Finding "Home"

Flashback: 1998
First Year of College: English Literature Honors Course

Class: Ancient Greek Literature: Odyssey

Professor (who over the years became my fav.) starts the class by asking us a question

“What do you think men desire the most?”

Random answers: love, wealth, health, (me being loudest – power), strength, fame, luck….
Our professor kept saying a no to all our answers
Finally when we gave up… (not easy for a group of smart talented headstrong young girls)

She gives us the answer “HOME”

Back then, I thought my professor must be getting old and soft.. and that she “didn’t know better” Ah! foolishness of a young mind

Wasn’t it obvious for anyone in the world that men craved for power the most! 

Power is the force behind almost all battles… my stubborn head tried to reason again with the professor – trying to hint that she must be wrong… 

but she stuck to her point and we started with Odysseus and his adventures… 

I thought maybe this formed a good way to introduce the poem in the class, 

that’s why the professor wanted to stick to it… but all these years...

this point stayed in my mind as it was so much beyond my comprehension, how could someone want “home”, everyone has a home (yeah.. inexperienced mind).. didn’t they want adventure, new experiences…

So there it was tucked away in my head all these years – one tiny thought which just didn’t make sense to me

Back to the Present: Older & Wiser (I hope!)

Last two decades after the college incident – I feel have been to make me more sensitive towards the point where instead of power, values of home and love take over.

Second World War, current political conflicts – mainly hover around land, defining space. On outer level, they look like a fight for power, but when one looks closer - Every quest for power is actually a quest for home, of defining home for you and others.

Novels, movies - almost in everything and anything that stirs us, finding way home is an emotion that is more exploited / expressed by artists than any other theme sans that of love. Even in love its almost finding home, its just beside someone other than the physical space defined by some walls or piece of land. 

And finding this space, emotionally and physically is sometimes the most arduous journey we can ever take.

Venice: Romance Capital of the World

Trust me, it's not just me...

In Gordon Korman's book - One False Note; Nellie says, "I always wanted to go to Venice. It's supposed to be the romance capital of the world."

Or to quote Woody Allen, "Venice is the most romantic place in the world but it’s even better
when there is no one around."

Or imagine someone like Friedrich Nietzsche saying, “When I seek another word for ‘music’, I never find any other word than ‘Venice’.”

    Need I say anything more!

I was in Venice with for 4 days. The city is nothing like you would see anywhere in the world. The boat from the airport leaves after every 30 minutes and is the best way to travel to the city. The first view of the city feels surreal. It feels as though you are entering another time, or is one a part of a movie set? One cannot tell.

Venice is also known as the "floating city". Its origins are traced to 420 A.D when after the fall of Roman Empire, Venetians realized that they can no longer survive on the mainland. Hence, they sought refuge on these marshy lands. Initially what started as a temporary settlement, soon became a major hub of culture, trade, arts in the world. The city became an important center during Renaissance, along with Florence and Rome, in Italy. While Florentines were known as great thinkers, Venetians came to be known as "great doers" since they had built a city on marshy grounds from nothing and had fought the deadly malaria.  Henry III is famously remembered for saying, “If I were not King of France, I would choose to be a citizen of Venice.” In current times, city thrives mainly on tourism and is one of the most visited city in the world.

I thought I can never walk in any city as much as I have walked in Manhattan. 

Was I wrong! Venice is all about walking. The two best options to travel in Venice are - public water taxi or by foot. Public water taxi is one way, that is takes a circle around the city, so the best bet you have for exploring the city is on foot. 

The city a labyrinth of narrow lanes with wind gushing through them, lanes which are alive with buzzing cafes, boutiques, gondolas and shops of all sorts. There are directions made on the building walls - above the eye level. Look out for them or you can be really lost. My friend's watch had a compass which came in more than handy while strolling through the endless streets.

