Travel Blog: Glass Wheels, Paper Wings

Roman Holidays

2011-08-02T01:31:00.003-04:00

If you were to follow me on tripadvisor this article might be redundant for you, because here, I will just compile all my reviews of Rome, where to stay, eat and go.Anecdoting our honeymoon will not be appreciated by my husband. Documenting our fine and clever choices, reliving the moments and advising fellow or potential travelers of our lessons might not be as bad. So I will skip the conotations of romance and post-wedding stress and move on to my list of dont-miss and rather-skips.

Holiday Inn Express, Rome east. You want to feel like you're home, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh...any'generic'where, go ahead and stay here. The place is like any other distant, disconnected suburbia with no connection to the heart or soul of a place.
Not to say about the transportation, but just that when you're in Rome wouldn't you want a little more character to your stay? A little more Italy, a little more Europe beyond the breakfast and the rather curt hospitality?After a rather long train ride and a dark walk back to the hotel on our second night, we moved to where we had earlier inquired about rates and were plenty pleased with the old man and his neighbors (not to say one of his neighbors sported a Steelers jacket that I couldnt take my eyes off)

Hotel Romano. Corrado Ricci. Rickety stairs up a century old building or a tiny elevator. And we had a 4-1/2th story room with a view and some major character staring straight into our eyes. I would have taken the Holiday Inn bath over this anyday. Oh well.Santo and his colleague were instrumental in getting my newly married husband to walk the city (I was already out on a limb-pardon the pun). Breakfast was next doors. Internet was unavailable and we didnt have phones. Bliss!

Cafe 1 (next to Hotel Romano, Corrado Ricci): After a tired day, touring the Colloseum, the Roman forum and the Capitoline hill, we retired for a rather late lunch at Cafe 1. The server fluently explained that the 'hot meals' were not made at the cafe but everything else was. Loved the honesty, cared not for the information, I was hungry, just getting over a 3 day spell of major prawn allergy (trust me you dont want to know the details). Liked the food and desserts but forgot them by the next mean however I can still taste the hot chocolate and the memory that I couldnt finish it torments my writability.

Cafe 2 (Bangladeshi server, near Campe di Fiori): By now we had discovered the sizeable Bangladeshi immigrant population in Rome, selling souvenirs, hats, scarves, umbrellas and the like, a lot of who were rather pleased to see "Asian" faces in the tourist crowds, lets just say being from the Indian subcontinent and more than that, from Royal Bengal had its perks.But at this particular restaurant--very upscale, very Italian had a Bangali usher-- very friendly about his birth country and very informative about his adopted one and mostly about the food at the restaurant. Great pork chops, good rigatoni. Cozy decor. Quiet beautiful ambiance.

Cafe 3 (Vatican): Lining the Vatic wall in the crowded cheesy souvenier-land, this 'tea room' sits with paws into tourists wallets-showcasing
some intense honor among thieves. Bad service, very bad food and very, very bad prices. Please keep in mind that this is just
another roadside cafe, nothing upscale, not a restaurant, but definitely 3X the prices from across the Tiber.

Cafe 4: (1st night Corrado Ricci) Snotty service. Good food or so said the hubs. But brownie points for ambience. Loved the open market, the fair, the people watching.

Piazza Navona: It was the day of epiphany. The fair, the people and the harmonious haggling banter added to the awesomeness.

Trevi Fountain & Spanish StepsVery touristy, but worth a visit, especially after dark.

Pantheon: Marvel!

Colloseum: I can not explain how it felt when I walked out of the metro and it stood in front of us, luminescent. I like history, but not museums, standing in front of this was like zooming back to history hundreds of years ago...we had to wait until next morning for the tour. Definitely worth the money. We also toured Capitoline Forum, Roman Forum and as we stood chatting with the guide the pictures of knights and horsemen were coming alive in front of our eyes.

Vatican City, St. Peter's Square, Basilica, Sistine Chapel: No trip to Italy is complete without the Colloseum or the Vatican. This deserved a full day as we had given it and it sucked the last drop of energy from us to finish touring them. But it was so very worth the time and effort. The art, the history, the peace--I have never seen or felt anything like this before.

Rome was touristy all right as we were warned, but nonetheless very, very charming. The pigeons, the drizzling dark sky, the wet cobblestone, where do I begin and what doI describe? The squares lined by narrow cobblestone alleys, the corners hosting quirky stores, selling colorful pasta and offering wine and grappa tasting. We ended up spending more than we wanted. but sadly,....this is an unfinished account I never got around to posting. Apologies. Reading this still makes me happy. I hope the same for you.

India Northeast: land of clouds, tea and pepper

2011-08-02T01:20:00.001-04:00

In a desperate exodus from urbanites, embryonic urbanism and most importantly flailing urbanoids, I booked the first flight available away from Calcutta, to the hills I had grown up to love, but, maybe this time to another face of the same slopes. A fastidious being every otherwise, I have realized that my respect is not only bountiful for Nature but I am abysmally forgiving towards serenity and virginity. The hills were calling and I couldn’t wait to leave the misgivings behind.
National Parks, tea, green rolling hills, everything about the North-east corridor has beckoned me since my childhood days, but political fiascoes, terrorism and illusory distance had kept us from answering the call. After a rather eventful flight early morning we reached Guwahati and expected disappointment that it was no better than any rural district in Bengal. Only messier. In a rented car, we stumbled along NH 37 eastwards for 230 km to the Western ranges of Kaziranga National Forest. Where the abundance of thugs is only marred by my abundance of assiduousness, it is difficult to be in peace. Nature is the only succor. We had reserved lodging in Bonhabi Resorts, which was close to the Central Range of the national park but still quite far from the entrance. While the campus was green and lush and the sun was plentiful, you were not quite in the forest so the “feel”, as my mother puts it, was lacking.

Early next morning, jostling in an open ranger car, we reached the western range for an early morning elephant ride. A rather touristy activity, it was busy with families in colorful scarves and screaming and excited kids and men with their many forms of digital cameras. After a long wait it was finally our turn to ‘board’ the elephant, a scary, tumultuous ride it was as two elephants and their ‘mahouts’ chatted side by side on a narrow slit of land dividing two marshlands. Imagine falling from 8 feet tall animal, in squishy mud and tall grass and the elephant on top of you, not a pretty image in your mind that early in your morning.

But soon the mist rising from the ponds, the light sunrays and plentiful deer assuaged my fear and negativity. Happy camper, I was enjoying the sightings of one-horned rhinos, the ubiquitous Kaziranga native. I was a kid again, excited at once, miserable the next missing her favorite toy—a basic Canon 75-300mm lens. Birds were plenteous, colorful feather flying around the swamps and perched in bushes. The deer stopped and looked at us, the rhinos in their cute shorts grazing in the sun like average cows. For the ones, more articulate with 4 legged wilderness, than with their 2-legged hairless brothers, it was heaven!

After the one-hour elephant ride, we were back to the reality of people and their commotion, a steaming cup of ginger spice Assamese tea mitigated my rising annoyance of all things I condemned as fake. Back at the resort it was a sumptuous breakfast of Puri Sabji (potatoes can do wonders!) and hours of whiling away in the sun. Something I have forgotten how to do.

Soon it was time for our evening safari this time to the eastern range, which albeit far was a bird abode. 20 km further east on the main road, we climbed dirt roads through villages, farms and backyards to reach the eastern entrance of the park—an hour-long bumpy ride with clouds of brown dust trailing us, mother and daughter stood on the Jeep rattling between the metal rods, enjoying, well, freedom.

A herd of buffaloes were lazing in the sun by the water, with a variety of swamp partridges, snow-white storks and exotic geese. At one point another herd, clumsily crossing the road, saw our trespassing vehicle and ran like coy maids into the thick of the forest. Chatty parrots flew from one bare branch to another, their shrillness evading the silence; while their cousins, the grim grey-headed fishing eagles perched on the trees created solemn silhouettes. Indian kingfishers glided brushstrokes of rich blue through the horizon as they swooped into Kaziranga waters, to catch dinner. A lone rhino was enjoying its mud bath, while its stork friend free rode on its back. It was a village of tranquility, an equilibrium set by Nature, where we were intruders with our binoculars, cameras and white noise of electronic gadgets, trying to get hold of something that we are inching away from simultaneously.

