the states, my heart melted and I jumped for Joy. Bucket list checked and I didn't need to go to Japan to experience it. 

So here are the places I want to share with you to see Cherry Blossoms especially in the states. 

But first, these pink gorgous blossoms only bloom certain months (MARCH or APRIL) and can last from 2-7 days.  So be sure to plan ahead! Peak bloom varies annually depending on weather condition. The highest peak is last week of March to the first week of April. 

1. Oahu, Hawaii 
With Hawaii's tropical weather all year long, I was surprised that there are some cherry blossoms in the island.  There are not the best views of the Cherry Trees that you see on Google images but it is nice to see these florals slightly bloom and the community celebrates  the Japanese culture. After all, the Japanese is the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii. Surprisingly, not many locals knew about the Cherry Blossoms but you can find these blooming trees in late January to February by the Hongwanji Mission a Buddhist temple in Wahiawa or California ave.
address: 1067 California Ave, Wahiawa HI 96786


2. San Francisco, California 
There are a lot of cherry blossoms in Japanese Botanical gardens all over Los Angeles. However, the big ones are located in San Francisco's Japan Town. This town is one of the three remaining Japan Towns in the U.S. Click here to find more info on their Cherry blossom festivals and other Japan cultural events.


3. Portland, Oregon
The second picture above is from Portland Oregon right outside of the Nike Head Quarters. Everywhere in portland, you will see 2-4  cherry blossom trees in different areas. If you want to see rows and rows of them then go to Waterfront Park Portland.

4. Seattle, Washington
This is another state that cherry blossoms are planted everywhere and not just in Japanese Gardens. I happen to come across these trees by the mall parking lots and in the Universities.  Cherry blossom festivals are held on Jefferson Park and Seward Park. 

5. Washington D.C 
This is the largest cherry blossom festival in the United States. Millions of people flock there and celebrate the 2 week festival in Tidal Basin (a manmade reservoir ) between the Potomac river and the Washington channel in Washington D.C.

6. New York City 
Central Park has some trees for visitors to see. There 2 different types of cherry blossoms and one spiciman last from late April to May. However, the larger ones that attract a lot of visitors are in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and New York Botanical Garden.

7. Macon, Georgia
This place is known as the "cherry blossom capital of the world."  Over 300,000 cherry blossoms all over the city, Macon Georgia holds their festival every spring for 10 days. Now that's a lot of trees!

8. Philadelphia, Pensylvania 
Over thousands of Cherry Blossom trees line the Schuylkill River.  Drive the two-mile stretch from Montgomery drive to Falls Bridge to see the best views of the pink trees.

1. Henry Doorly Zoo

The zoo holds the largest indoor desert dome and largest indoor rainforest in the world. This zoo was also ranked the number one in the United States as of 2014  following San Diego Zoo.  Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium holds over 17,000 animals and 972 species. wow! that's a lot. It has more of animal population than in my city! There are lots of things to do in the zoo other than exploring exhibits and animal encounters. There's an IMAX theater, a train ride, sky safari, camel rides and more. You will need a whole day to visit this massive place. Visit Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium here. 

 2. The Old Market

The Old Market is Omaha's most historic sites. Being in this place brings you back to the 1900's. The streets and buildings are made of brick stones but a very few are modernized. There are lots and lots of restaurants in every corner. As a matter of fact, Omaha was rank the highest food services (restaurants and bars) per capita. My favorite place was strolling in the underground passage.  It's totally worth going there to take some selfies with the hanging gardens, foliage, and lights. 

If gardening is your thing, then this Garden is a must visit. I love being able to touch and feel nature but when the weather in Omaha is pretty brutal and all you see is snow and ice everywhere, the garden was a sweet escape. 

8. Eat Home Made Ice cream at Ted and Wally's 

Who doesn't love ice cream? even in snowy weather, Ice cream is always best. Ted and Wally offers the best homemade Ice Cream in Omaha. This place gets pretty busy and usually open late during winter. 

9. Stroll around Gene Leahy Mall 

This place is locally known as the Central Park. It's a nice stroll to admire the buildings, feed the ducks in the river and squirrels roaming around the area. There is also a huge slide perfect for everyone to have fun. 

Here is another collaboration outfit from Driven Boutique. 

This lace detail romper was their summer collection and I wore it to look like fall/spring-ish look.  Floral prints is very trendy right now for Spring 2017, perfect timing to re-use it again for the season. I paired this look with boots so it still match the season and wrap my waist with olive button down shirt to break down the all floral print. I felt that wearing the romper  by itself wasn't too flattering in my body type. Adding the shirt created a balance and also serves as an accessory to complete the look. 

Romper: Driven Boutique

Earrings: Driven Boutique 

Necklace: Coach 

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban 

xoxo

NAI

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Hello everyone!
Iceland has become such popular destination to travel in 2017.  So I thought I share with you guys our itinerary when I was visiting Iceland last year in March.  I Also made a video of this trip highlighting  all the best spots to visits . Click here for the video. We spent a total of 10 days staying at 5 different accommodations. We rented an SUV and explored the island on our own.

DAY 1 : Reykjavik City 
7 hours flight from Seattle, we arrive in Iceland early morning at 6am. We picked up our rental car (a little trouble in the rental car. They don't accept cash so be sure to have credit cards ready) and then headed to the city to explore. First stop was the Church. Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutheran parish church in the capital city. This is the largest church in Iceland and one of their best known landmark. The church is designed to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape.
Checked in at our VRBO (vacation rental by owner) Our home away from home had the best view of Iceland's harbor. It couldn't get any better than this

Later on that evening, we visited the Harpa Concert Hall. We didn't watch any concerts but only explored and admired the steel framework clad with geometric shaped glass panels of different colors.

DAY 2: Blue Lagoon 
We spent the whole day in Blue Lagoon started at 9am. We reserved the Blue Lagoon Luxury experience which consist of your own private bathroom, a grand private entrance to the lagoon, bathrobe and slippers, blue lagoon spa package and food such as fruits, chocolate and drinks. It was the best experience ever. The luxury package is only for 3 hours max and cost about ISK 26.5 about $232 per person.

 lunch at the Lava Restaurant. Our luxury package includes a free champagne at the restaurant. They call it the Lava restaurant because it is built into a lava cliff with gorgeous views over the lagoon.





Day 3: Exploring more of Reykjavik city
We did a lot of our souvenir shopping on this day. We walked around the city, visited a few cafes, and  ate a hotdog in the most popular hotdog stand in the world.






We continue our drive and headed to The DC-3 Plane wreck.  You will need a 4 wheel drive to access this place because the road is not paved. Just currently locals banned access to vehicles driving on the beach. So please be careful and follow the rules. A bit of history, this plane is the U.S Navy Douglas Super DC-3 that was force to land Solheimasandur's black sand Beach after experiencing some severe icing. Luckily all crew members survive the crash. Now it has become a photography dream location. 

Seljavallalaug was built in 1923. It is 25 meters long and 10 meters wide and the largest pool of Iceland until 1936

DAY 9: Ice Cave Adventures

We booked a tour with Glacier Adventures and got to explore the ice caves. 

DAY 10: Drive back to Reykjavik City 

On our way back to the city, we stopped by Kerid (a volcanic crater). This was also our last attraction in Iceland before flying out the next day. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this itenerary . Iceland is a true beauty. It made me have that feeling where I was in a different time. "A land before time" there are so many natural unspoiled beauty that have yet to be discovered. 

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