Everyone finds their own way of understanding the city route - for us, there were two ends - Rialto and St. Mark Square. Piazza San Marco is impressive and breath taking. That's the most beautiful and impressive side of Venice. High end fashion shops, lovely hotels, adorable cafes all mark this area. With history in every corner, a place where you can spend an entire day. 

 

Rialto, which I personally liked quite a bit, is a buzzing center of activity. Has quite an old world charm to it. It is the commercial, financial center and has many street artists performing near it. Dances, masked people with odd tricks, magicians... the place has the pulse of live tourist center. 

Street performances are a highlight of this city and one needs to slow down, stand, watch, appreciate to soak in the vibe.

In the evening, to walk outside, laze outside a cafe and enjoy (my fav) Capricciosa Pizza, beer and watch the crowd go by... man! I want to go back there! 

I have no idea what we eat in name of pizza anywhere outside Italy. Italy ruined the flavor of pizza for me first few months after I was back from there, thankfully slowly my taste buds are back to their numbed version.  

I will never forget the flavor of my first pizza there which just melted in my mouth. Its a sin to eat anything other than pizza while you are there!

My friend would make us walk to find that perfect cafe which was less commercial or 'touristy' or 'American', had more of home touch. We ended up exploring some lovely food places there. It is a food lovers paradise. Lovely ice creams - like I haven't seen anywhere in the world - topped with cream, syrup and wafer. Best coffee, crisp fresh salads, lovely soups and out of this world pizzas.

And to top it "romance is in the air". Couples just walking by hand in hand, some guy singing on the gondola, loud chit chat and laughter around,  a violin or an accordion or saxophone or a flute player playing outside some cafe where there are more couples! 

Murano and Burano are two islands close by - both which can be covered in a single trip on any afternoon. The boats to these islands leave every 40 minutes or so from the ferry station that comes after the Venice Train Station. Murano is just glass factories, while Burano is more busy with cafes, colored houses and loads of shops with lace work. 

A lot of time we travel to shut the world out, but usually that means going back to the nature, himalayas or some retreat. Venice is one place where you step into another world. Its an old city, with slow pace, lazy days, and cultural evenings. Attend an opera, or musical concert, or a play or just stroll in the city - the place is a cocoon of love, warmth and intimacy. A bit like walking in the clouds in one's dream.

Older Than History: Varanasi

'Varanasi' - if someone said that word a week back – all that came to my mind was... an underdeveloped town of India, narrow lanes buzzing with crowd, river Ganga that's getting hurt by all the population explosion. Had someone asked for more detail – as why would it be so important a city… I would end up giving an answer along the lines that "in ancient times, this might be the best place for mankind to access river Ganga and thus, it became an important seat of civilization and blah blah…"

That was a week back… today...I stand in awe of this city

...to know a place where one feels as though time has stood still…. 

(despite the muck, the dirt, the crowd…which all remains) one can't ignore the fact that how this teenie weenie city can impact one's senses.

I landed here due to my friend's persistence. “Do you know it will be mega crowded?” “Do you know it's not so clean.” After I realized that my friend really wishes to explore the place…I just packed my bags and went along. Here is where the irony hits... first view of the city and I am floored. 

Call it my imagination… but even the air reeked of history! When they say Varanasi is older than history, I knew what it meant. It was like coming home to a place where time has stood still…not because it had to, but because it chose to...because that’s the way it should be. With every breath and every step in that city, I knew I was breathing in history. I could not believe that such a place exists and that in all these years, this timeless jewel that is just 1.5 hours away for me…I had never even thought of exploring!

So to all of you out there…who still haven’t been to this place – maybe these lines by Mark Twain might inspire you "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together!"

What's in a name? Kashi, Banaras, Varanasi... This confusion was cleared by simple yet quite learned boatman whom we met in Varanasi. Kashi is the old name for the city, in today's time - Varanasi is how Hindus call the city while Muslim population prefers to call it Banaras. 