We rumbled to the shores of Brahmaputra, India’s only male river, the mythological son (putra) of the all-knowing Brahma. The soft fine silty sand had among other foot prints some very clear ones of the great Indian cat—the Royal Bengal Tiger. The water became one with the sky, except for the islands that were left bare, parched in the dry winter. Another 6 months until bountiful rains flood the banks and wash away all that winter brought in.

The sun set over fields of mustard, as we left the forest and started our homeward journey. We tumbled back in the dark to the resort, our insides growling for Assamese food.

Next day, we bid farewell to the kind-eyed elephants and soft-spoken locals as we drove west on NH37 towards Guwahati. Everyone we asked had their own sense of dimension of time and distance: Shillong could be anywhere from 180 km away to 300+, anywhere from 5 to 7 hours of tedious driving away. At Jorabhat we diverted from NH37 and went south on NH40 and entered the state of Meghalaya (Land of the Clouds). The next one hour to Shillong was cloud filled alright, but clouds of dust and diesel fumes. We kept waiting for the much reputed drive to Shillong, but the only things we saw were trucks puffing out obnoxious fumes and a dreary half-baked twisty road, lined with stores selling manufacturing parts and orange local liquor. To eyes that grew up loving orchid-lined houses of North Bengal Duars, this was unexpected misery.

Soon we reached Lake Umiam, a large ameboid lake creviced into short rolling ridges. The twisting roads took us to our resort Ri Kynjai (Ri Kynjai= Khasi for 'land of serene environs’), hidden without signs on one such hillock. Pleasantly surprised at what lay beyond the heavy brown gates, we walked into the wooden resort, aesthetically created and scrupulously maintained. Whoever said luxury was overrated, had definitely not been my copassenger on this journey. We appreciated the hot water, the comfortable bed and the tasty local comfort food. The view was a surplus that we gorged on for the next two days, and filled our pockets with to savor for a long time to come.

‘Legend has it that millennia ago the sea caressed the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas and the Ancient Khasi tribe may have been a sea faring community. They readily adopted the upturned boat roof form which is inherently capable of withstanding the harsh monsoon winds and incessant rainfall. The Cherrapunjee - Mawsynram belt, the world’s rainiest area, lies on these slopes. Being aerodynamically friendly, these upturned boat roofs were best suited to withstand the squalls and storms of the region. Ri Kynjai’s architecture, inspired and derived from the original Khasi thatch huts’ with the upturned boat roof, the intricate but minimalist décor with dry acorns and poinsettias, celebration of all things local and ethnic from Meghalayan weaving to the ‘rooster’ Ri Kynjai was comfort, spelt the right way. The herb colored Jadoh, a Biryani clone, cooked with succulent chunks of chicken or pork was a Khasi specialty, steaming with a dollop of butter, it was all we needed to crave a nap. The Khasi warmth and hospitality with a professional demeanor made up for our delirious ride up to Umiam, so much, that we decided to stay put and enjoy the lake and skip Shillong altogether.

We walked the many trails, discovering shorter pathways to the water and heaving as we climbed back up, weaving through cobwebs of ethnic spiders and bright wild flowers that bloomed aplenty, my mother bravely excavating strange berries and cute leaves that lay on the ground. We strolled through the neighboring village. Garbed in a breezy Christmas spirit, people roared up and down the road outside in overflowing cars, tribal kids dressed in their Sunday best walked back from Mass. This Christmas was special. This trip was a real escape, dodging familiarity for strangeness and strangers, a vacation from vacations.

(for more pictures, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/kolika/sets/72157625664053444/with/5287988840/)

Dunkirk: A Western New York story

2011-08-02T01:17:00.002-04:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kolika/sets/72157624419755584/

My life in Dunkirk NY in pictures.

28 impersonal snapshots, coordinated and labeled to commemorate 3 winters, 3 springs, 3 summers and 2 falls of sugar, spice and many things nice in the heart of Western New York.

Pittsburgh

2011-08-02T01:16:00.001-04:00

I had been tipping a friend today on one-day must-does of Pittsburgh, and realized how much of that I have been doing lately. Given how extensively I write about trivia to short getaways, it is pure injustice to myself and my 'burgh misadventures that I took so long to write about my favorite small town.

At Pittsburgh, there are things I have missed out on, despite strong advices and golden opportunities...some of which I still try to make up for; and then there are those I have lived, some of them many times; all of which I am finally listing. But in the interest of time, I will spare you my blooming emotions (very unstreamlined-ish), and provide links instead.

Lets start with the self-misgivings.

Dale Chihuly @ Phipps

Mattress Factory

Andy Warhol Museum

Carnegie Science Center

Cathedral of Learning

Movies in the Park @ Schenley

Funny Bone @ Station Square

Now those that I did NOT MISS and implore you not to either:

Mt Washington

--the inclines

--the restaurants

Southside Works

Station Square

Shadyside restaurants

Three Rivers Arts Festival

Pittsburgh Film-makers Film festivals

Eclectic Squirrel Hill, Frick & Schenley Parks @ night

Cruise on the rivers

Kassab's on Carson

Primanti Brothers

The Zoo

The Aviary

4th of July fireworks by the river

I had the blissful times of doing Pittsburgh like a local as well as like a tourist--novice, chiseled and back to 'forever wide-eyed';
and my glass wheels are testament to the fact that there are very few ways you can go wrong with this city!

I hope you enjoy what is popularly known as the good, bad and boring in the 'Burgh! and script your own history in steel and glass.

Chic Chicago land

2010-08-06T02:25:00.002-04:00

Chicago celebrating
the Hawks' win

So many times I have started writing a travelogue on Chicago, after all it's only natural. It has been my favorite vacation, hide-out and go-to spot for so many occasions, so many people and so many reasons. In the last few years among a million moves, this is one place I have 'visited' every year at least once, in some years in every season, in this year, I stayed back for a whole season. Southwest airlines gave me 3 free roundtrips to Vegas, I flew so much to and from Chicago.

And that many times I have backed out and fled the challenge (of writing the travelogue) because every visit to this city, I opened a new page, discovered a new sculpture, a new favorite food, a new neighborhood!

I used to pride myself on being able to guide someone on a one-day trip of Chicago—all the major touristy happenings that is. Hectic, but very doable I'd say. And I still fervently believe that tourists, especially alert tourists often are more efficient: time, money and sometimes even map-wise than are long-term residents of any place.

Living in a place, growing a habit, having a fixed bed to sleep in and a vehicle at your disposal often rots the well-honed tentacles that guide you in the land of new and unknown.

And this summer in Chicago is making me lose my edge. So before it's all gone, while I keep looking for and rediscovering Chi-town's chic-ness, I'd like to pen down a few brief pointers, things that came in handy for me when I was a tourist.

Always fly into Midway rather than O'Hare, you will save an average of 45 minutes each time you choose the former over the latter, plus Midway has a Potbelly Sandwich store and has Southwest flying into it. ;)

Always walk, don't drive. If you are a shopper, a foodie, a photographer, an adventurist, a people-watcher, or a thrifty combination of all above, please walk and use the CTA. Parking like in most big cities is expensive and rare and tough. If you have a license plate from anywhere other than IL, you are on the special menu for the city's revenue system. But that's one of those secrets everyone knows, but only few are shameless enough to talk about.

Always book a hotel close to downtown 'the loop', or absolutely within walking distance of the El (or Elevated CTA train lines). You might spend in taxi rides and transportation what you save on your hotel stay.

When I was not staying at home, with friends, or family, these are the places I had spent my nights: Intercontinental Hotel Rosemont (near O' Hare), La Quinta Inns and Suites (near O'Hare) and Rodeway Inn on Ogden Ave. Intercontinental was one of my best hotel stays ever across the globe, that kind of service, décor (that's important for me), stay is a steal for only $150, now that I think, it could have been on a special. LQ was a good value for money, but not the greatest service: I've stayed at better LQs and the Rodeway Inn I guess I didn't know any better, a dismal 2.5/5 for value was a great learning experience.

Friends and family who have hosted me on other occasions were all well located: Hyde Park (accessible by the Metra and #6), Forest Park (..by the Green line and Metra), downtown on Madison (by everything!)

Next the touristy spots: you will probably want to do an observation deck? Choose the 4^th tallest in the city John Hancock over the tallest Sears er. Willis tower. Why? Well Big John offers candid views of blue-green Lake Michigan and better views of all things nice and tall (including Willis) that defines Chicago. It also has history framed in photos and words for a overall good time. Big john has a restaurant high up, which is more famed for the views than the food or value for money; contrary to a bunch of good eating places downstairs, including Jamba Juice and Cheesecake Factory (both of which we love despite being chain-restaurants).

