Family obsession with Transport

From Dadaji's Railway career, Papa's time at Flight Kitchen to Mumma's sweet memories of catching red buses in Mumbai... I have grown up with an obsession.. ok that's a bit exagerrated .. fascination with different modes of transport. In my recent travels I have captured a few and present some photos in the next few postings.

Gaudi.. Spain

Lots of mosaic.. colours and no pointy Gothic stuff.. I really liked it..really like his attitude towards life.. chilled.. and funny.

1. Gaudi's chocolate house

2. Fruits at Sagradda Familia

3. Parc Guell

Barcelona..

A friend of mine said.. 'how's Barcelonely?'in a text message when I got there. Now.. this was the first time I had stepped into a country where I knew nobody. Previously have travelled alone.. discovered cities alone (and loved it) but always had some relative or friend to stay with or meet.
Not a soul.. just knew Becks was in Madrid and I could call on him if all hell broke loose!

See not so lonely huh... 1. Marco (Portugese guy I met at the youth hostel), Andrea (Tango crazy Argentinian girl) and I. 2.Me and a big glass of Servesa at La Rambla 3. Wilton and I at the Tapas Bar.

Note to all

Hello.. Can I please remind you that there are more postings in the Archives. So click on the months in the right nav bar and see some of the India ones.
Wouldn't want you to miss an important leg of my journey!
Hope you are enjoying this.

Sintra

Sleepy little town- Sintra, about 50 minutes by train from Lisboa. I am so glad I went there.. a day trip well worth it.

This is me with a lamp on my head at the Regalia Palace which sits on a hill looking down on Sintra. It's like a nice hill station with low hanging fog.. and just a very cosy feel.

Belem

Belem is about 15 minutes from the centre of Lisboa. It was from Belem that Vasco De Gama first set sail for India in 1497.
1.Torre de Belem with a strong Moorish influence. The miniature in black and the real thing. 2. Built in 1960 this is the Monument of Discoveries. That is the second picture :)

Lisboa..

Lisboa... the main Cathedral..
The Lisbon skyline with Castelo de Saint Jorge as the backdrop.
Lisbon was so beautiful. It was difficult to choose photos!

Aljento Coast on the way to Lisboa

Setubal ..unique to see some colour after towns and towns of white washed houses with red tiled roofs.
I look so uncomfortable with that back pack!
The mouth of River Mira, Vila Nova de Milfontes. The city of fountains.. we didn't find one! Although we conculded it was the sea spray they might have been referring to..

Sunset at Sagres- Portugal

Sagres.. the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean. The point which inspired the Portugese to take off and discover(conquer!) the world.

Algarve Coast - Southern Portugal

Walked along the gorgeous coast heading towards Sagres from Lagos only a beautiful sunny day.
1.Sieglinde and I taking in the view.
2.This Beach (Luz) is called white beach as it is full of tourists. It was quite dead when we got there, but apparently the whole town lives for the summer.
3.Steep cliffs

La La Lagos

Doesn't need a description ...
Kamila, Vira, An and Sieglinde on the boat cruise in the Lagos marina .. free beer on board

Where am I?

OK.. if you follow the blog.. from down up, you will see where I have been.
The trip started on 18 Jan 06. I had an amazing time in India- Mumbai, Lonavala, Kochi, Varkala, Bangalore, Mysore and then Delhi.
It was nice to see some new parts of India. I felt good coming to Delhi.. familiar territory.
All through the trip I had the pleasure of Fran's company. She is a good friend of mine from Melbourne and she was a very good travel companion.. excited about discovering new things but not an over excited eager beaver.... just the way I am.
Thanks Fran!

It was great to spend some time with Dadaji.. he's looking well and was his usual entertaining self. Although he just couldn't understand why I hadn't finished my MBA. :)

I then proceeded to Belgium... Antwerpen -Bercham to be welcomed by my sister and Jijaji into their awesome home. http://www.zindagizindagi.blogspot.com/ have a look

I spent a week adjusting to the weather and the change in pace after India..
was lucky enough to become a travel partner in a trip to Portugal with Jeroen's family. His parents, Linus and An, Sieglende and Kamila.

It was a different kind of holiday, a great experience and it has broadened my outlook. We walked everywhere.. almost. I got used to enjoying a holiday with a focus on nature. I stayed in Youth Hostels for the first time and I must say some of them were very impressive. The one in Almograve even had a TV in the appartment! I was also lucky enough not to end up in a room with snoring people.

Now lets see what's next....

One day in Faro.. Portugal

Cobble Stone but with creativity and dedication... every where in Portugal the streets were like this. Amazing..

Faro's walled city. They have preserved it very well. I walked around outside it (which is the photo) and inside it. A bit of a maze.. and no concept of paralell streets or city structure. But I guess that makes it more interesting!

The Portugese and their compass. Heading South but not quite reaching the land down under! They did get to India and a lot of other places. Very enterprising, daring and bold for their time.

I flew from Brussles to Faro and spent half a day there. Would have liked to hang out a bit more but because of the Carnival (the previous day) all the museums and churches were closed. So I caught the 1:30 and headed west to Lagos.

1. Reetika my lovely friend...

2. Photographer.. Manav and I in a Chai place in Saket 3. Mita my dear sister.. love you so much.

I'd like to point out that by the time I reached Delhi my memory card , I mean my camera's memory card was full and hence I do not have pictures of some of the important people I met... Varun, Kelu, Tutu, Nikhil, Mama,Mami... and I could go on. But you're stored in my memory card :)

The Grand Mysore Palace.. we took a bus from Bangalore (Volvo) and spent the day there. Had a guided tour of the palace where we couldn't take any photos. It was amazing... the palace is full of presents and imported stuff from every part of the world. From lamps to statues to stained glass windows.

Some more Varkala

1.Awesome beach 2. Fran and I sharing a Kingfisher in the pool. 3.Please note the appropriatness of the top! Corny picture...

Varkala

1. Vira and Fran at the Funky Art Cafe on Varkala cliff. Food was shocking but drinks were good. 2 and 3 just beautiful

Chinese Fishing Nets

Fort Kochi has been influenced (occupied) by several international forces... this is a picture of the Chinese Fishing Nets. They were huge. Others included Portugese, Dutch, Jews.

Kerela_Fort Kochi

Pulling in the fish.. on the Chinese Fishing nets in Fort Kochi. I am sure my muscle power made all the difference.

Kerela - Allepey Backwater Cruise

Private boat.. special with shade and deck seating ... that's how he sold it to us.
Houseboat.. Rs 6,000 per night. lovely!