Samantha Shimogawa | My Travels

An Introduction To My Wanderlust

"Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."

~Gustav Flaubert

This page is dedicated to some of my favorite destinations. I have had the so-called "travel bug" for much of my adult life, and consider myself incredibly lucky to have been able to travel to different countries around the world: New Zealand, Alaska, South Korea, China, France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, England, Iceland, Canada, Mexico, and so on. I truly believe that travel is something that everyone should do at some point in their life. It exposes you to different cultures, traditions, societies, morals, and perspectives from your own. In a lot of ways, I think it expands your mind and makes you more understanding of all the different types of people, and the different opinions, views, and ideas that come with them. You realize that the way you do things and the way that your hometown does things is just one way out of literally thousands, if not millions of different ways. Your way is not the only way, and more importantly, your way is not always the best way. If you can truly internalize that, it makes you more open to listening to what another person has to say and actively thinking about what good qualities come from that idea, and how might that better or compliment your own idea? In that way (as well other ways), I think traveling can actually bring out the best in us, and make us into better, more enlightened people.

The remainder of this page lists a few of the cities I've visited, along with a collection of my favorite photos taken there. Enjoy!

For your convenience, here are some links to sections in the page:

Paris, France

For a long time, Paris was by far my absolute favorite city in the world. It's a gorgeous place, and there's something about being there that feels, well, for lack of a better word, romantic. The city has actually set up rules so that any new buildings must match the rest of the city's design. That's why as you walk around Paris, you notice that the whole city fits a specific "theme", almost as a web page would. The designs are intricate, with gold plating, and floral and/or mythological designs. It's almost like when you walk into a home and you think, "hm, this home has a woman's touch". It feels like Paris was designed with a woman's touch. And I absolutely love it.

So, of course, the city is just gorgeous. But that wasn't even quite what made me fall in love with it to begin with. The first time I visited, I went to a lot of cafes. I don't know if this is a well-known fact, but Paris has a lot of cafes. The strange thing about them was that on the outter area of the cafes, there was always 2-3 rows of chairs facing outward toward the street, not toward any table. These rows were literally designed for people-watching! Not for socializing with your friends, but for sitting, daydreaming, people-watching. That's the kind of city Paris is. An entire city that is set up for relaxing, taking a break, and just enjoying your day. I couldn't imagine there was a more perfect place in the world.

The Arc de Triomphe
A photo I took of the Arc de Triomphe at sunset, back in 2009.
The Eiffel Tower
A photo I took of the Eiffel Tower. Every night, the Eiffel Tower has a light show every hour, on the hour. This was taken during one of those light shows.
A shot of ceiling of the shopping mall 'Les Galeries LaFayette'
A shot I took of the beautiful ceiling of the shopping mall 'Les Galeries LaFayette'. Although it's a shopping mall, it looks almost like it was designed to be a palace.
A Parisian Street
A photo I took of a street in Paris. Almost any street in Paris will look very similar to this. The buildings all tend to have a similar look, and if you look at the building on the right side, those curly-like hand rails are on many of the buildings in Paris. You can even see in this picture, the building one block down on the right has this same sort of hand rail.
Lobby of The Louvre (1)
A photo I took of The Louvre's lobby. One of the things I loved about this lobby was the circular staircase right in the middle of the lobby. It felt like such an elegant way to break up the room. But what actually made me take this particular picture was the divots in the ceiling and the way the light and shadows affected them.
Lobby of The Louvre (2)
A 2nd photo I took of The Louvre's lobby. This is actually from the other side of the lobby from where I took the first photo.
A staircase in The Louvre (1)
A photo I took of a staircase in The Louvre. As I've said before, the buildings in Paris are absolutely gorgeous, and The Louvre is no exception. I was so intrigued by the staircases, first off because staircases just seem to look so interesting in photos, and second off because these particular staircases are so beautiful. I definitely don't think I've seen too many staircases like these in the U.S.
A staircase in The Louvre (2)
A photo I took of another staircase in The Louvre.
A photo of the Louvre from outside
A photo I took of the Louvre from outside, on one of the upper floors. I find it funny that when I show this picture to people, they immediately think that there's a giant statue that stands right outside the Louvre, looking down. That's just a trick of picture placement. Up on the upper floors there's a whole line of statues looking down toward the Louvre courtyard, and I thought it looked almost like guardians watching over all the museum-goers.