A city as old and as fascinating as this - has various studies on its history that date back to 3000 BC and more. Kashi is believed to be built by Lord Shiva. River Ganges which flows from tresses of lord Shiva finds its full mighty form here and has the power to wash away anyone's sins who bathes in it. Not only that, anyone who breathes his last in this holy city is considered to be free of life-death cycle, and becomes a part of Lord Shiva.  

Some tips on traveling to this land - from a person who knew nothing about it, but explored it on foot nonstop for two days.

- Stay near the Ghats: When we started to book, all the 4 & 5-star hotels were sold out! At one point I thought my friend and I might have to put up in those neat B&B dormitory set up which are plenty in Varanasi. It has to be luck - last moment found this heritage Haveli run by ITC on the Ghats. None of the places near the Ghat have a bar license, and almost all have "not so great" kitchen. However, all this pales when one has a good location. Else, any hotel away from the Ghats is similar to just another hotel, another city anywhere. Staying at the Ghats makes you stroll through the Ghats whenever you wish to - the reason why one is there!

- Evening Aarti: It's an orchestrated slow dance, with all the color, show, music, pause, and movement. We watched it while sitting in the boat. It's an experience like none other. A must do. The best aarti is of Dashashwamedh Ghat and Rajendra Prasad Ghat - which are adjacent to each other. Both the Ghats' aarti is more or less similar to one another. 

What is important is to soak in, blend in with the chants, the sweet sound of bells, the lights of diyas and the atmosphere which can only be disturbed - thanks to mosquitoes... rub an insect repellent generously on your arms and legs.

- Walk, Walk, Walk: Walking in the streets of Banaras on the weekend of RangBhari Ekadashi might seem brave (the day when Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvati consummate their marriage - locals celebrate this quite elaborately by prayers and celebrations throughout the city; also marks for them to start playing Holi, festival of colors). What seemed bravery was pure ignorance on our part and we soon learned the tradition after getting hit few times by colored balloons. Thanks to Holi, we also saw once a year event of music, dance being performed along with Holi colors on Manikarnika Ghat - the main cremation ghat. 

The colored balloons did not deter us from walking through the bylanes of Kashi Vishwanath Temple, and the maze of streets beside the ghats. Only then one comes across the various shops that are unique like we found the most amazing adult coloring books tucked in one of the shops there. While there was another shop that had the most wonderful spray batik paintings. On one of the ghats - there was this 'right out of the movie set' bylane that had grass, leaves, and marigold flowers as the roof, and the sadhus sleeping in line under it... straight out of a photographer's book!  There are so many lanes, who knows what you might find in one... so walk to see where it takes you. 

- Try Street Food: After every shop, there is a tiny paan shop.. try banarasi paan - which is light, and easy on the palette. Apart from that - tiny samosas, kachoris with aloo chana, gol gappas, and the tea ... have a distinctive flavor which is quite nice. 

- Shop Sarees / Silk: Beautiful artistry - almost anywhere, everywhere you turn your neck. The map for Varanasi lanes for me is a paan shop, then a sari shop, then a temple, and repeat. There are quite a few shops, but this wholesale dealer Abdul Matin at Pilikothi - walking distance from Ghats has quite a collection and claimed to supply most of the material for Bajirao Mastani movie! You can bargain here, but only a bit. Rest in any other shop anywhere in Varanasi, do not hesitate to slash it by 50% or more... you would be surprised on how quickly they might agree. 

- Click: It's a photographer's paradise. No matter from where you click, how you click, you are sure to capture some amazing shots. Shades of Ganges at different time of the day, of people around the ghats, of the aarti, of diyas, of lanes, of sadhus meditating... click away as much as you want and you won't regret. I clicked very few pics, as I thought isn't it captured enough... but having one's own album is something different. 

The writer Tahir Shah says in his book - Sorcerer's Apprentice “Enlightenment, and the death which comes before it, is the primary business of Varanasi.” 

I really do not know about enlightenment, about nirvana, about moksha, about salvation from sins - all this and more that this city is associated with. 

