Florida 2013 diaries April 6th - Sunny side up...

I am not talking about eggs here at all.  I am holidaying in Florida and proudly claim that am now naturally tanned and back to my own skin colour. It must be a privilege for us dark skinned people to not worry about sun tan lotions, SPFs and after sun creams, one that is not considered a privilege in India for all the wrong reasons.

The husband's family has taken up a huge, a really huge holiday home in south west Florida, quite near Tampa, in an island called "Anna Maria Island", a narrow landmass spurting off from the mainland. The island itself is connected by a causeway to the mainland and when one looks on the map, this wee landmass appears like a spoke , its long narrow stretch of land practically seesawing into the Gulf of Mexico. That is very very sunny for you.

The trip started off two days ago on a Saturday morning, rather very very early. A flight to Dublin was on the cards as we were scheduled to fly Aer Lingus, the only reason being the cheap fares it offered over the largely popular United, Virgin or BA services. However, it was such a pleasant surprise to learn that Aer Lingus have a tie up with US immigration for preclearance right there in Dublin. This meant we were cleared even before we boarded the flight to the USA, customs and all. Talk of those serpentine immigration queues at Newark or elsewhere in America, no thanks! That is one very good reason to fly Aer Lingus, I thought and so did my husband. And we rarely agree!

All set, we jet off the runway in Dublin ,airborne and cruising at 38000 feet in a matter of minutes. The service was pretty efficient and the stewards were friendly in a genuine manner. No over the top pleasantries but nice in a matter of fact manner. I got a vegan meal and could not have been happier. The entertainment was minimal and had some decent stuff on but I was running a migrane headache and could not be bothered, so I slept through. One always thinks of a transatlantic flight as being over water for most of the journey but it is never the case. Barring 4 hours over the ocean from Ireland along the coast of Greenland and into the Labrador Sea, most of the flight was over land. It was wonderful to trace the flight path over Quebec, passing over elegant French sounding towns and mountains and then crossing the border into Maine and passing over the towering skyline of New York City, tracing Chesepeake Bay, the Carolinas, Savannah in Georgia and then into Orlando. The plane landed at the domestic terminal , easy and nice. The car was picked up, a black Chevy, looks beautiful and we set off  driving south westerly towards the Gulf of Mexico.  After about two hours, we reached the island and were extremely overjoyed to see the rest of the family in this big huge house on Gulf Drive along Holmes beach. Lots of oohs and aahs, cheering and hugging followed. It was great to be amongst them. And we were officially on HOLIDAY!!!!!!!
Pizzas were ordered, dinner done and the before I know, I was fast asleep. All I could hear was a very satisfied, tired snoring from the other side of the bed!

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE STORIES....TO BEGIN WITH...

Here is a picture of the lovely holiday home we are renting. The Scots decided to be very patriotic and put up their flag on the terrace overlooking the road. And they also put up the family insignia , aka, an RFC towel to prove the point! 

 

Paris - Day 1

When did it begin? When did it end ? I can't seem to know the time here. My watch still shows London time,well, I only know am an hour ahead now! Who cares ?

Obscure as I may seem to anything remotely logical,deep down inside my heart, I know,I made the right choices in life. To get here,to this point in space and time,it took me all these years and all that b***s**t!! Obscure again, but thats how I feel today,honestly am oblivious to anything that sounds logical. They say it takes hundreds of wrong choices to make that one right choice,how correct they were! Who were they ? I dont know,do I care ?

Coming back to my choices, hmm...am dragging a bit too much,but if you have just sat at a roadside cafe overlooking the 'Tour De Eiffel' magnificently lit in the evening, sipped a 'cafe lait', watched the most-properly dressed men and women conversing in French and sampled some exquisite 'Pasta Ravioli', you would not know what you were saying too..

Anyway, to make a long drag short,I mean to say 'Nothing else matters' ( remember the song ? ) The wrong men, the wrong friends, the wrong career moves, I believe ,have all successfully led me here,at this point in space and time, to this wonderful city of Paris. It is some kind of Karma stuff I guess! Remember, nothing is ever coincidence ? Ah thats what I mean to say :)

So, here am in Paris this morning ,having taken the Eurostar, one of the nicest luxuries available in Europe. The whole experience of going under the sea in a train was exciting for me and scary for my mum ( who is always scared anyway!) but I tell you, you never know the difference. I could only hear the sound of water vaguely at some point for about 20 minutes ( or was I half-asleep ? )Anyway, I reach Paris in a little over 2 hours, right into the city centre. Eurostar rocks!! Period.