Also while you're up there, try to go a little before sunset, so you can see the city by day, (maybe some of Indiana too?) a glorious sunset and the city-lights when dark.

If you're like me, you like cheesy. Navy Pier might just be the funnel-cake smelling, souvenir selling, junk-shopping, street-food eating respite from the walk. It has something for every one. A Beer Garden, a Stained Glass museum (showing Mosaics too currently), a Children's museum, a make-a-bear store, Bubba Gump Shrimp, American Hot Dogs, Ben and Jerry's and fun stuff from across the globe in a vendor market type atmosphere. Unwind, relax, catch some magic show for kids or watch the fireworks if you're lucky 9pm Wednesday 10:15pm Saturday in summer (subject to change), also July 4^th 9:00 pm and Dec 31^st midnight.

You'd probably like to take a boat-ride along the plentiful water of the lake. There are many companies, Wendella, Seadog, Lakeshore, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Spirit, Mercury, Caravan…. to name a few. Which sounds the most authentic? Chicago Architecture Foundation. Wrong choice, unless you want a dead-with-boredom, grumpy, drone-y explain Chicago's magnificent architectural wonders in a pin-point fashion.

I have taken about 6 different boat rides, some many times and I can see why you'd prefer SeaDog's speed boat tour, or Wendella's 90 minute lake and river or Tall Ship Windy for obviously thrill, : best value (fun, info, relaxation) for money and some good time sailing with a special someone. Fancy watching the fireworks from afloat the water? You can, just schedule accordingly!

If you're traveling with kids or love animals and/or are from a place where there are no good zoos or aquariums, you might want to spend a few hours in that niche.

Lincoln Park is free but rather lame. Good for those in the city for a day lazing but not time-crunched tourists. Choose Brookfield Zoo of course for a good tour keep 2.5-3 hours in hand. Go to the Shedd Aquarium, but get tickets in advance. Keep a good 4 hours to include everything.

If you are a art-junkie, try sneaking into the Art Musuem on Michigan, its free Thursday evenings. If you're a museum addict, you might like the Field Museum. But beware both these will take whole days if you want to do them well, so when planning a day trip you might want to avoid them.

So what do you do the morning of your 'one-day' in Chicago? You go to the Cultural Center and collect some brochures and self-guided sculpture tours then climb the stairs to go, see the largest stained glass dome ceiling. Once done marveling walk out and enjoy Chagall's Four Seasons, Buckingham Fountain, Picasa, Cloud and Crown Fountain; if you don't want to go to the Cultural Center you can also find valuable information in these blogs: http://chicago-outdoor-sculptures.blogspot.com/, http://chicagosculptureintheloop.blogspot.com/ and http://www.architectureintheloop.blogspot.com/

If you have more than a day, definitely spend a day on the museums and check out the individual neighborhoods—their old-style architecture and specially their specialty restaurants. Also educate yourself on the many fairs and festivals of the city during summer and plan your trip accordingly. While traffic and flight deals might be unfavorable, Taste of Chicago or the Blues festival besides many others, are well worth at least half a travel-day.

For an efficient one-day tour start with the sculptures and murals while you have the all the morning energy to walk (or substitute with the zoo and aquarium), take the boat tour, climb up an observation deck, go to Navy Pier and intersperse these with culinary wonders that makes Chicago what it is.

And thus coming to the most important part of any travel: Food.

Chicago has been called a food-lovers paradise so many times and a haven for hot-dogs and pizza. I was not as much a believer in the whole hot-dog works thing or the pizza while I was a visitor and I hang my head low (and high) saying that the last 3 months has done miracles on my hot-dog taste-buds and cultivated special taste receptacles for pizza that I didn't know existed. And I am not just talking about the quintessential deep-dish pizza, I mean pizza: crispy thin-crust, wood-fired, stone-grilled. Any. All. Now I actually love each one for the specialties that they are.

For Chicago-style deep dish pizza try Giordano's, Gino's East or Lou Malnati's. Everybody has their own favorites that they swear by, I like Giordano's best.

For thin crust pizzas, Piece (Wicker Park) and Flo & Santo's (South Loop). Piece's mashed potato and chicken on white crust happens to be my favorite.

Freddie's is a typical neighborhood joint with heavy portions sprinkled with Chicago culture. Although known for its double sausage dogs, their tastiest item is their chili

Hot Doug's is a definite go-to even if you dont do anything else in Chicago. One meal here and you will be coming back to town for more. Never mind the line in front of the restaurant, you will have to wait in line for 40 to 120 minutes and as I have said time and again, it is well worth it.

Doug serves up gourmet hot dogs: everything from the thai chicken with seaweed salad and spicy peanut dressing, to the duck sausage with foie gras truffle, pork with apple and cranberry, the elk, the alligator, the antelope and the vegetarian spinach option among them too.... each getting fancier than the rest. They have specials every day, try those. Duck fat fries (although it doesn't attract me much) are a Fri and Sat only special. They are strictly cash only and are closed Sundays and most holidays, please check their website and call them for hours.

Another place that catches up on the Chicago dog fever is American Hot Dogs: try each one. My favorite: the Baltimore deep fried dog.

312 Chicago is a hyped downtown joint if you have business to accomplish. Food wise, not recommended at all. Instead walk a few blocks to Grand Lux Cafe on the Magnificient mile and enjoy all they have to offer. My favorite their Creme Brulee duo--the regular vanilla coupled with a chocolate one.

In the mood for Europe? Try Austrian Bakery in the Lincoln Park area. Great sandwiches and breakfast options run parallel to their abundant pastry styles and cakes. Chocolate Croissants and Rum Balls are my favorite.

That brings me to Mindy's Hot Chocolate in Wicker Park. Take the waiter's suggestion, because he will say Chocolate #1 which is a warm chocolate souffle with salty peanut butter ice cream served with a pretzel. Dont miss out on the goal. When choosing a hot chocolate try their Black and Tan or Dark French 72%. If you like cinnamon, the Mexican Chocolate might just grab your fancy.

want to bring some for home? Get their cookies, donuts and a hot chocolate mix.

Trust me its all worth it.

More chocolate cravings? Take your pick at hand-made chocolates, gelato and candy at Canady le Chocolatier. He might give you some warm cider to go with your chocolate samples, if you are lucky. Amazing palate cleanser, makes me love his creations even more.

Closeby, for lunch, brunch or dessert and coffee stop by at Little Branch Café for their quiches, lox or dark chocolate gelato or mocha.

Dont miss out on Greektown's braised lamb (Rodity's is great, but there are others too like Pegasus, Santorini's).

Make a trip up north for great Ethiopian family-style food at Abyssinia near Broadway.

Find the many Polish restaurants on Belmont. Try Cafe DK's pirogies-- the most amazing concoction of meat, cheese and potato.

Russian Tea time near the Art Institute has great breakfast scones and tea.

But dont get me wrong, as much as I love the food scene, I'm drawn to Chicago for my friends and family.
People who'd hosted me and helped me settle in, people who'd let me visit at all times of day, those who've traveled to visit me while I was here and those who've traveled with me.
And of course, those who gave tasty instructions of where to try the next greatest food on earth, albeit distantly. And then those, who braved 13F cold and ear-numbing wind, to go chocolate-tasting with me or stood in line for 2 hours in the sun and rain to get hot dogs, walked 10 miles in a day for our famous comprehensive 1 day tour and then dozed off on my knees on the train, or those who've driven for hours to catch up with me on airports.

I'm just thankful all these people have great taste!

Student Travel - Shenandoah- Daughter of the stars: Driving the Skyline

2010-05-07T12:17:00.000-04:00

Student Travel - Shenandoah- Daughter of the stars: Driving the Skyline

Pacifying Highway 1

2010-03-21T01:03:00.003-04:00

Our vacation started late Thursday night when 4 people in 3 groups were to meet at San Francisco's touristy Fisherman's Wharf. It was convenient to meet straight at the hotel, considering the weeks of cold, snowy desolation and long hours of flight, work and minor jet lag preceding the trip.

While 3 of us reached within minutes of each other the fourth person unfortunately adventurous took a few more hours to make it to a good night's sleep. After a bad, hurried dinner of an uncooked cold pizza and fried calamari, the 3 of us, early birds hit the sack--enamored by the green, blue flowy pastels of Sheraton decor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d81375-r58689249-Sheraton_Fisherman_s_Wharf_Hotel-San_Francisco_California.htmland or maybe by the sheer incidence of being among beloved friends.