But I do know about enchantment - it left me enchanted and with a desire to know more about it. 

Rendezvous With French Alps & Annecy

There goes a saying “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
Nothing could be truer for my friend and me when we decided to explore a quaint town of France called Annecy. 
Thanks to my subscription to various blogs and websites such as "Places to see before you die" or "Must visit places in your bucket list" "10 most beautiful villages in the world".... so on and on... (you get the idea).. my friend and I were mesmerized by the pics of Annecy that we saw on Google.
Yes, go ahead... Google "Annecy" images and you will know what am talking about!

Our trip to France was more about exploring the beauty, nature, and just soaking in the local culture rather than tick off the "to see places". Hence, we zeroed on this place, after Paris, as our second stopover. 

From Paris to reach Annecy - took the TGV till Lyon - from Lyon another train till Annecy.

The trains in France are spot on time. Not even one minute late! unbelievable for us.

Usually for transit, there would be ten minutes in between to change the station and we would always wonder what if we missed the train! but the ticket sale counter would always tell us that you wouldn't and it's fine. Only to realize later what they meant. It's smooth, convenient and efficient.

From Lyon to Annecy - am at a loss of adjectives to be used. We were in the train and hence, could not capture the pics.. there is a huge vast never ending mountain lake... where you see the boats sailing, people doing various water sports... better than one's imagination or any movie! We crossed this lake to land in Annecy and start our search for locating the B&B with which we had made the booking. Oh boy...was that some task! Apparently the hotel was a little away from the main town.. that is Hotel "Ace Annecy" had limited bus services .. what an ironical name! 

We figured our bus won't arrive for another 40 minutes or so... and that gave us time to take a quick walk of the village. It's quite a small one, and in 30 minutes one should have walked through all the lanes... Hotel Ibis is right in the center of the town and a good choice to stay if one is planning Annecy. The town is pretty, the day we landed was a local music festival and a lot of young guys, gals were sitting around with their guitars .. singing, playing music. While at few food joints, in their outside sitting area, rock bands with mini sound systems were performing. It was very lively and seemed perfect with the river flowing right in the center of the town, people laughing, playing music .. surrounded by beautiful flowers and greenery... no matter where your eye went. 

We had to step out of a live dream to concentrate back on reaching our hotel. Turned out the bus we were waiting for didn't go the route we wanted to. We decided to check with more bus drivers there.. and it was quite a scene. In no time, we had these three to four bus drivers, all with their maps out... talking in rapid French.. discussing how to help the two "oh so lost girls". For some reason, since we were enjoying watching their conversation so much, and music in the air that we too weren't taking the taxi and letting it be. After a while, they mutually agreed and packed us on a bus. They didn't even charge us! that was super sweet... and after 3km.. dropped us on this bus stop, from where we were supposed to walk only a bit.
Turned out .. it was almost 1.5 km walk... we lugging our luggage.. yet not sure if we in the right direction... got again helped by some locals. I think .. two people lugging their luggage...with mixed emotions of laughing, crying etc.. in the middle of nowhere do stand out! Some guys from the neighborhood who were out chatting helped us with the address and by calling the hotel for exact location details. Seems we were on the right path. All quite a tussle.. but it was fun!

On reaching, were more than happy to find that the place was really nice. Compact, neat, clean and perfectly comfy. Thumbs up for Hotel Ace Annecy. Once you figure the bus routes.. its super easy and fully recommended. If you plan Annecy and this hotel, just ask them to mail you the right bus numbers. 

While checking in... we had the "secret destinations" moment. Girl At Reception (let's call her Nelly) 

Me: "Hi, Can you help us with what all one can explore here in Annecy."

Nelly: "Ah, which part of Alps you want to explore?"

Me: "Alps!!! you mean we are near the Alps!"

Nelly (gives me and my friend one long funny look): "Yeah, you came to Annecy for that."