The first 5 minutes of entering a city determines whether you like it or not for the rest of your life. Again,another of my idiotic beliefs, you may say. Do I care ?
I knew Paris is going to be beautiful,but when I first saw it, it struck me as a place where time had stood still. Like cosmic noise( A Brief History of Time,Cosomos),it appears that renaissance-effects still reverberate here. Renaissance is still around, in Paris, it is. Thats how I felt. So, am transported to this wonderful era of painters, sculptors, musicians and the like. Utopia!

Gare Du Nord - the north railway station is where my train from London dropped me off. I had to do the metro thingie to get to the youth hostel I was booked into. After commuting via the tubes in London, any other metro is child's play. Not quite. But more or less trivial. Metros in Paris is another subject altogether.
I had to change two lines to get to my hostel which goes by the name 'Aloha Hostel'. It feels lovely to be back to hostelling in Europe. The charm of staying in a youth hostel outbeats any 3 star hotel I can say. I miss the live music and bar though.That is stuff UK hostels are made of!!

Volantaires - thats where I get off. Step out into the street, turn right and turn left I was told. I turn right and for the first time,I see The Eiffel Tower in a distance. Imagine how I felt. For all these years, it was my dream to come to this place and here am today. It is a different matter altogether that I had orginally wished to come here with that one man who would be mine forever,but what the heck! I couldnt wait that long :)

Paris is romantic. Love is in the air. Period.

After a quick washup and makeup, I head out.Remember am in Paris and I am suffering from peer pressure of fellow young women who not only look like a million dollars but also dress like a million dollars. To say that I looked like a few thousand pounds myself was not an understatement, after all I had spent a few hundred pounds yesterday for this moment. LOL LOL.

My goal today was to walk. Just walk through the streets and see where I go.I had a map and a french conversation book on me. The first few minutes of attempting a foreign language is pure agony. Nothing else. But,there is some pleasure in this pain. The art of struggling is by itself an act of survivial. Seriously, very few people on the streets speak anything other than french. How nice!!
Casting a thought back,I remember that I mostly used only the following three 'Bon jour','merci' and 'vouz parlez anglais'!! However, during the course of the day, as I had to interact with the common people - the garcon (waiters), the monsieurs and madames on the streets,my conversation book was mostly open, half hung in my hand (while the other half held my chic hand bag) and my french was free flowing.
One thing I was very happy about was that as I made an attempt, people opened up to me. That was really nice. Especially at the cafes. So, after a couple of hours down the Siene and along the Eiffel Tower, I was a pro at asking for 'une cafe'( a coffee), 'le-attention'(bill) and also using courtesy ( sil vou' plait). Wonder how I can swear in French!! F**k perhaps ?? LOL

I shall not talk about Eiffel Tower in this post for two reasons
1. I have to go up there as yet.
2. The best blog from my side is not yet here.

Hungry as I was, I entered a cafe that was almost closing down for the day. They obliged however,because I cried 'food'! Mind, I spoke in English this time. I couldnt care less, I needed food. Paris could be very tiring if you walk. It could be very boring if you don't. The choice is yours. ( Travel tip 1)
I sat down to a very nice meal of... erm... steamed vegetables and coffee. To tell you the truth, the vegetables were really really good. They were fresh and tasty. For a typical Indian used to the masalas, this is anything but palatable. To not sample the local cuisine is, for me, a waste of travel. It is the experience that counts. And it was such a lovely meal. The madame who served me was impressed with my attempts at French and she matched it very well with excellent efforts at English. Overall, we made nice conversation. Thats the point. When the hearts connect, language and culture become secondary. ( Travel Tip 2)

After lunch, I headed out to the famous 'Arc De Truimphe' and the 'Champs De Elysees'. This roundabout is really huge and going up the 'Arc', I could get a bird's eye view of the city and its skyline. The boulevard itself is superb. Why not, when the best names in fashion are housed there,it has got to be magnificent. Luoi Vitton, Cartier,Armani, Swatch, Oglivey, ah!!! And to top it all, the 'Arc De' stands at the edge overlooking the entire city, as if to stand guard. Superb,majestic and extraordinary. Renaissance exists!! Right here, right now!

By now, my legs did the talking,rather the crying. My back hurt and I was paranoid of a migraine attack, hence I was wise and headed out via the metro to my hostel.The vegetables had digested but I needed to sleep. ( I woke up at 3 am this morning) After a nap, I headed out for dinner along the Volantaires. Chose one of the cafes overlooking the Eiffel. I had a leisurely dinner of pasta and salad downed with coke. All the while, I was consious of the language being spoken around me. To see, if I can pick up something familiar. Dont evern try,the French speak too fast and too stylish.

The walk back was pleasant. The shops were open,some of them. The city did not shut down at 6 PM as London does ( sadly thats one of the things about London I hate),life was buzzing. There was a sense of calm and happiness. Need to plan for the morrow, maybe the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Anyway, another beautiful day has passed.

Au revoir.

