A weekend in Paris

Last month we sailed from Dover to Calais and took another 3 hours, by coach, to reach the city of Paris. It was a long and tiring journey and we were beginning to regret the short holiday even before stepping outside our hotel rooms. After a short freshening up session we headed for the boat ride on river Seine to see Paris by night. I fell in love with the city on the first sight. I gaped and looked in awe as all the monuments and buildings came alive, from my history of architecture text book. Me and S struggled to give some of the buildings a name even if the structure looked familiar enough. River Seine certainly dominated the social scene. With the day being hot and long, people were gathered around the river with friends, drinking and chatting away. I wish I had the luxury to sit around and admire the scene, soak in the ambience and gawk at nothing in particular but we were pressed for time. At the end of the boat ride when we reached the dock near Eiffel tower, it was quite dark and the tower was bathed in golden splendour and just as we thought nothing could top this, there were thousands of tiny light flashing on the tower and it looked like it was studded with diamonds.

An early start on the next day with a sumptuous breakfast saw us heading back to the Eiffel tower. This time we were going to see its naked beauty illuminated under the golden rays of sun. I was quite excited as this was the first time we were going to be in close proximity to the mammoth structure. The enormity of the Eiffel tower hits you only when you stand a few feet away and struggle to take a look at the towering structure, as a whole. Usually anything huge is considered monstorous, however the Eiffel tower humbles you with its elegance and curves even after being so big. The best part though is being on top of the third floor deck. You can see almost up to 40 miles of the city stretch out beneath you, a feeling of being on top of the world. It definitely makes you wonder how Gustav Eiffel and his team put it together 120 years ago. Also the fact is that the Parisians initially hated the structure and did not realize the identity it would give to their city. While most of them had a change in their attitude after seeing the finished project, there were some who continued to loathe it. One among them, a famous french novelist (Guy de Maupassant), was said to eat regularly at a restaurant on the tower’s second floor. His reason being, that is the only place in Paris from where he was sure he wouldn’t see the tower.

After lunch we proceeded to Louvre museum to see the 'ever smiling' Mona Lisa and many others. After going through rooms and rooms of Italian paintings we could see a mob of people gathered around her. We struggled to catch a glimpse of her and after a good 10 minutes got to a chance to do so. There were so many exhibits in the museum but we had just 2 hours to cover the entire place, so we hurried from one to room to another and tried to see the sections that interested us the most. I have always liked the glass prism that stands in front of the museum, since my college days, also it merged in so well with the existing structure. Another land mark that we went to was the palace of Versailles, living quarters of the denounced King Louis XVI. The most remarkable feature of the palace were the gardens that stretched for acres. After two days of hectic sight seeing we could not muster courage to sit through the coach and the ferry journey to get back to London but nevertheless the trip was well worth the tiredness. I would love to go back to Paris and spend some quality time without having to hurry and no we are never taking the ferry again!

Rain and holidays

Today after the match between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians was abandoned due to rains, I kept wondering if the cricketers were jumping with joy. Its quite hard to imagine those guys jumping with joy, yet imagination has no bounds.I mean that is exactly what I would do, given the situation. I did three years of my schooling in Kalakshetra (as a hostel student) and it is extremely difficult to get a day off under the probing and watchful eyes of our wardens. Rains bring in the much needed relief from the mundane activities like going to school and doing homework, since we had classrooms with thatched roof...yeah you read it right!

If you thought I would grow up after becoming a professional then you are definitely wrong. Just a couple of months after I started my first job, it poured cats and dogs in Chennai. Well Adyar was not quite drowned into water like Velachery but still we had enough water logging to keep in to the confines of the house. I was jumping with joy that I got two days of free holiday. Even my friend was overjoyed at the prospect of sitting and watching the cable TV instead watching the same old 'shanians' (losers) at office. Once we knew that a few of our team members had actually turned up in spite of the heavy rains, we had an hour long cursing session about the 'udavakarais' (jobless people) because of whom we were at a disadvantage of losing the 'free holiday'.