Me: "No, we came for the village!" (then rapid mumble) "We knew Alps is nearby but not this near! I mean...we didn't think much... we thought we will figure out once we reach... and blah blah" 

Nelly: "Oh then, then you can explore the church, the market, and walk to a small mountain nearby"

Me: "No, No, tell us about the Alps!!"

Nelly (opens a big huge map): "Ok, let me see... where can you go... you are here only for two days, and one for the village and in the other half day...hmmm.. let me think..."

My friend & I (in chorus): "Forget village, we will cover that... tell us the best part of Alps that one can go to"

Nelly gives us some options... and then we are like if you had a day where would you go..

She confidently points to a dot called "Chamonix Mont Blanc"

Now, that is a name my BFF had texted me while I was in Paris .. that I should definitely explore. I had looked at it briefly on the internet and after seeing it a part of Alps.. had really not considered.. as I was like.. I am not even going towards the main Alps.. this won't be possible in this trip.. and Viola.. here it was ... in front of me.. 

Needless to say... the first thing the next day we did was ... take the train to Alps! 

Place from where changed train for Chamonix

Again we had to change two trains to reach Chamonix Mont Blanc. The second train was a tiny one that goes slowly but quite uphill. Had the toy train sort of charm. While crossing the Alpine town of Annecy and entering Chamonix - we were again struck by the lifestyle of farmers there. Merc, BMW, plunge pools for every house, the tiny villages yelled out riches. Such a stark contrast to our countrysides! feels sad...pinches one to the core... but a truth of this sort usually does that.

Chamonix is surrounded by Italy, France and Switzerland. No wonder the moment we landed, we found the place to be quite touristy. Buzzing with tourists, every corner we thought we heard a different language, quite a few shops had great collection, great place to buy souvenirs - the kind you will not find easily except in an Alpine town - such as horn whistle, carved knives fit for a Viking collection and awesome cool stuff... which sadly we couldn't buy any due to shortage of time.
This is a place for at least one night stay for sure! don't miss that if you head here. Had we known - we would have planned accordingly. A day trip does no justice to this place.

We were surrounded by cable cars! After strolling through the town, we decided at end moment - why not... let's do it! The tourism office after realizing the "short" time we had, suggested us the nearest one - which turned out to be Le Brevent. They told us to take the road uphill and to be fast to make it! Get Set Go time for quick good uphill exercise.

Le Brevent Station

Again amazed at the efficiency with which they work. It took us a moment to gather how they operate as once you punch in the ticket, getting on the gondola lift is your own task. In India, we are so used to people helping at every step, and here we were taking off from the platform to this car cabin in air, meant a small jump... we looked around if hopefully we are doing it right! to realize that was the only way... things running by themselves. That's what technology is for.. after all!

Journey to Le Brevent is in two parts. One gets off from gondola lift at Plan Praz 1999m to get onto another cable car which takes one to 2525m.

When one changes cable cars midway - the halls of the stations are lined with historic stuff which is really something. To see vintage pics of men and women exploring these heights when one didn't even have good protection from snow or roads made. To reach these heights in wooden cars.. almost akin to sleds makes you wonder on human spirit!

To amaze one more - some people start the trek from Le Brevent to walk all the way to Aiguille while some end there and while some are passers-by. When we visited - the summit seemed under construction and a small portion could not be accessed. However, we barely noticed that, as we went around the summit and soaked in the panoramic view of Alps. Cannot be put in words.

We were so lost in Alps - and my travel partner who excels in missing trains, buses, flights... for a change saved us! She was like "Hey, what time is the return train" only to realise we have 40 minutes to make it!. and we were at 2525m lost in the beauty of the Alps and Alpine lakes!
And then the cable car wouldn't leave the summit till its full - we were in soup! ran non-stop from the base of the station to Chamonix railway station. Needless to say - again a sight! we had kind people stepping on the side and giving way to two (decently) crazy running girls ... well well.. we did make it. I bet, had we also not.. we would have cried a bit on missing it.. but might have stayed a day more there happily... who knows.
Chamonix has lovely food, even loads of good veg options as apparently it's quite a busy town and frequented by people from all over the world. A must stay place for at least two days!