↑Click to go back to the top of the page↑

Seoul, South Korea

Up until I visited Korea, Paris was my favorite city in the world, no competition. Now I'll have to say that Paris is sort of tied with Seoul. The hard thing is that the two cities are completely different, so it's hard to compare them. Seoul is a fast-paced city of technology. The transit system is clean, sleek, and fast. They have automatic doors that open with a touch of your hand, and this is everywhere. The city is condensed with people so they build up--vertically. Each building has at least 3-4 floors, and some businesses claim 2-5 floors all on their own. We went to coffee shops that were one building, 5 floors high, plus a rooftop where you can sit on sunny days (well, technically you could sit there on a rainy day, but that seems uncomfortable). The city is alive 24/7, literally. There are a good amount of restaurants that stay open 24/7. The nightlife doesn't end until 4 or 5am, and people will eat at a restaurant after that. I may not be much of a party-er, but I appreciate a city that never sleeps. I'm naturally a night owl, so the idea that I could get anything I need at any hour is amazing. It's one of the reasons I've always loved New York City. But Seoul is on another level beyond NYC. It's NYC on steroids. And on top of it, eating out and shopping in Korea is much cheaper than in the states.

Fried chicken in a cup with liquid cheese poured all over it.
A photo I took of what we call "Chicken In a Cup". And it is amazing. That yellow stuff you see there--that's CHEESE. 'Nuff said.
Korean flags and other ribbons, tags, and posters tacked onto a wall.
A photo I took at the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), which is basically the border between North and South Korea. This particular photo was taken on Freedom Bridge, where thousands of prisoners were returned to South Korea.
A barbed-wire fence with thousands of colored ribbons tied onto it.
A photo I took at the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), which is basically the border between North and South Korea.
Outside Gyeongbokgung Palace, there are guards wearing colored clothing and holding up colored flags.
A photo I took at Gyeongbokgung Palace during the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony.
A Korean palace.
A photo I took at Gyeongbokgung Palace, from the outside.
Cute little round cakes that are decorated to look like animals.
A photo I took of the cutest little cakes I've ever seen in my life. These were from a place called Menagerie.
A scenic view of Korea.
A photo I took on the top floor of the N Seoul Tower, where we had a gorgeous view of Seoul.
A sheep (1)
A photo I took of a sheep. One thing to love about Korea (if you're an animal lover), is that they have cafes for almost every animal--even sheep. So of course I made sure we went to a sheep cafe. The above photo is evidence that our visit was 9234848562349% worth it.
A sheep (2)
Another photo I took of a sheep. One of my life goals is to someday have a sheep as a pet. Some day.........

↑Click to go back to the top of the page↑

Vancouver BC, Canada

As many others who live in Seattle, we have been to Vancouver quite a few times, but no matter how many times I go, I always have a great time. The city feels so refreshing, like the sort of "melting pot" that America was/is supposed to be. There are so many different types of people with different backgrounds there.

The Alex Fraser Bridge.
A photo I took as we were driving over the Alex Fraser Bridge. Build bridges, not walls.
A large tree with christmas lights strung up on its trunk.
A photo I took at the Capilano Bridge Park during the holidays. The lights made the whole forest look magical.
A river surrounded by lots of pine trees on its shores.
Another photo I took at the Capilano Bridge Park.
A forest with little orbs of light scattered on the ground.
Yet another photo I took at the Capilano Bridge Park.
A scenic view of Vancouver city.
A photo I took at Vancouver Lookout, where we had a scenic view of the city.
A clock with steam coming out of it.
A photo I took of a clock in Vancouver that's fully run on steam. It looked magical with those christmas lights strung up behind it (it was actually strung up on a tree, but you can't really see the tree branches in the photo).