We were to wake up early next day pick up the car and start the much anticipated vacation.

And after changing our initial plans of picking up the car at the airport (we didnt realize how far Fishermans Wharf and SFO airport would seem like on a cool rainy morning) we walked a few blocks closer to the pier at a smaller pick up location and got bombarded with meanness and surcharges. Our reluctance was all but subdued with the sunroof on our cute SUV that was just enough for all 4 of us, our luggage and our high spirits.

The gloomy sky gave in almost immediately....the drizzle morphed into heavy shower of big raindrops just as we finished our breakfast at the pier http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60713-d1524623-Reviews-Boudin_Sourdough_Bakery_Cafe-San_Francisco_California.html and got into the warm car seats.

Wading through the rain and traffic and getting lost in unfamiliar loops we finally hit southbound Highway 1 near Pacifica. The first view of the roaring ocean was well, as if I've never seen the seas before. The wet sand, the moist skies, the rushing water, the foamy rocks were all new, fresh, all the fatigue and sleepless disturbing days right before the vacation were melting away, the enthusiasm, the young nights strangely feeling worth it...and we were just getting started.

We were at a traffic light, reading aloud everything we saw on the road in casual banter...One of such obscure signs promised spicy Pakistini food and as we rolled down the window, the smell of batter-fried hot snacks, filling the wet air as if hypnotized me into pulling my car in their driveway.

Let just say the food wasnt as good and the much-needed restrooms horrible but the dhaba feel on a rainy long drive was almost essential in shooting our excitement right through the now-shut sun-roof.

But the excitement, the spicy snacks and the ice tea did not put a cork on our bladders, now dancing to the rhythm of rain. We found a nature-stop closeby, one--where the two others in our group enjoyed a closer view of the ocean.

And off we were on a couple hundred winding miles, stopping every few to enjoy the sea, the snacks, the signs and the locales. Wildflowers, artichokes, gnarly trees and cherry blossoms lined our drive wherever we drifted away from the ocean. The scenery suddenly gave way to art stores, touristy shops, fudgerys and chocolate houses as we hit Monterey. What a lovely downtown, the downside-- everything closed at 6 pm on weekdays. We got to our hotel at 5 and by the time we could unwind, freshen up and get over the huge beautiful window overlooking monstrous waves lashing at Lover's Point, it was getting dark and the city almost died on us before we could take a wink.

Good, we bought some beverage and a pack of cards...we spread out and set up shop right after our breezy dinner @ PassionFish http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g32840-d360674-r58991730-Passionfish-Pacific_Grove_Monterey_Peninsula_California.html#UR58991730

We will skip until the next morning because the narrative has to be 1st hand here (and I had allegedly drifted off to another land (of sleep) during our card game)

So, next morning, the first to wake up, jerk the snooze off and run out with the camera was me, closely followed by 1 and then 2. Luckily enough Pacific Grove being on the peninsula, allowed the Sun to rise over the water even though we had no expectation of watching sunrise-on-water on the Pacific (of the Western Hemisphere).

The sky was lighting up from behind the trees. The water splashing looked almost gelatinous and pale. The city, the waves and the feathers of the flying pelicans was glowing alike in the first rays of Sun. Times like these make me want to become a morning person....-click, zoom, click, click, snap.We had dispersed with our thoughts and our cameras into the horizon, only to come back later to the brave 3-some that decided to get their feet wet. Hello, Pacific. Hello, freezing toes....

Hanging their flipflops and jeans out to dry we went for a wholesome breakfast @ Austino's Patisserie . The quiches, the beakfast sanwiches, the marinaded artichokes were all glorious, second only to the yummiest desserts I have had in a long, long time (and I always, always have dessert).

As much fun, was evading the parking police as our meter hit expired. It was time to start another long drive.

This time headed on the 17-mile designated magnificent stretch from Monterey to Carmel.

We stopped at all the overlooks and looked over every stop.

We met the seals and the sea lions basking in the sun in the distance, friendly Nutty and his squirrel friends, Mr. Bone-Beak-in-the-Stone-house, Ms. Haughty Pelican with an itch problem and Little Miss Yellow-eyed Black Bird.

Closer we got to Pebble beach, the more the stale smell of 'overrating' reached our nostrils. We agree our view of Carmel was much clouded much by the Pebble Beach lint, but to us Carmel looked more than the proclaimed quaint and arty. It was also very touristy, very artificial and very costly. The lunch at Flaherty's was hearty, heavy, delicious and costly, just how vacations were supposed to be.

Back to Pacific Grove we spent all afternoon and evening strolling Cannery Row--the "downtown" of Monterey. Being a glass artist I had long before wanted to check out Sand-to-Glass. This artist had an unique way of tight filling sand to make sceneries... sometimes he's even use dusted glass and fuse them to make plaques, glass fusing and sand art is difficult enough. Imagine combining them. Whoa Physics!

Then there was this shop selling items that changed into brillian colors when you walk out in the Sun, using the Sun's UV lights. Hello ingenuity....or atleast that's what you'd say if you just got out of a town of eternal hibernation and frozen in time and temperature, Dunkirk (or Stillwater)!

Needless to say, we didnt buy any of the spectacular items. Tired and still full from the heavy breakfast and lunch, we retired early, but not before we got some Mochi from the nearest Traders Joe (thanks to my friends who introduced me to it, I never pass up an opportunity to try some good Mochi).

We were advised by some friends we made on the trip (not our wildlife friends, but the ones less hairy, English-speaking kind) that we should definitely go to Big Sur. That the Pacific Coast Highway was nice but the nicest was Monterey to Big Sur. So we tweaked our plans last moment to drive down to see some of the most magnificent coastlines. Rocks, ridges, blues, greens and the Sun and an aimless drive with old friends-- music!

3 hours south, we turned back, stopped at Pacific Grove for a late lunch at Fisherman's Grotto. Enjoyed the good food and great views before we hit the road for San Francisco.

After checking into our downtown hotel we headed straight for the Sunset on the Golden Gate bridge.

The cheesy tourist-ambience was killing us, so we trudged our way up to the Marin headlands after multiple mistaken loops and getting lost we reached there after the sun was down. But the sky was beautiful, now the color of water that Big Sur had.
We stayed there until late, Golden Gate Bridge looked more like a string of cheap golden beads hanging low beside a smoky skyline of a bustling city.

That night we dined at Fisherman's Wharf at Alioto's, ordinary but tourist-priced food, only exceptional dish--the calamari.

Our touch on San Francisco remained perfunctory with a cruise (Red and White Fleet: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60713-d653292-Reviews-Red_and_White_Fleet-San_Francisco_California.html), some Lombard St. walking http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d106232-r58998952-Lombard_Street-San_Francisco_California.html#UR58998952, some Fisherman's Wharf http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d108678-r58998192-Fisherman_s_Wharf-San_Francisco_California.html#UR58998192, some great sushi (Maru Sushi: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d1468768-r58998701-Maru_Sushi-San_Francisco_California.html#UR58998701) and a lot of lazing at the airport.

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As my husband says its good to leave some things in the to-do list for next time, so spinning your glass wheels becomes easier! Until next time....let the shadows of vacations past keep you warm and let Purple here on your shoulder keep you fuzzy :)

-Void-

2009-10-14T12:07:00.002-04:00

The wings are dry and the wheels are frozen :(

Kerala-- Debatri Chatterjee

2009-08-13T23:09:00.001-04:00

The trip plan was:

Cochin- 1 night

periyar- 2 nights(wild life reserve)

Allepey- 2 nights (Back Waters) (i think 1 night is more than enough. but staying at a house boat is absolutely must)

Varkala beach- 1 night(can be avoided)

kovalam- 2 nights.

Shob gulo jayga tei it is best if you stay at the KTDC(Kerala Tourism) hotels. They have the best locations.

Cochin- nothing much to do, but since the flight reaches there at about 12-1 in the afternoon, there is no point going anywhere else that day. you can take the boat ride on Vembanad Lake like we did. it will take you to old cochi, jew town etc. we liked the trip all together. just lazing around.

The Ktdc resort is The Bolgatty Palace. it is a heritage resort. little expensive but amazing.

Periyar- the day you reach here, just roam around in the town. you can do spice shopping if you want. we went to see this marshall arts show(Kalahri) . it was really nice. you can also go for Kathakalli shows.