The next day we explored Annecy before taking the train and landed doing my fav activity - explore the local grocery market.

Apparently every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, there is a market where the locals come with their produce. It has a very old world charm to it. It being a Tuesday, we were lucky to have experienced it.
Post that, we bid adieu to Annecy, but can say this safely, a piece of heart got left with Alps. Will visit that part again someday! 

Paris je t'aime

Where do I even begin? I sound like Elizabeth Barret who when in love wrote... "how do I love thee.. let me count the ways" I wouldn't be exaggerating that I felt the same for France.

France is the most visited country in the world; Paris is called the most romantic city in the world. I did not have these facts in my mind when I decided to visit this place.

But once there, I knew why these facts haven't changed over the years...

Disclaimer: This blogpost is not about French architecture trail, or historical facts, or its museums or a top places list to visit in 10 - 12 day visit to France.

The consistent temptation - aided by nudges from everyone around about exploring more than one country was really hard to resist. However, how tempting it was, my friend and I stuck to our plan... and roamed the streets of Paris, exploring local markets in French villages and.. yeah.. this trip was mainly about chilling, catching the pulse of French culture.

Our itinerary was simple - Paris - Idyllic Alpine Village Annecy  - Provencal Village Vensaque - back to Paris

Paris: Landing in Paris - we were greeted by friendly immigration officers, whether one blames it on Jet Airways or Charles De Gaulle Airport itself - it wasn't very organised. Finding out our belt number was quite a task, and then figuring out where it is even bigger. Post our adventure of one hour or so on the airport.. we finally lugged our luggage to the Metro and off we were! The moment our metro starting crossing the city - we were delighted to see the quaintness outside.. and for me the broad daylight even at 9 pm was such a treat! 

My friend and I did a home stay with a French family in the heart of the Paris, right next to Luxembourg Gardens. An elderly couple who were into sculpting, graffiti and painting. Staying with them gave me an insight into the ways and the lives of a French common man. 

Once with them - we realized that Parisians have so much beauty in their everyday lives. All the houses, flats around had wooden interiors with glass roofs. Lots of  greenery in form of balcony flower plants, ivy and creepers everywhere. The houses were marked by solid wood furniture that looks grand. Glass tops allow natural light to stream in the house everywhere ... making it super cool! The crockery used everyday is ceramic plates, ceramic mugs and jars, wooden spatulas etc. Anne & Jean (couple we were staying with) mostly cooked in Le Creuset pans...so just the living room and the kitchen packed with layers of wood, ceramic stuff, painted cotton fabrics, wicker baskets made a perfect picture for life style magazine. 

Metro is the easiest, cost effective and fastest way to travel in Paris. Rather than take a metro week pass, we took the day pass priced at approx 7 euros - for days when we would hop from one corner to another. Rest of the days saw us exploring the streets on foot, hence expense on travel was even lower. It was something to see French men immaculately dressed, with a cross bag ... on a bicycle! same goes for women. I was surprised to see so many people on cycles going to office, picking and dropping school going children, shopping or just for fun. Cycles were everywhere! which made me search on how Paris became a biker friendly city and found that about 10 years ago, city authorities of Paris, led by Denis Baupin, then Deputy Mayor of Transportation, decided to reduce the space occupied by cars, replacing it with wider bus-bike lanes and bike paths. You can read more on this here. How cool! we definitely need this in Mumbai and Delhi. 

 

There is so much to see in Paris, that even for a person who is quick , would need minimum 20 days to soak in everything - Eiffel. Luxembourg, my fav. Goth architecture Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Triomphe. Palais Royal, Moulin Rouge, Lido, Opera, Theater, cuisine... one can go on and on... and who can forget its world famous shopping destination too!  

