Here I am again, ready to welcome one more birthdays of my life. I would be 30 tomorrow. 30 seems to be a big number. Earlier I used to think that people who are 30 and above are old, but not any more. I still feel the same. What makes this year different from others is that now I am in a new country, away from family and friends. There are good things and bad things. Good things first. I would be celebrating the day with my best half. That makes the day special. The other people with whom I might be enjoying the day are new for me but they are nice. I enjoy their company. Now the bad things. I would be really missing my parents, my sis and her two sons and my brother. I have never celebrated this day with my nephews. I can imagine the fun that I would have with them.
Well, I am here in this new country with new people, new culture, new language. So far so good. Some people are very good, some are good and some do not seem to like me much. Sometimes things become quite complicated due to these differences. People have different ways of looking at same things. For the next one year, I want to learn as much as possible, become more open in terms of different views and life styles. I also want to enjoy the things. I also want to encourage my best half to do bigger things in life and shower him with my love and affection.
By the end of this year, I should be able to think about starting my family. It would be fun to celebrate coming birthdays with our smaller versions.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Our Recent Europe Trip-Part I-France
When we thought of this trip, I was writing my thesis and needed a break from studies after submission and Pankaj was planning to take his long due sabbatical. So, we decided to give it a shot.
After submitting my thesis, I devoted my full time in planning this trip. Getting a Schengen visa without any travel agent's help was a little difficult. Various kind of documents were needed to be submitted and we somehow managed them. Our visa was finalized nearly 15 days before our journey date. We had planned a three country trip for 21 days and decided to travel within the countries by train. These three countries were France, Italy and Switzerland. We started from France. We had a Qatar airways flight from Delhi to Paris (via Doha) and to our pleasant surprise they gave us an upgrade from economy class to business class on our way from Delhi to Doha.
We reached Paris at around 8pm. We had booked a hotel near the airport for that day. Since the hotel provided shuttle service from airport to the hotel, there was no problem in getting to the hotel. The hotel was not very nice but it was okay for one night stay. The next morning, we shifted to a hotel in the city. Our hotel was within walking distance from the nearest metro station. That very day we went to see the famous Eiffel tower. It was good but the best part was getting there and having a coffee in the nearby garden. Paris is a beautiful city with road side cafes, restaurants and old styled buildings. Everything about this place is beautiful. Walking along the Seine river is one of the most romantic experiences. I loved the walk along the Champs-Elysees that has the cinemas, big showrooms and luxury shops along it. We also did some window shopping there. Since both of us love walking, we just walked and walked, admiring the buildings, the architecture and the people. We also went to the Louvre that day but since it was late we decided to visit it the next day.
Louvre is so big that we could only see a few parts of it. The Hall where the painting of Monolisa by Leonardo da Vinci is housed, was full of people. Everybody was trying to pose with that mysterious smile. Anyways, it was good to see one of the most popular paintings of all time, so closely. In the end, we were so tired that we decided to have a nice dinner and go back to our hotel. We found a Chinese restaurant on our way back and had spicy noodles. We went to the bed early as next day we had a morning train to a city in south of France, Montepllier.
Our train was from Gare de Leon station in Paris. AS we had a reservation, we did not want to miss the train. The Gare de Leon station was a bit confusing. We reached station in time but could not find the place get our Eurail pass stamped and the platform. The surprising thing was we were just standing a level below it. Finally, we found it, stamped our passes and boarded the train. One thing that I liked about train stations in Europe is that most of the stations do not have bridge to connect the platforms. They simply have a common passage. One can simply walk from one platform to another, which is really very comfortable with luggage and all. The journey from Montepellier was a very pleasant one. We enjoyed our breakfast in the upper story compartment with a lovely view of the passing French villages and farms.
We reached Montpellier at noon. It is a charming, vibrant and elegant city, full of life. It is actually a university town and has one of the oldest universities of world. Best thing that I liked about the city was the Trams, which connect one end of the city to other. Our hotel was a little disappointing as it was situated quite far from the main city. While waiting for the bus at the bus stop near our hotel, we met an elderly couple (German+French) who were living in the city after their retirement. They were very nice and helpful and told us many things about the city attractions and how to go there. Place de la Comedie is the main center of the city. A beach volleyball game was going on there and we watched and cheered with the crowd. We again met that couple there, who had come to watch the game. After having a nice lunch at a cafe, we went to the beach. The beach was a lot sandy and there was strong wind blowing that day. We decided to walk to the next beach and reached a very beautiful place and I must say it was worth all that walk. There were many resorts, restaurants and cafes and shops there. People were in holiday mood. There were many Glacier shop there. The icecream is called Glacier in France, funny na. Next day, we just roamed around the city, tasted some local delicacies and visited the gardens. The evening was fun. We came to know that a music festival was going on in the city. There were many bands and they were playing all kind of music. We enjoyed music till very late at night but since our hotel was quite far from the main city we decided to call it a day.