The next day take the early morning boat ride in the wildlife sanctuary. its upto your luck how much wildlife u will actually get to see.

There are 3 KTDC hotels: Periyar House(budget hotel), Aranya Nivas(Moderate), Lake Palace(luxury resort situated in an island within the lake.)

In Periyar please make sure u stay in one of these three hotels. the others just have nothing in the name of location.

Allepey: Make sure you reach here before 12 pm. and check in directly in a house boat. Please do not stay at a hotel. its a total waste of time and money. these boats start to sail at 12 pm . They serve amazing local food for lunch. u will love it if u are experimental with food. please make sure to have karimeen(a type of fish) its somewhat like pomfret but sweeter. its yummy.

stay over night. there is nothing to do after sun down except have your own party in the deck of the boat.

Varkala- its a new beach. very picturesque. but the beach is full of jelly fish. u cant stand at one place for long. not very pleasent experience. i was constantly scared of getting bitten by jelly fish.

I dont think there is a KTDC hotel here, we stayed at Hotel Hinustan Beach Resort. very well located, absolutely on the beach.

Kovalam- Amazing. this place is just amazing. please spend atleast 2 days here. on the first day we took a day trip to kanya kumari. its about 4 hrs drive. came back by evening. in kanyakumari, the last boat which take u to Vivekanada rock starts at 4. so if u want to visit the place, make sure u reach early.

In kovalam just laze around in the beach. bathe in the sea. go to the light house. take keralite spa if u want. basically just relax.

stay at the Samudra resort(KTDC). There is also a Uday Samudra resort which is a 5 star hotel, dont get confused between the 2.

In all these place it is best if you do the booking well in advance. the people are very warm and hospitable. try to keep kovalam at the end of the trip, as it is the most relaxing, and is just 12 kms away from trivandrum airport.

Food is very different. I personally loved there local food as i am very fond of coconut. at all the places, try to stick to the local small resturants for your meals. they are cheap and authentic. At a good hotel, try their Appam with Chicken stew. its very tasty. Also the porotta with korma(veg or cicken) is good.

In Kovalam have lots and lots of Prawns, squid and fish. they are absolutely fresh and delicious. they add this fresh pepper to most of their food, which turns out amazing.

you can also go to Munnar. though i personally am more fond of hill stations with snow view, so was anyways not too keen on Munnar. but its nice.

Kumarakom is also a very expensive and upcoming place. but its almost same as alleppey.

i think i gave too much details. just because i enjoyed the trip very much. loved the place. i can also send you some snaps if you want.

if you are planning to visit in Dec/Jan, i think now is the right time to start bookings and all. otherwise you will not get reservations.

--
Debatri Chatterjee
9818579148

O- HI- O

2009-08-13T22:25:00.008-04:00

A 12 hour getaway drive along Lake Erie,New York-Pennsylvania-Ohio-Pennsylvania-New York

Grape Vineyards on Route 5 , Westfield NY

"Lake Erie Concord Grape Belt"

Useful links: http://www.concordgrapebelt.org/eventcalendar.php

http://www.chautauquawinetrail.org/

If you can make it to Mazza, definitely try their Ice Wine. Beer enthusiasts, drop by their distillery for a tour.

Hundreds of bikers

near Erie, PA. Proof of nice weather... summer's almost

here... yay!! (its an old post...now is more like summer's almost gone...where have all the bikers gone ?!?)

this picture is a perfect description of our day. awesome-twosome time. the car, the lake, the drive, the conversations. but yeah thats about it. nothing bloggable.

Some old farm in Ohio, on the way back from Sandusky, OH.

And finally the sun goes down.

the day flew by fast, the scary tiring journey back. no conversation, no halts. just get me home and thats all I care.

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Being Happy @ Happy Valley - Being our guest at State College, PA!

2009-06-11T17:29:00.031-04:00

On an US Airways flight from Buffalo to Philadelphia last year, I was very surprised to come across an article on State College, Pennsylvania or Happy Valley as we know it. Known to many and unknown to yet more, this little town is in the middle of nowhere and as we like to point out, still at the center of everything (including the Centre County). But I will not get into the geography or weather discussions in here, nor about the where-to-stay details. You can find enough of that information online (or US Air magazines!).And if you look well enough, you might be able to grab a copy of Ken Hull’s Going Local www.goinglocalpa.com/ … it is the most comprehensive information that you will get about the area. And I will by no means even try to encroach on his expertise! (Look out for his new book!)

I will also not reiterate that Happy Valley ranked 19^th in the '50 best places to live' or that it received honorable mention in best music scenes throughout the country by the Rolling Stones magazine. Chances are you’re not moving here and if you don’t live there, you wont be coming ‘to’ State College to listen to the bands performing, no matter how many names, big and small have their roots in the Centre County soil... my 2 cents on this topic: if you hear some much-heard-of musician from Broadway or Tennessee or Guatemala or India playing here, don’t act surprised. (that is a picture of Penn State President Graham Spanier singing on College Ave withe the Blue Band....again dont act surprised!)

Another disclaimer I would furnish here is that often times you might feel I am talking more about Penn State than State College. The line of difference is very narrow and insignificant in most places, if present at all… State College, the name, the establishment (both demographically and economically) have all either are born or evolved from the presence of the flagship campus of the Pennsylvania State University. And as they say you can take out Happy Valley from Penn State (other commonwealth campuses) but you can’t take out Penn State from Happy Valley.

“If God is not a Penn State fan, why is the sky blue and white?” and many others like this, stampede shirts and cars of the local Penn Staters. Too blunt? Well that’s how it is. Nowhere else have I seen such blatant pride. Pride of everything, for everything. Yes, we were in the Big Ten but we were not the top one historically, yes we are a school with a decent ranking, top research, good funding, new buildings….yes we are good, old, big, great, premier, pioneer but we know that there are people, teams, universities, institutions, associations, ahead of us in most of these

areas. And in good numbers. But not enough to demean our pride. And we instill this same feeling in every new soul that enters the system. We teach them to be proud of who they are and to strive. And with this pride comes a sense of oneness or belonging. Even for people like me, who are tied in a gazillion ways to another culture and heritage as far removed from Pennsylvania as it could be… even we are proud of this kinship.

The 38,000-something population of State College probably does not take into account the hundreds of Penn State aspirants and goers that come from all corners of the globe. If you stand for a couple minutes in front of the Pattee-Paterno library any given school day, you can hear at least 6 different languages whiz past you… often time each representing a country a culture you’ve been completely unaware of :) so if I can use one word here, I would use eclectic. For more information on “internationality” of the town, visit http://www.international.psu.edu/about_office/mosaic.html

What I plan on doing here today is throw in some of my own anecdotes, favorites and lessons of what-to-and-not-to-s and display some of my own reasons of loving what I call home in the

United States… the following is a short list for a short stay at State College as our guest:

1. Creamery on a Sunday (or game day) and check out the line. When you eventually get to the front of it, order Keeney Beany or Peachy Paterno, read up on the creamery and history for more! Remember NOT to be blasphemous enough to ask for mixed flavors. even those who ask twice if State College is the name of a town, have heard of the creamery and the rule that the Penn State Creamery does not mix flavors. (Picture: Graduate students taking a break from scooping Creamery fun...who's to say its blowing 40 degrees we're all warm for our FIG Tailgate Fall '07)
2. State Theatre, Downtown State College. Catch off-beat movies, shows and fun stuff for tickets and schedules go to www.StateTickets.org
3. Herwigs, Austrian Bistro… (this should be the #1) have you ever been intimidated by the cook, teased by the owner and hit with a stick by the staff and force-fed sauerkraut because it’s heart-healthy? Bet not, unless you’ve been here. The first time I went to this family-owned/ cooked/ operated/ staffed place, the son came to me and said (in the most evil way) ‘smile, so people outside think you’re liking it here’… what took me back the second time? ---well the food to start with and the best customer service! Force-feeding I tell you…feels like being at home. as scary as it is, when you can’t pronounce half the menu, they add to it but not taking your order unless you do it the right way. So I start ‘reisen’ and then move to “that rice and pork thing” and the eyes start rolling…

They have this rule that if you don’t finish your food

i) you will be beaten with a red stick (big one), or
ii) you can be given a take out box for $32, or
iii) Charged double if you ask for a half portion.