Paris is known as The City of Lights... once there, I did not find anything remarkable in their lighting. Certainly just the bright Eiffel cannot make the city earn this name! Dubai, Singapore, Las Vegas are the ones which more fit the bill. Thanks to Google, I found out that the name has nothing to do with the Eiffel Tower lights or the streetlights of the city. Intellectuals are the lights!! the name refers to the high-concentration of writers, artists and academicians that have always been drawn to the city.

Sigh - even the name is poetic! 

Apart from all the historical monsters as mentioned above, that are on everyone's to do Paris list - few things that cannot be missed are - Seine River tour... Its so beautiful that its almost criminal! Now Seine by the day or Seine by the night was the big Q in front of us that we ended up touring twice! Seine by the day is my fav as it shows the architecture of the city clearly. How every building blends into another, yet has its own identity... no jarring lines, no odd structures that are an eye sore... 

By law, no buildings can exceed six stories in Paris. As its important that "Pour que tout le monde ait du soleil" which means "so that all have sunshine", resulting in a metro that has retained old world charm, unique in the world. 

It was a noon with a hint of rain in the air when we sailed on Seine.. so was right out of a story book.  

Surrounded by the beauty, by the love lock bridges, by people dancing and singing on banks of Seine, there one can muse why Paris motto is "Fluctuat nec mergitur" meaning "It is tossed by the waves, but does not sink."

Another was Saint Ouen Market - its 150-year-old market and the world's largest and most famous flea market. I think this was the only place that was on to-do list in Paris. Eiffel tower or Louvre is something one will visit - so for all historical destinations, we really hadn't even checked the timings or days or how to get there...as that's what all tourists do and info should be easily available anywhere. For St. Ouen market, we checked on days, as it is only open on weekends and made our plan around it. It has labyrinthine alleys and stalls where one can find anything imaginable.

Ever been to Mumbai Chor Bazaar... well.. this was French Chor Bazaar. If you like exploring places where you can find first LV bag, Dior 1950 collection, miniature perfume bottles, how did old Chanel smelled like, magazines out of print or more antiques, here is where you go!

The rates are exorbitant. We couldn't buy anything except a few trinkets here and there, but the market's ambiance is adorable to explore.

Lastly, every city is made by its people. French people were warm and helpful. A lot of French guys volunteered for help when I was travelling cross cities and had heavy bags with me. My friend would always get lost when she would go on a run.. to be helped by people who didn't hesitate to use Google Maps on their mobiles; for pure vegetarian food... they would take the trouble of reading all ingredients and informing. At so many places when lost and where we could not communicate due to language barrier - we were escorted till the closest correct metro station or bus stop. (which made me think if I would ever do the same - tell the way (yes), GPS (yes) but escorting takes time .. even if 5 minutes) - which was very heart warming. 

Chance discovery for us... and not to be missed - Eiffel blinks at 12.00 am! What a sight it is.

Our home in France

& 

Our friendly neighborhood Luxembourg

That's all on Paris for now...truly a seat of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

One feels it in the air.

Lap of Nature: Neemrana "The Ramgarh Bungalows"

Finding a nice getaway near Delhi - that you can manage by taking only one day's leave is more difficult than it sounds. I was restless to get away after the hectic quarter of JFM, and with even more work associated with new financial year staring at me was making my senses dim. Zeroed in to Neemrana - Ramgarh Bungalows for a quick getaway from the noise, hustle bustle of city & work life. And needless to say - couldn't have chosen a better place!

Getting to Ramgarh: There are many options to get here, it is quite close to Delhi considering other options such as Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala. The nearest train station is Kathgodam - which has good connectivity through trains. There is a morning Shatabadi too from Delhi to this place. My friend and I took Ranikhet express which is overnight journey, and the train was spot on time. One can even take a flight till Pantnagar and from there it takes 3 hrs to reach Neemrana. We were picked by Neemrana staff and it took us 1.5 hours to reach our weekend home.