We reached Nice, our third destination in France, on the evening of 22nd June. Since Monaco is very near by we decided to go there the same day. One strange thing about Europe is that after 7pm, you won't see many people around, unless it is weekend. Most of the shops are closed by 7 or 8. We didn't see many people in Monte Carlo. But I must say that I have never seen something so beautiful in my life. It was like looking at a model of some ideal town, where everything is in place, well organized and beautiful too. The place can be called a photographer's paradise. Monte-Carlo is famous for its casino. Outside the casino are the famous terraces and gardens. There were all kinds of flowers there. These gardens slope towards the town's main center and provide some stunning views of the sea. Our next day in Nice was quite exciting. We started early. First we went to the beach, which is one of nicest in the world. The water was blue and very clear. Then we went to the castle hill, which provides one of the best views of the city and the beach. In the evening we went to Place Masséna which is the main square of the city. There we found an Indian restaurant and had Indian food after so many days. We came back to the hotel at night by tram and started to pack for our onward journey to Italy, next day.
I would love to come back to France again.
After submitting my thesis, I devoted my full time in planning this trip. Getting a Schengen visa without any travel agent's help was a little difficult. Various kind of documents were needed to be submitted and we somehow managed them. Our visa was finalized nearly 15 days before our journey date. We had planned a three country trip for 21 days and decided to travel within the countries by train. These three countries were France, Italy and Switzerland. We started from France. We had a Qatar airways flight from Delhi to Paris (via Doha) and to our pleasant surprise they gave us an upgrade from economy class to business class on our way from Delhi to Doha.
We reached Paris at around 8pm. We had booked a hotel near the airport for that day. Since the hotel provided shuttle service from airport to the hotel, there was no problem in getting to the hotel. The hotel was not very nice but it was okay for one night stay. The next morning, we shifted to a hotel in the city. Our hotel was within walking distance from the nearest metro station. That very day we went to see the famous Eiffel tower. It was good but the best part was getting there and having a coffee in the nearby garden. Paris is a beautiful city with road side cafes, restaurants and old styled buildings. Everything about this place is beautiful. Walking along the Seine river is one of the most romantic experiences. I loved the walk along the Champs-Elysees that has the cinemas, big showrooms and luxury shops along it. We also did some window shopping there. Since both of us love walking, we just walked and walked, admiring the buildings, the architecture and the people. We also went to the Louvre that day but since it was late we decided to visit it the next day.
Louvre is so big that we could only see a few parts of it. The Hall where the painting of Monolisa by Leonardo da Vinci is housed, was full of people. Everybody was trying to pose with that mysterious smile. Anyways, it was good to see one of the most popular paintings of all time, so closely. In the end, we were so tired that we decided to have a nice dinner and go back to our hotel. We found a Chinese restaurant on our way back and had spicy noodles. We went to the bed early as next day we had a morning train to a city in south of France, Montepllier.
Our train was from Gare de Leon station in Paris. AS we had a reservation, we did not want to miss the train. The Gare de Leon station was a bit confusing. We reached station in time but could not find the place get our Eurail pass stamped and the platform. The surprising thing was we were just standing a level below it. Finally, we found it, stamped our passes and boarded the train. One thing that I liked about train stations in Europe is that most of the stations do not have bridge to connect the platforms. They simply have a common passage. One can simply walk from one platform to another, which is really very comfortable with luggage and all. The journey from Montepellier was a very pleasant one. We enjoyed our breakfast in the upper story compartment with a lovely view of the passing French villages and farms.
We reached Montpellier at noon. It is a charming, vibrant and elegant city, full of life. It is actually a university town and has one of the oldest universities of world. Best thing that I liked about the city was the Trams, which connect one end of the city to other. Our hotel was a little disappointing as it was situated quite far from the main city. While waiting for the bus at the bus stop near our hotel, we met an elderly couple (German+French) who were living in the city after their retirement. They were very nice and helpful and told us many things about the city attractions and how to go there. Place de la Comedie is the main center of the city. A beach volleyball game was going on there and we watched and cheered with the crowd. We again met that couple there, who had come to watch the game. After having a nice lunch at a cafe, we went to the beach. The beach was a lot sandy and there was strong wind blowing that day. We decided to walk to the next beach and reached a very beautiful place and I must say it was worth all that walk. There were many resorts, restaurants and cafes and shops there. People were in holiday mood. There were many Glacier shop there. The icecream is called Glacier in France, funny na. Next day, we just roamed around the city, tasted some local delicacies and visited the gardens. The evening was fun. We came to know that a music festival was going on in the city. There were many bands and they were playing all kind of music. We enjoyed music till very late at night but since our hotel was quite far from the main city we decided to call it a day.
We reached Nice, our third destination in France, on the evening of 22nd June. Since Monaco is very near by we decided to go there the same day. One strange thing about Europe is that after 7pm, you won't see many people around, unless it is weekend. Most of the shops are closed by 7 or 8. We didn't see many people in Monte Carlo. But I must say that I have never seen something so beautiful in my life. It was like looking at a model of some ideal town, where everything is in place, well organized and beautiful too. The place can be called a photographer's paradise. Monte-Carlo is famous for its casino. Outside the casino are the famous terraces and gardens. There were all kinds of flowers there. These gardens slope towards the town's main center and provide some stunning views of the sea. Our next day in Nice was quite exciting. We started early. First we went to the beach, which is one of nicest in the world. The water was blue and very clear. Then we went to the castle hill, which provides one of the best views of the city and the beach. In the evening we went to Place Masséna which is the main square of the city. There we found an Indian restaurant and had Indian food after so many days. We came back to the hotel at night by tram and started to pack for our onward journey to Italy, next day.
I would love to come back to France again.
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