This year after me and S got back to UK on a Saturday and Sunday passed in a haze. I was dreading the Monday as I had to be alone in the house, not scared but just scared of being lonely after having spent 2 months with my family and numerous relatives. On that Monday it snowed so heavy that the whole of London was shut off, without any transport...Boy was I happy!.. I am sure most of us are happy to get these freebies and if someone complains about them then either there is something seriously wrong with them or they are just putting up an act.

The much awaited Long weekend..

The Long weekend did not seem so long after all. Thursday was spent anticipating the weekend and Friday arrived with very little promise of a holiday as the sky was overcast with rain bearing clouds, threatening to pour down any minute. Also conveniently S had loads of office work to do and hence as usual the day was spent with internet movies, games and the occasional walk to the kitchen to bring 'snacks'. Saturday dawned, again with little hope weather wise, however we decided to head to the travel agents to book our holiday to France, only to be told we needed more documents!! We returned with little enthusiasm and decided to have a lunch (eat as much as you can) at a Chinese restaurant near home. S decided to work a lot more and even worked through the night (??? I was surprised when I got up at 5 to see him doing area calculations but nothing stopped me from going back to sleep). From morning 10 to 4 in the afternoon we both worked on his project...phew! At 5 both decided enough was enough and went to the temple in Tooting for blessings from the almighty and some yummy modakam (Sweet), followed by pani puri(not in the temple!!) at a Gujarati snack shop and after getting a pottalam of 'jalebis' (sweet) and stuffing our faces at Chutney and Dosa (Indian restaurant at Tooting) we finally headed back home.


I hoped and hoped for a bright Monday, my prayers were answered. Even though the day started off cloudy, by mid afternoon it was clear that there was going to be lots of sun. We both hopped in to a train to Brighton and in just 45 min time were left gawking at the turnout in the Brighton beach. Everyone was fighting for space to lie down. There were happy kids, even more happier babes (with skimpy clothes), guys exposing their bare bodies and dogs having a fun day chasing seagulls. Everyone seemed so happy and I kept wondering what a little bit of sun can do to the usually grumpy Brits. It was fun to feel the sun streaming down on us (Same situation in Chennai and I would not have dared to step out of the house). We both had a great time walking around and exploring the place and the end of the day I looked like a 'kaanja karuvadu' (dried fish) and yet it did not dampen my spirits. I would say, it was a perfect end to a not- so - perfect weekend! From today it is going to be back to square one. Also wishing everyone a happy tamil new year and vishu ( a little belated!). More laters.

Wolfing down the waffle!

Oxford street is a shoppers paradise.. I love strutting around the street with no real purpose. Walking the whole stretch back and forth never tires me as I get engrossed in the display windows and the offers in stores. Yesterday I dragged S to Oxford street and went into as many stores as I could but somehow never ended up buying anything... The only place which interested S was the Apple retail store, I didn't mind that either. I have always wanted to own a Mac... hopefully we will get one soon. The usually hustling and bustling Oxford street(usually looks like a contemporary Ranganathan street over the weekend) wore a gloom of recession yesterday. It looked a little empty and forlorn, hope it bounces back into normalcy soon.

Apart from the shops, the one thing that I love is the warm and delicious waffle aroma wafting through the crowded streets. Yesterday after a lot of contemplation I decided to treat myself to a warm waffle topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream, ummmm... it was heaven. I tried to repeat the age old saying in my head " A moment on the lips, forever on the hips" to restrict my splurge...It never really managed me to stop gobbling the waffle down. Well everyone deserves a treat once in a while right? (somehow I manage to treat myself everyday...hmm...must join the gym asap!!!!!)

Part - time Fascinations!!

During 2007 Christmas, I was fascinated by video games and vowed to get myself one of them....wanted so much to buy a Nintendo Wii but my budget could only get me as far as the Nintendo Dsi. I might have used it a couple of times. A few days after having bought the console i was invited to my nephews birthday party. I saw three year olds with the same Nintendo that i had, since then they have been lying around in my cupboard. I guess the charm of the game rubbed off me after that. Recently my husband decided to sell it in Aamazon. Luckily we sold it as soon as it went up onthe listing...This got him really excited...since then he has been been scouring the house for unused electronics / memory cards and mobile phones... Its almost like a hobby. I just need to keep my things undercover for a few days, till his fascinationation for selling stuff in Amazon wears off!! :)