Lap of Nature: From the moment we sat in the car for our journey to Neemrana... we were in the lap of nature. On the way, crossed Bhimtal too!

Bhimtal at start of Sunrise

Sunrays streaming through trees on way to Ramgarh

We were taken aback by seeing our cottage that was right out of the English countryside novel!

Call it fate, but by the time we were trying to book, almost all the rooms that sounded good on the website (good combo of view and rate) were sold out - leaving us with the more expensive option of taking Ashok Vatika Blue Room. Turns out, that's the best place to stay in the property. If you headed to this place, book nothing other than this, that is if you want to experience the serenity. It's worth the price.


Ramgarh is also known as the "fruit bowl of Kumaon". The garden itself had a flowering Pear tree - as can be seen in the pic with the table.
Around the cottage, there were plum trees, quite a few apricot tress and a grand lush walnut tree.

My mornings and noon were spent under that walnut tree - sleeping - staring into the sky.

From Ashok Vatika to Neemrana reception (thats where all the staff is located, and also the jam factory) is just 500 metres but quite an uphill -on way back to your room.

On the first day, we went for a hike to the base of Ramgarh.
Ramgarh is sparsely populated as compared to its neighbouring towns such as Naintal, Bhimtal. It has two portions: Talla (bottom Ramgarh) - where the river flows, and Malla (top Ramgarh) where all the guesthouses, including Neemrana are situated.

The hike from the road less travelled that is, the kuccha road is approx 4 km only but steep. While coming back, its a good work out! Taking the side road has perks such as stunning views, and the whole adventurous feel to the activity.
While taking the car roadway - its about 10 km... that has a gradual slope and is less tiring, though more time consuming. (and regular hike)

At Talla, there isn't much to do. There is a gushing river, with few shops around where one can sit and have maggi and tea.

The place is quite laid back, away from commercialism, and an example of perfect rustic simple setting. It seems like an ideal place for writers... no wonder so many cottages around are named as "Writers Paradise", "Writers Bungalow", "Whispering Woods" .. all emphasizing the nature in its natural untamed form.

One hour from Ramgarh is Mukteshwar, that almost all the tourists to this place do visit. However, we gave the place a miss, as we were quite content to be in midst of the mountains and beauty of Ramgarh itself. Nainital too is just one hour away and makes for an interesting day trip.

Ramgarh in the start of April - was a land of flowers. Rather than the fruit bowl - I was surprised to see the flowers all across the place. There were daisies growing wildly on the roadsides, and the grass too was full of flowers and ladybirds. It was a pure treat to the eyes. Never before in India - have I seen Irises... and to see rows of them in the cottages around.. and then on my breakfast table! I kept on smelling the sweet Irises as much as I could..


 

The locals kept telling us about how beautiful it is in May and June - when the trees are laden with the fruits. While as I am more of a flowers person...think this was the best season for me to go!

The weather while we were there ranged between 18 degrees to 12 degrees. So a light sweater is recommended. The cottages have no fans in them - even in summers the temperature never exceeds 28 degrees, making it quite a perfect hill station.

Our days were full of leisure and with phone connectivity a bit low - couldn't have asked for more :P




The Blue Room has a baby room with a single bed in the adjoining room. That room is the place to be... by opening the windows - one feels as though one is lounging in the garden itself. Also, that's the place what one calls with a real sunrise view. The sunrise happens right in front and one can watch it while lying in one's bed... now that is a truly stunning view.

Sunrise

Sunset

The sunset is even more amazing ... something that the painters can truly paint. Even for the birdwatchers, the place can be paradise. 

While coming back, we even got to see the rains - that can be quite heavy in the mountains. There was a hailstorm that was next to sleet in its nature.  

Find your blue sky, ray of sunshine, patch of shade under a beautiful walnut tree at Ramgarh...