↑Click to go back to the top of the page↑

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is my second home now, and I've been here for almost 10 years. Throughout those years I've made tons of memories, seen amazing things, and eaten lots of good food.

The famous Chihuly glassblown masterpiece with the Seattle Needle behind it.
A photo I took at the Chihuly exhibit. You can see the Seattle Needle rising up behind it.
Fluffy pink clouds at sunset.
A photo I took at sunset. The clouds were too pretty to pass up.
Blue water and green wilderness around it.
A photo I took while driving through Deception Pass up north. It was such a beautiful day, and the area is just so picturesque.
The city of Seattle across the water, on a dark and cloudy day.
A photo I took of the city of Seattle across the water at Gas Works Park. That day it was rainy, stormy, and really cloudy, but it made for a great photo.
A WA sunset on the water.
A photo I took of the sunset on the water, at Gas Works Park.
A HUGE chunk of honey toast topped with strawberries, ice cream, and a pocky stick.
A photo I took of our honey toast at Hard Wok Cafe. It is literally the best honey toast of all time.
A molten chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream.
A photo I took of our molten chocolate cake dessert from Hot Cakes in Ballard. All cakes come with a scoop of ice cream.
A WA sunset.
A photo I took of the sunset at the Kirkland Marina. Sometimes Seattle can be pretty.
A view of a lake and a snow-covered mountain behind it.
A photo I took on the Lake 22 hike.
A view of a blue/green lake surrounded by pine trees and mountains.
A photo I took at the top of the Rattlesnake hike.
A photo of cherry blossoms.
A photo I took of the cherry blossoms in the quad this spring.
A scenic photo of Seattle with the Seattle Needle.
A photo I took of Seattle from the 30th floor of a building.
A WA sunset.
A photo I took of the sunset from the I-5.
A field of tulips.
A photo I took at the tulip festival up north, a few years ago.

↑Click to go back to the top of the page↑

Hawaii

Hawaii is where I grew up. I spent the first 17 years of my life there, and so while I may not consider it one of my "favorite destinations", I can't deny that it's home.

Hawaii is well-known for its beaches and sunsets, and I have to admit that it never disappoints. Another thing I'm never disappointed with is the food! Unfortunately, I don't seem to have a whole lot of food pictures, so you'll only see here a *very* small portion of the good eats in Hawaii.

A beach in Hawaii: blue skies and clear, blue water.
A photo I took of Kailua/Lanikai beach, which is about a 5-10 minute drive from my house (well, technically my parents' house). I suppose this is one thing people think of when they think of paradise.
A Hawaiian sunset.
A photo I took at the top of the Koko Head hike during sunset. I'm not sure what's more amazing: this sunset, or the fact that I actually made it to the top.
A bowl of Japanese curry.
A photo I took of a bowl of Curry House's curry. It is simply amazing. This specific plate is curry with chicken katsu and cheese. Really, cheese just makes everything in life better.
Two bowls of poke: raw fish cut into cubes and marinated.
A photo I took of our Foodland poke. If you don't know what poke is, it's basically raw fish cut into cubes and marinated. There are many different types of poke, and actually it doesn't necessarily have to be fish, per se. There's also tako poke, or octopus. You can have ahi poke (tuna), salmon poke, etc. The marination could be soy sauce-based, or could even be a more creamy sort of sauce. Oftentimes people like a spicy poke. In Hawaii, we eat the poke alone, literally straight out of that bowl. You could also eat it with rice. Much of the poke places popping up on the mainland (i.e. continental U.S.) don't taste like the ones in Hawaii, and I think the main issue is that the marination isn't quite right. Also, the fish needs to be marinated for hours, not slapped on it right before it's served to the customer. It really makes a huge difference. Trust me. As for all the sides these restaurants give with the poke bowls, it's not exactly traditional (and a lot of Hawaii folks like to make fun of restaurants that do this), but I don't see the harm in it. Who doesn't like extra sides? As long as the poke tastes right.

↑Click to go back to the top of the page↑