For someone like me who eats dessert first,

I have fallen in trouble more than once and my experiences have included being fed (literally by the spoonfuls) by the owner… he said I could forego the beating for not finishing sauerkraut if I took the spoonful from him. If that doesn’t feel like family, tell me what does? ...Well, sitting at their big family table might! If you come with a big group of family or friends or are a regular, visiting alone (for me alone means 2 in this town), you are entitled to that. To top it all, the food is so super good, you want to try everything—the dense chocolate cake, the sausages, the potato salad, the veal, the ranch dressing and the pork. Just writing gets me drooling.

(now back to the list)

4. Walk on Allen to see the pig, with her babies…crouch down to take a picture with them and
hug them on my behalf.

5. Sit at the College-Allen bus stop, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, read the Daily Collegian and listen to the drummers play….Any other day? Sit there, feed the squirrels

6. Drive on blue course drive in fall

7. Also drive from Bellefonte to the tiny State College airport (SCE) and see the planes take off right off the road…
8. Appreciate the wall murals on College Avenue near Pugh Street.

9. explore the alleys and small roads parallel to Atherton and Burrows from Easterly Parkway to downtown and marvel at the gardens you pass
10. sip coffee on the IST bridge and enjoy the sway when a big vehicle on 322 B zooms under you
11. Visit the artists’ co-op shop called the Gallery Shop in Lemont, its right beside the Art Alliance of Central PA and has been exhibiting the best of its class since 1968.
12. go to Penn’s cave

13. Buy Penn state gear from family clothesline.

14. Drink a mocha at Webster’s with double shot espresso and munch a chocolate cookie, you can also try a variety of tea there…while enjoying old books, live music, local art and great conversation.

15. doze off on the hub lawn on a warm sunny morning and startle up with “we are….penn state” shout from group of people running around the huge lawn (probably with no shirts on, unlike the one in the picture)

16. buy fresh goodies and flowers from the farmers market on Friday afternoons

17. Do the downtown fall festival and a hay ride around town.

18. Do the Art Crawl on your own: the Palmer Museum of Art, the HUB-Robeson galleries and the Artisan Connection.
19. Walk around campus and read the blue and white signs of the ‘first-s, biggest-s and best-s’ of Penn State and imbibe the history of the first calorimetry to animal husbandry.
20. Squat in front of the Pattee library and people-watch
21. ride the blue-loop (the white-loop, the red link and the green link are good too…but the blue beats ‘em all)
21. scream your lungs out at the homecoming parade, collect as many goodies as you can
22. dance your @$$ off at the next Thon
24. drive to Raystown lake to see the sun rise at 7 point

25. Have ice cream at Meyers on S. Atherton. (its okay to ditch the creamery once in a while)

26. walk around town during arts fest

27. Check out the stone tower near Sackett and Hammond (not that towering) made of stone from different times and places (?)

28. Walk from Willard to the Hub and sit on the benches hiding under the trees.
29. click a picture at the alumni center with the metal statues

30. munch a warm walnut brownie at the Deli

31. Sit outside @ café 210 on St. Paddy’s

32. try your hands at painting your own pottery at 2000 degrees (on college)

33. Go for a free movie at the CAFÉ series in the Music building—they show what you won’t find anywhere else… from rare documentaries to independent movies from Taiwanese to Czechoslovakian, CAFÉ is about Critically Acclaimed Film Experience.
34. Spend one whole hour watching the fish in the HUB aquariums

35. catch an off beat lunch (stir fry buffet....)at the Green Bowl on Beaver.

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Out and about Cape May (also Wildwood and Old Barnie)

2009-06-10T16:30:00.012-04:00

I’ll start with lodging. We were crunched for time before leaving for Newark and everything looked super expensive online…. so we booked the 1^st available cheap sty… but that’s what it was--- a total sty: Rodeway Inn (at 200 E White Horse Pike, Galloway, NJ was a horror show waiting to happen) I’d rate it at 1 out of 5.

…. The owners abysmally rude and the service if available, pathetic. No hair dryers (that blows me off). The first room given to us was slept in, wet towels all over the place… obviously we requested to be changed to another room as soon as we entered the first but the lady at the desk was reluctant. The choice hotels gift card wasn’t accepted. Their ‘free continental breakfast’ included stale coffee and juice. Choice Hotels should do something about this!

As for us, lesson learnt: we could have easily driven there and found something as cheap, or cheaper, but a much better place and a better location… the neighborhood of this Absecon/Galloway area wasn’t to die for either.

The first place we hit the next morning was Wildwood Beach. A neat little haven for shell collectors, especially if you can make do with broken shells. The sand was fine and dense; the waves, tame and low. Some pockets of the beach had collected water; and large shells (or fractions thereof) were abundant. We got remnants of several soft shells too…that look like micro-stingrays. Just as were leaving a group of young kids actually caught a sting ray… I had never seen one being caught on the beach using fishing equipment before and as much as I savor fish at lunch, I consider fishing gross… (get that!) So much to my fiancé’s dismay we ended up walking away as fast as possible…

We drove further south to the beautiful Victorian township of Cape May. I loved the architecture. All the houses were very old but none of them rundown. Some were palatial, some much smaller in size. But all of them boasted intricate Victorian designs and striking, if not unusual, assortment of colors. Most of them had matching flower beds and the neatest curb appeal. The manicured little gardens and patios basked in the pride of ownership… this looked like the kind of town, my color coded brain would love to live in.

As I said before the B&Bs were expensive when we checked online…but once again, probably we could find something cheaper locally….the motor inns and lodges on the shore looked way better than the in-land lodging we were putting up at (/ with).

We reached Cape May at a rather odd time when almost all the restaurants were closed… (most open at 5 pm for dinner) and we were starving! We went to an obscure place that we found open, called the Secret Spot. Indeed one of the better kept secrets because there was no flashy crying-out-loud of how delicious the food was (fried calamari was awesome!). Resaonably priced, clean, pleasant staff and strikingly simple décor including large shells as napkin holders. Something that the staff-girl’s uncle had caught! All these tiny personal touches bring out of the uniqueness of a place and it really makes a difference to the made-in-china mass-marketed times we are living in. Each of these has a story to tell and if you’re visiting Cape May (or anywhere else with even a little pride of belonging) without enough time on hand to listen to the stories you’re probably missing it all.

I always make it a point to visit local ‘festivals’ if I can….brings out the best in people, when they’re foot tapping to some country music and jostling deep fried junk food with lemonade, visiting one stall to another. Reminds me of a Boi-mela I’d never get to enjoy again… Innovations, novelty, unique flavors, if you can have your eyes open wide enough, you can see it all (with a pinch of dust, if you’re ready to take it). Michael Demusz’s paintings were such a treat at Cape May’s 2009 Strawberry Festival that (luckily for us) was being held that Saturday. I wish I could afford some of his work, on second thought, I wish I could create them… (after Googling for his website, I came across some EZ publishing interview which talks of a ‘fine artist’ Mike Demusz who looks like Orlando Bloom… I don’t remember whether he did, was busy looking at his than him!)

My fiancé and I always love coming across Penn Staters especially if its away from State College and they’re really old and we can help them reminisce some of their Happy Valley days…and we met this very interesting person at the strawberry festival class of ’72 (makes him even older than my parents) and whose name I don’t remember… not very helpful info to be blogging about but hey! I enjoyed talking to him and it’s a take-home from the trip, so why not?

A literal treat at the strawberry festival was at the Cape May Crab Cake Factory stall. The freshest and lumpiest crab cakes I have ever had and you should know that if there is one vice I have, its gluttony and that for seafood beats all others! Order yours frozen online www.capemaycrabcakes.com or pick them up at the Ugly Mug… they were worth every buck they cost. Trust the foodie! (scroll down for more local food info)

Soon after the Strawberry king and queen were announced (Mike D. was probably the king) and the drumbeat died down we went to the Cape May beach. If there was one word for the strawberry festival for 2009 it was “fun” and if allowed 3, I’d say “loads of fun”…take your pick.

