the second day we headed on to the chapel of francis xavier (where his body is) and saw the cathedral next to it too ... beautiful old churches .. wish someone wud restore them!! then we headed on to the next religious destinations namely the mangeshi and shantadurga temples (astonishing the number of temples in a place so dominantly catholic).
Then came the only so-called disappointment of the trip cos when we reached the state-owned spice gardens which were closed cos of the rains. but it was all ok cos v got more time to spend over our next seafood oriented meal!!
and then we headed to "ancestral goa" where they hav recreated old goa and the way they used to live in portuguese times.. thats all good but they hav put these amazing robotic women as guides who rattle off recorded gems like "in earlier times there were no newspapers so there used to be a khabri who wud go from village to village telling latest news" but to be fair, they had tried to recreate it as authentically as they cud!!
then v got on a sea cruise which was also s'posed to have folk dances but mostly there were horribly unfit people dancing vulgarly to latest himesh yuckiya songs... but we stayed on the lower deck where there was no one .. just us and the sea !! and we got our feet wet in the rain that was splashing in from the sides ... it was sooo amazing!!
then we headed to colva beach and watched 2 goa ppl fishing for fishies which had been caught in the sea current an brought into the shallow pools made along the beach.
we ended off our second day in goa by going shoppin for i love goa tees and found a beautiful flower market right in the middle of a dense marketplace!! and retired back amazed by all the discoveries of this day..
the last day was just caught up with getting ready to get to the airport on time and i got a huge reality check wit mrs.scatty's fone call!! but all's well ... i went to goa didnt i?????
and now i have a dream ... a dream to go back to beautiful, green, romantic, unapologetic and truly content Goa.
i know u'll r probably thinkin ... thats a nice way of forcing ppl to wish u ... but what the heck .. its just gonna happen once a year ... so just bear wit me !! i love my birthdays and love celebrating it wit ppl i love and care about ... and very frankly speaking .. god has really blessed me wit so much this year ... beautiful friendships ... a stable and boring job which leaves me wit enuf time to blog and most importantly a wonderful and amazing relationship which is gonna last for all eternity :)
so in some ways i am loathe to part with this 23rd yr of my life but i know that the comin years will bring so so much more. there is so much left for me (and anand) to explore and discover ... maybe i shud provide a recap of this year .... on my last birthday i decided to leave crossword ... i was sick of all those number oriented people who had me hate my life cos i wanted those books to be treated with respect and love.
by july i had left and was giving interviews where i chanced upon niit who offered me this cushy non-working job :) -- well the deadlines r terrible sometimes but wit the friends (anusha, eisha, josie) iv found here id gladly fight a thousand wars !!
i also met friends like aparna, bhaskar and kim cos of going solo and i re-discovered matheran :) thanks for being such amazing friends ... and appi again im sorry for being the mental case i am and i truly sorry for hurting u !!
and then i was sent to delhi where i met anand ... all thanks to my outgoing nature and friendly disposition which made me introduce myself to him just cos id seen him in office a few times ... well actually it was more like being terrified of being alone and needing somebody who wud hear me if i needed to yell help ... hehehehe ... but i cud never hav imagined the way v wud b able to bond and chatter ... i wish i cud thank u in the way i shud but let this also be said .. thanks for being there thro all the fun and hard times ... uv been an amazing friend and even better fiance!! i discovered delhi which id always hated and i hav now so many beautiful memories of that place... of my bootcamp buddies and the places i visited and our hostel ... all of them wonderful in their own way!! i hav explored so much of bombay .. theres still so much left !! iv found many wunnerful eating joints and shoppin places .. i discovered the beauties of nashik ... and one of the most important discoveries iv made is that my parents are fun people and id forgotten that because of the fog around my head that crossword had created .... and to all my friends who i gave up on cos of crossword .. i am truly sorry for being so very cut off!!
hey people .. iv done it .. added something new ... im learning so much techie stuff and wonder of wonders it doesnt bore me at all ...
maybe thats only cos im only dealing wit the end product and not wit the detailing that is involved in the process ... o i dunno ... can someone plz explain y i hate formatting in ppts but i love adding custom animations and tweaking it ?
hey people im just writing in while i take a break from my work .... just needed a sounding board i guess !! yesterday i experienced something that i cudnt believe was happenin to me!! it was the most vile, scary, horrifying and faith-shattering experience iv had in a loooooong time !!
