Holland Park

From Notting Hill, I continued into Holland Park, making my way through beautiful woodland paths accompanied by squirrels darting between the trees.

My destination was Kyoto Garden.

I'll be honest...

I was a little underwhelmed.

It's certainly a lovely Japanese garden, but living in Vancouver has spoiled me. With Nitobe Memorial Garden practically in my backyard, it's hard not to compare. Kyoto Garden simply didn't evoke quite the same feeling for me.

But then something unexpected happened.

Instead of turning back, I kept walking through the park and stumbled across the Dutch Garden.

Wow.

What a surprise!

The beautiful brick buildings, perfectly manicured gardens and elegant courtyard completely won me over. It became one of those unexpected travel moments where something you hadn't even planned to see ends up becoming your favourite part of the visit.

Sometimes it really pays to keep walking.Read more