After hours of strolling on the coarse set sand beach at high tide, marveling at the huge foamy waves and collecting shells we trudged our tired gritty feet towards land. You have to understand one thing here… if I am traveling in a group and anyone of us is hungry or craving something I always keep them company, so I am always going munch-sip-crack-much-munch-sip-crack and now was time for a coffee break. We head out to have funnel cake and fries at the beach side café, Oasis. The cooks humorous and the food great! (Although this one had a killer location right on the board walk, I would still prefer Secret Spot to this joint at least for the calamari fries… chocolate drizzled funnel cakes are another story, of course)

Soon it was time for the Sunset Beach to spring to action… crowds swarmed the sands of this serene beach for a flag ceremony right before the sunset. Unlike those of Cape May or Wildwood, this one was all pebbly and a galore of excitement for me. The waves were much calmer than Cape May; up until 5 feet of the water the beach was all-pebbles, of every conceivable sizes and color… We found some perfect whites to translucent-s and some even transparent-s, shiny blacks, jaded gold-s and bright oranges that matched the sunset.

We found several of Cape May’s famous ‘diamond like pebbles’… but a small note for the beach combing enthusiasts, before you fill your sacks of these natural souvenirs think of preserving the natural wonderfulness of the place and maybe leave some for your kids to come back and enjoy some day… I totally hear the fun of finding to buying, but there are always stores like the ‘sunset beach gift store’ which claim to remain open “as long as there are cars in the parking lot” ---very customer friendly indeed?!?

One good touch, I learnt, to every Jersey Shore trip is to visit Barnegat on Long Beach Island at least once, no matter how briefly and we did just that (click for previous trip account). Although this time we neither dined at Antoniette’s nor stopped at Wildflowers by Cricket, we did climb Old Barney – 217 steps up and back on a rickety old yellow iron spiral staircase and had achy calf muscles for 20 hrs the next day to prove that! Thank God we had comfy shoes on, or it could be a literal pain in the butt but the spectacular view from the top was every bit worth it. They’re open 9:30 am - 4:30pm summer months and until 3:30 rest of the year (free) and charges a buck per head from April to October. I say, money very well spent.

Right out of there we lunched at Kelly’s.

Except for the deep fried goods (lousy) all was good, especially salmon steak sandwich and Mom’s Manhattan chowder… (the New England one was blah! For lack of a better word). Medium priced, good hangout for a seafood craving soul.

All in all, Old Barney’s always a good bet! More pictures up soon… spinning my glass wheels for the new computer to arrive!

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Shenandoah -- the Daughter of the Stars

2009-06-08T10:08:00.011-04:00

I have always associated mountains with my mother. Maybe it is because Mom planned 9 out of 10 of my childhood vacations around the mountains. Or maybe because I could see the elation that snow-capped peaks brought to her. Especially since the acrophobic, motion-sick, Calcutta-sick me wasn’t much of a hill-person, I would curiously and stupefied-ly watch out for what my parents got out of these high-altitude monsters!!
(Wondering how I became me? Well…without much ado, let me just gut your curiosity by saying-- every now and then, I see my parents in my reflection, much to awe and sometimes to concern and infrequently, amusement; but I guess this happens to a lot of us, most commonly to the best of us here.)

So going back to mountains, when I was planning my Mom-weekends for this summer…for some reason I came up with mostly sea-sides or water-bodies (and I live on Erie) except for a Colorado weekend… and I thought-- ‘well, she would have really loved the hillies!’ So when I planned our Maryland-DC-Virginia getaway, I thought why not? The Atlantic had to make way for the Appalachians…Virginia Beach had to give way to Shenandoah! And man, was that a good decision! We deliberated about Monanghela (West Virginia) but at the last moment decided to skip it … and instead make most of the stars at hand a.k.a. Shenandoah (Native Indian word meaning 'daughter of the stars')

On one hand when we were really taking out scopes of diversity from this trip, someone had better plans for us. The dull cloudy skies of crabby Maryland gave way to lovely sunshine as we hit Front Royal, Virginia.
From there on we were cuffing weather patterns that changed every hour. During that 104 mile drive, the plushest greens that were swathed with sunshine this moment, changed into dark lime colors the next, with a depth that only sudden stormy showers could bring.
That strange musty smell of wet dirt and storms that wift them to your nose remind me of home and of Kalboishakhi-s.
The leaves dithered and turned back on each other, producing a myriad of multidimensional green maze that lured you into the depths of wild trails. John Muir's "the mountains are calling and I must go" made perfect sense.

The azure and white playful sky would in moments give way to pitch-black low-lying dark clouds that swarmed from hill to hill, showering on some, simply hovering on some others. Moist clouds flowing in and out of the car and touching your shoulders like the hills were breathing down on you.

Wildflowers in every shade of lilac, pink and white, blue and yellow. Blue birds and red jays and butterflies. Strange snakes. Wild bears, mid-size black and 20 feet from our car parked on the main road.
And my mother to share it all with. Life couldn’t get much better.

Purple ranges overlooking the rivulets glowed orange in the setting sun….

and the blue ridges, ah! The Blue Ridge. Layers of symmetry, like the globe was ‘marble printed’ in three pastels and a brown : ) A lot like my mother-- Peacefully dynamic. Enormously humane. And ethereally big; bluer and bigger than all of us here.

…And a reminder of how much more there is to see.

I have lived in Pennsylvania for some time and driven through the Alleghenies for more times than I can count, in all 4 seasons and everything between them and don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the Alleghenies…I swear by her beauty….but lets just say, maybe I never stopped there long enough to ‘smell the roses’, so I’m not in a position to compare.
I have never been to the Monanghela-s or the Smokey-s either; when I do, maybe, I can give a more compehensive ‘trip-advisor-ly’ note than this anecdote of sheer exhilaration and compulsive adoration about the Shenandoah Valley.
I keep reverberating that it probably couldn’t get any better. However if I am to change something, it would be staying at the forest lodgings...I couldn’t tell you about management or room conditions but if I were to decide based on locations, Skyland it would be. (One quick note: Reservations run out fast)
More pictures on my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/kolika/sets/72157620541242817/
Until then keep those wheels spinning and smell the paper wings!

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Colors of Colorado

2009-05-19T16:55:00.018-04:00

This Mothers day weekend Mom and I did a mini trip to the Colorado Springs area especially concentrating on Pikes Peak country. Colorado pictures always show snow-clad, perfect, sharp ranges, clear skies, abundant sunshine and lush evergreens. And we got a day, highly representative of the same. On a regular basis I am advised by my fiancé to use polarizers when taking pictures, but trust me, it just can not get bluer than that, if you’re blessed with the sky, we had that Saturday.

We spent half a day at the much underrepresented Garden of the Gods…remember that we only had one day to spend in Colorado Springs and we were hesitant initially whether we were making the right choice. But Garden of the Gods was, well, heavenly.

Red rocks washed in bright sunshine standing stark against the blue Colorado skies, hosting jays and doves in the crevices and all this with a backdrop of the white Rockies standing on a base of spruce, pines and aspen, the latter sparkling a fluorescent green in the sun.

We trailed, marveling at the huge sandstone and limestone rock formations.From how many people actually brought their dogs there, it looks like an amazing place to go just casual dog walking for the locals. Watch out for rattle snake they say, however, especially if you’re out there in the hot summer months…

Also if you’re there early enough in the day, catch the pancake and sausage breakfast at the visitor center. Real nice people, cheap food and amazing pottery work :)

Since we didn’t have a lot of time on our hands we were not sure if we wanted to take the train that goes up Pikes Peak, besides the fact that it was expensive and guided tours almost always hinder your personal plans and options on where you want to spend how long. So we decided to drive the 19 mile stretch to the 14000 something peak… the last 2 miles of which was blocked for inclement weather and snow.

Up until Crystal Reservoir which is 5 miles in, it didn’t seem much, but then the headache increased (high altitudes does that to me) and soon we were not seeing too many guard rails any more. (when you see t shirts that read “real men don’t need guard rails” believe the fact that a state which has 5 ft wide shoulders on perfectly flat 3 lane highways, can actually have a tourist place with roads that are clumsy, without signs, without guard rails and without any safety measure whatsoever… strange!) And for a place which is infested with tourists who might not all be hilly road driving savvy, the hairpins are pretty scary…but we did it and what can I say, I like it better at the top ;) (I read that one on a t shirt too) if I say it was breathtaking, it would get too literal and ear-popping (literally literal…given that I am at 14k foot from sea level) and if I say beautiful you’ll say I probably wasn’t looking because I was too into getting my Mom back down safely so let me stop at breathtakingly beautiful, check it out for yourself and I recommend driving and drivingsafe (try it without the train; here at glass wheels, life’s always better without blabbering tour-guides)

As we came down and out of there, on our way to Manitou Springs, two things stopped us. One was the smell of coffee and the other an intricately painted elk sculpture (full size). An older lady who we later learned was the owner of the shop came out and explained how one side of the horse depicted the Colorado Fire of 2002 and the other side of how the community picked up the pieces and moved on to betterment. Going back to the pieces now, what these two ladies picked up were hope and peace from that disaster. The abundant aspen was one plant that wouldn’t be burnt down representing the spirit of this community and here stands now a beautiful craft store “Born of the Flames” selling work from local artists and aspen-woodwork that these ladies create. Expect anything from card holders, hanging angels and big lamps made of aspen wood. The kindness, the hope, the spirit and the peace was contagious, all that in the face of loss and disaster is awe-inspiring and beautiful. There’s so much to learn, so much for all of us to live for. Kudos ladies!