There was a cockroach in my auto !!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ... if theres anything i hate more that britney spears, miss screechy and mrknowitall combined .. its insects and reptiles!!! and i hate cockroaches furthermore cos of their supposed indestructibility !!!!
and now im scarred for life .. i will never look at another auto with the trust i accorded them earlier !!!
so temme ... is this illogical or r those beastly visitors from hell a.k.a. cockroaches (anyone remember the villian in mib2) really worthy of shivering in skirt- horror !!??!!
o also .. i might have a new pen pal soon .. and so in honor of u reona ... the footie pics !! hope u enjoy them as much as i enjoy ur blog!!
First the scariest .... This city is mostly one to ten feet (0.3 to 3 m) below sea level. Only 45% of the city is above sea level!!! do u really wonder why katrina affected this place so bad. remind ppl of something??
The names of New ohleenz are "Crescent City" which refers to the course of the Mississippi River around the city; its called "The Big Easy" cos its easy finding work here; and "The City that Care Forgot" refers to the carefree nature of the residents. New Orleans has always been a major place for music with its intertwined European, Latin American, and African-American cultures.
Greater New Orleans has many major attractions, from the world-renowned Bourbon Street, St. Charles Avenue, and many stately 19th century mansions. The most imp however, is the French Quarter (known locally as "the Quarter"), which dates from the French eras. Over here, people walking down the street without a drink in their hands seem out of place. You never have to walk more than a few blocks to find a voodoo shop. Other notable tourist attractions in the quarter include Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral which is the oldest cathedral in the U.S., the French Market (including the Café du Monde, famous for café au lait and beignets), and Preservation Hall.
Many people have contributed to the uniqueness of N.O. : the French and Spanish, Cajuns, Creoles, and free people of color. But New Orleans has also been a hangout for pirates, slave traders, and rogues. So many gruesome murders, infamous suicides, executions have happened here. Therefore, little surprise that many of the buildings here are said to be haunted. Eisha… can’t wait to go there right?
Near the French Quarter is the old New Orleans Mint, which is now a museum. The Natchez is an authentic steamboat with a calliope which tours the Mississippi twice daily. Art museums in the city include the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) in City Park and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. New Orleans is also noted for its beautiful cemeteries. Because of the high water level here, the graves are placed in tombs above the ground making up the “cities of the dead”.
The city is also world-famous for its food. Specialties includebeignets, square-shaped fried pastries that are sometimes called French doughnuts (served with coffee and chicory "au lait"); Po'boy and Italian Muffaletta sandwiches; Gulf oysters on the half-shell and other seafoods; etouffee, jambalaya, gumbo, and other Creole dishes; and the Monday evening favorite of red beans and rice. (Louis Armstrong often signed his letters, "red beans and ricely yours.")
the most yucky part is that they eat alligator there!!! check out the accompanying pic!!
am adding in the relevant pics alag se .... plz comment and also click on the ad wala link !!
cute looking pirates ... cities of the dead ... where they hav tombs instead of graves ... with proper little rooms which are exquisitely decorated !!! another file pic of bourbon pic .. wat file u ask ... my new orleans file on my comp of course !! these are the very famos beignets ... read my posts to understand !!
Plz excuse me folks .... am havin probs adding pics to my blogs ... the 1st is a pic of jambalaya (the cajun dish) the pirates here are very famos..... st.louis cathedral bourbon street ...
It is only in my 30s that I have realised I will never be the elegant lady who can wear white without spilling something on it. I recognise my blessings like my family, my friends & my job & I am letting go of my fears of writing & just jumping in. I love my job. It has given me the opportunity to live in a city where I am surrounded by the most amazing friends in the world & the most surreal experiences. It also gives me the opportunity to read great books & travel to fascinating new countries. Join me as I share these with the world.