Current Mood: Romantic, romantic, romantic....

Bon Jour!!

Am back to what I love best,only next to music,yay,am back to travelling! The childhood dream is slowly beginning to take a shape. Having seen lots of the UK( am sure there are parts that i still need to see and am sure there are parts of Scotland that are worth seeing a million times and yet feel new),I venture out into mainland Europe with my first trip to Paris tomorrow.

Paris, to me is many things and I am in no rush to blog it all today,actually I need to get some sleep so that I can wake up in time for the 5.30 am Eurostar tomorrow! But to leave things unsaid is not in my forte and so here I present to you,PARIS!

It is the first city outside of India that I touched upon( albeit on transit to America). In that sense, it is a touchy feeling to be back again,only this time to explore and soak in the pulse of the city. I have heard so many things about this city, I cant wait!! Gawd,another 3 hours!!

It is the City of Love,what better way to symbolise the fact than the Eiffel Tower itself!! To a fierce and passionate Sagittarian,love is a very meaningful subject :)

It is a representation of medievial art,nudity and glorification of the human anatomy.. Somewhere in the depths of my mind, I can hear the voice of my history ma'am at school! I havent grown out of childhood, have I ?? I wouldn't want to...

And finally,it is the place of perfumes,of chocolates, of cheese and wine. And fashion too! Everything a woman wishes for is in Paris! And here I go....


Wish me luck and look out for my blogs and pictures....

Bon Jour!

The Drama Bus!!!

hi Rekha and everybody!!

Me and my lovely girlfriend Gemma are going back to Edinburgh in January for her big 30!! We have booked a four star hotel (no more of those hostels!!) and we cant wait as we are there for 4 days. We are also tempted at doing a one day haggis tour but it will be so so cold!!

Life is back to normal and we are both really down at work and both want to quit and get back on the drama bus!!

Rekha we would apprecitae more pictures if you have any good.

Hopefully we will all keep in touch as I want my free accomodation in India with yourself and my farm stay in Oz with Erica!!

Still think of last month and smile and Gemma misses it as much as Recka.

I know ive said it before but thanks to you all for making the trip a really fun time if only we could do it all again!!

Hello!

It feels very strange making a post on someone else's blog. Rekha invited me to do so, however, and so here I am testing things out! It works, Rekha!

Miss you!

final day of the trip - London..

today just walked and shopped around London. Took the tube from Waterloo to Westminister,walked out of the tube station there, entered Big Ben road, went along the Westminister Bridge towards South Bank, along the Thames :)- towards Vauxhall Bridge.

I was tired of walking and then turned into the 'Tate Britain' museum for a 15 minute sightseeing,guess whom I saw there ? SHWETA BACHCHAN :)- finally i saw a celebrity in London and a desi one too ..

I chatted with her a bit and then gave my regards to the Big B!! as of she would remember but then it is courtesy isnt it ? Then I was all excited...

Well finally landed at Oxford Street into Primark, oh My God that place is full of malls.. did my shopping.. and finally took the tube to Bond Street and then to Waterloo..

Then the 2 hour train ride to BOurnemouth at Roops' house...

my trip is done for now.. tomorrow I take the bus to Heathrow terminal 4 from B'mouth and catch the BA afternoon flight to Bangalore....

Adios UK for now... I will be back...

When the Scottish Highlands meet the Gangetic plains....

The "India Alba" fusion was an excellent experiment. An hour of pure traditional music,pleasing to the mind and soul. How beautifully the bagpipes blend with our tabla,someone was not wrong when he said 'Music is universal'. Impartially speaking though,the Indians were far far ahead,this was evident from the difficulty the bagpipe artiste was facing to do an alap in Raga 'Kaafi' ( Hindustani) but, the attempt is truly commendable. Overall, an excellent experience. The tabla artiste was the hero of the evening...

My day tour to Loch Lomond was very nice, once again got to see the Highlands. My God, it is heavenly. Am hurting because, in a couple of hours, I leave this beautiful country, the beautiful people- warm and friendly,the stunning landscapes, the rich history, the streets - Royal Mile, the Haggis office, the festival,the music and above all, the ultimate freedom of spirit that reverberates in this place, it is a tough thing to leave happiness when you are in the middle of it.

But am glad, in another week, I will be home with my people, my home, bed, food and music and work ofcourse. God is very kind to me, especially the last 2 days, I am sure he listened to everything I told him...

My travels have made me a better person for sure, but my Scotland trip has changed me forever. Being amidst nature's unknown forces - animate and inanimate ,has mellowed me down. My pride has given way to some kind of humility,one that has realized that beyond all men,lies a force that is tough to oppose and it is best to take it in one's stride and live to the fullest. And it has taught me the true power of prayer!!

My bus to London leaves at 10 PM and it is 6.30 PM now....