Time was running out, but when its mom and me, we have to stop and smell the coffee huh! I have to mention the coffee store tucked right next to this one. Food was good but nothing to talk of, but the décor was… omigod! Pre-1950s license plates from all the states… huh! Not original, but those who know me will know I will notice and love THAT!

Before we shot out towards Denver, we decided to spend some time in bright and beautiful Manitou Springs arty downtown. Lined with art stores and bustling crafty hangouts, this was MY kind of place. We walked the pavements raided some inventory and brought home some pretty quirky fun stuff including a $5 head massager (not local) and a birdie barometer from a glass art store (if you nip the beak off, the liquid volume will change with ambient pressure and thus tell you if you’re expecting precipitation of any form…huh for where I live, I wake up everyday with a open heart, expecting precipitation of some sort… darn it)…

Soon it was time to call it a day. We witnessed a beautiful ‘highway sunset’ as we drove to the mile-high city. We wanted to hit the 16^th street Mall the next day but the cloudy rainy way that Denver greeted us with made it impossible. Instead, we drove to the Capitol weaving through the roadwork and the immense traffic (why cant people just sleep in on Sunday mornings??) and then out to the city to the butterfly pavilion. It was Mothers day and it was full of kids and their moms… (Maybe all Sundays are) but it was fun… I accidentally stepped on one live and one dead butterfly and heavy heartedly zoomed the rest of the rainforest embalmed enclave for beautiful findings… one of these days I will have them all listed and up on my Kothakoli blog… until then just enjoy the sights and smell the wings (…paper wings)!

the Aspen,

the Jays,

the trail

Blowing in the wind...

Jersey Shore

2009-04-15T16:07:00.008-04:00

On the cold November morning, we had set out from Edison, NJ, not knowing where we were headed but determined to bring back sea-salt in our hair. We took 287S which promises to take you as far as Cape May. But being at the wheel I started taking turns that were, well, out of turn…nooks and crannies and quiet towns tucked along the New Jersey coastline. (The following is at the exit near Tom’s river…. If you notice any mistakes like locations, routes, please correct me!)
Soon we found ourselves on a no-outlet road kissed by numerous backwaters and bays of the metal cold Atlantic. At one point, it really looked like the end of the world, you were lined by water on 3 sides; could see some islands and faraway coasts on other side of the bay, some adjoining towns and a huge bridge if you squinted your imagination hard enough. This is the Route 72 causeway bridge I am guessing.
At what we called the end of the earth as hunger struck, we were mighty glad to find something that looked like a restaurant. A small walking pier on the back side of the restaurant read “Pirates Only. No trespassing. all others will walk the plank” So with our pirate-hats on, we marched past 2 pm asking if we’d still get lunch. Evidently we were the only guests up until 3 but the youngish person who answered the door was more than ready to get us the menus. My experience with good view and ambience comes with a big compromise on the palate and/or wallet. But I’m ready to go out on 4 limbs to rate this $10/head lunch with 5 stars (my scallop dish was $8)! The scallops were fresh, the crab cakes mouth watering, the wine not so much! My 2 cents: by all means go local, but don’t commit to bottles of local jersey wine, unless you’ve tasted some already and have already decided to like it!

Next we started driving towards the Route 72 causeway bridge and continued north along Route 72/Long Beach Boulevard. Following the main road, which changes names numerous times, several signs led us to the Barnegat Light House state park. As cold and windy as it was (high 30s), we still loved the beach and the light house area even though we couldn’t enter inside (I think it was closed for the day). For those into shelling and stone collecting, I hear much is to be explored in summer time. (I am going back!)

As we left the park and started driving back, we could smell the fishing boats, we got some beautiful sunset shots in an obscure by-lane at the bay.

Most of the stores had started to close for the evening, but we caught a couple: a quaint coffee place (bit overpriced but nice ambience….we couldn’t sit outside for the weather and there was no place to sit inside). A mom-n-pop local craft store which if you ask me was a tad overpriced and probably not very customer friendly… the two ladies at the desk kept chitchatting about their own problems… making it very gloomy. There was another store which, however, more than made up for the previously experienced callousness: “Wildflowers by Cricket” in Manahawkin NJ… [find out more on www.crickettileart.com] this seemingly little store has everything from a frame shop, designer metal jewelry, huge selection of fused glass and art glass, tiles, DIY help and everything, everything you can think ok. They said that they traveled all over the place collecting artwork from artists as well as made their own from shells from the adjoining beach! How neat is that? Their store was the definition of personalization. They have parts of the flooring mosaic-ed with tiles and shells. I dabble in a variety of art media myself and found it nothing short of enthralling [I was struggling with my 2nd mosaic project myself and I got some very helpful tips :) ]. For local art enthusiasts like me who celebrate ‘personal touches’ this is a must see. While you’re at it, sign up for their newsletter and say “Hi!” to Cricket….

Moral of the story was we should visit again in summer when the air is less chilly and when we can actually take some workshops there… See you there!

Desert grandeur... Arizona

2009-04-15T16:02:00.026-04:00

"Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny, One cannot begin it too soon. "
I WHISPERED, "I am too young,"
And then, "I am old enough;"
Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love.
"Go and love, go and love, young man,
If the lady be young and fair."
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
I am looped in the loops of her hair.
O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love.
Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon. --Yeats

This was the much awaited Grand Canyon tour.

...AND since there is no dearth of information about the Grand Canyon on the internet, I will not waste characters on the details.

What I will focus on in this one instead is what not to do:
when you are crunched for time there… DO NOT take “the desert tour”.
And try to avoid the driver “Joe” if you can. He rants Wikipedia details and urge you to actually enjoy it. I love guided tours make no mistake. But he breathes down your neck, picks at people, starts late, big talks about himself and completely ruined my supposed-to-be 4 hours $38/head trip.

You can use those 4 hours + a little research and drive to the overlooks yourself and choose what appeals to you! That’s what I’m doing the next time.

Next, the Bright Angel Lodge was a nice place to stay (we slept for only 2 hours…reached at 2 am and left by the 5am sunrise tour), I sure would love to have a fireplace like that in my family room! But better temperature control was expected in the rooms…

The tour-guide for the sunrise tour [youngish person with lots of piercing ;) ] was very nice. Very helpful, informative and truly a “guide”. Forgot his name, Tim? (he resembled a distant uncle I have like that’s information you can use).

With his suggestion I tried deep-fried rattle-snake at the Yippee-ei-o Steakhouse…. Except for the fact that I was tasting snake for the first time, nothing was good about this place. Bad service. Bad food. The salmon stank, the biscuits sticky, the steak yuck! And did I mention it was super expensive and had the gratuity in the bill…? And gratuity for real bad service if I may add. NOT money well spent!!

But as if to make up for our bad experience at lunch, Tim’s (I don’t remember his name so lets call him Tim) other suggestion to go visit Sedona and Red Rock Canyon was SUPER good.

We took scenic Rt. 180 and stopped at a couple places including a Native Indian store which was scary and weird and fun at the same time.

The view of the San Francisco Peaks was breathtaking. Miles of flat flat land and then suddenly in front of you standing are the peaks streaked with snow… not to mention all day we didn’t get good sun and GC was rather disappointing without proper sunlight, but now the skies were blue, white floating clouds, peaks that ranged from brown to green to white!

We took pretty long to reach “Red Rock” but when we did, it was WOW and all I could think of was why didn’t we spend the night in one of the cabins there instead of GC?

We drove down all the way and as if by luck, the sun which had disappeared again, shone for a few right on the brick red stones. Grey overlaying heavy clouds, peek-a-booing blue and bright slant rays of gold on red! Aha… the drive was so worth it! Thanks Tim (and my friends who suggested Red Rock)!