Paris is for Girls

It was a balmy evening in Bangkok as we sat down at a food court in mall with tired feet. Suddenly, tears flowed down my eyes. We were on our honeymoon and poor Adi had horror on his face, he had no idea what his new bride was thinking. (Ah! The sweet joy of arranged marriages)

‘’Actually, I didn’t really have a good time with you today. Shopping is so boring with you. I miss my girlfriends!’’ (Oh! Woman)

So I was on cloud 9 when my two besties since school decided to visit me in London. It was the most awaited trip of the year, the one which had taken several months of planning over ‘watsapp’. Several versions of the itinerary were created and discarded. The best version was ditching the husbands, of course (two of us are married). The super cool version was when we decided to include ‘Paris’ in the list.

The three muskeeters

As a new Londoner, I have always wondered about the bitter-sweet rivalry of the two cities. With two drastic views, I had no idea what to expect in the City of Lights. My only concern was our ability to survive with zero French speaking ability. But thanks to technology and some planning beforehand, we found it easy to travel in the city. From the super cool St.Pancras International station at London, the Gard du Nord at Paris seemed a little dull to the Londoner in me. (Another blog on London vs Paris?)

The most interesting part of the trip was the location of the apartment. Chateau de Eau has a very mixed migrant community, it has Indian restaurants in one lane, middle eastern grocery shops and dozens of salons for African hair along with French boulganieres and hip cafes and bars (which we made the most of :P). We were puzzled at the ‘gangs’ of men who occupied the streets since morning only to realise later that they were touts for the salons. But as we climbed the narrow wooden stairs of the apartment and the sweet smell from the chocolatier below our apartment greeted us, we knew were in for a treat.

Dont forget to have Hot Chocolate and Macrons at Angelina

 ‘’Eiffel! Kahan hai Eiffel!’’…….we began our Paris darshan with only the iconic Eiffel tower in mind. We had made an attempt to book tickets in advance but some lucky people had already beat us in the booking game. So we simply strolled the streets crossing the magnificent Louvre and then the very beautiful Jarden du Luxembourg.

We were school girls once again, chattering, laughing, giggling, and giving each other an occasional hi-fi! Doing all silly things which we missed in the last two and half years. As we walked bashfully, we crossed the petite Seine to have a view of the Invalides only to walk in the direction of the Eiffel tower. Another day, we thought and decided to cruise the Seine on the popular Batobus. (Nearly thousand plans were made in those four days)

Locked with Notre Dame

Who says Paris is for romantic lovers? It is for everyone who appreciates beauty and art, fashion and food, coffee and wine. Basically, all good things in life with a feminine vibe.

The summer evening seemed long as we ate our dinner near Champs Elysees and waited with breath for the sunset. The city lights illuminated the grand boulevard as we stood there in awe looking at the Arc de Triomphe

City of Lights

I could perhaps stand there forever....

The next day we were woken by the smell of freshly baked bread. Enough to inspire us to do a self-guided walking tour of the city’s Montmarte district and the afternoon at Louvre. Bonjur and Merci beaucoup saved us all along. Little had I realised the scale of Louvre….super huge is an understatement. It is an institution. (Top tip: Cover only the must-dos if you are on a short holiday like us)

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Was it the Mona-Lisa for me? Not really. It was the intriguing Angel of Time one which took my fancy. The bare emotions of a family were on display as the man of the family is taken away by Angel of Time. Ah! How time passes…

Fertility, Art and Beauty at Louvre

The feeling that we are grown-up felt certain that evening as we un winded at a bar. There was a sense of relief and awkwardness within me. I was happy to be with my friends of more than a decade and yet gentle awkwardness nudged me. Staying away meant you had seemingly missed out small but important details in each other’s lives. Was it marriage, was it the fact that we were miles apart or was it that we were not school girls anymore? Did technology make things better?

Our non-stop banter continued all day long as we visited the Versailles the next day. We were disinterested by the grandeur of the property, instead we kept singing random Bollywood songs and cracking silly jokes. Who cares what Louis XIV had done?

We only zipped our mouths tight as we lied on the picnic blanket that night with a glass of wine and blinis in front of the Eiffel. At midnight, the Tower shone, sparkled bright much to the content of everyone’s hearts. 

We were school girls once again, the very ones who still cry while watching Harry Potter movies on telly for nth time.

(No, we didnt go up the Eiffel, we loved looking up at it from below)

Travel : Discovering places and beyond

People travel to faraway places to watch,

                                                 In fascination

                                                      The kind of people they ignore at home.

‘’What is the best time to visit to London?’’, a lot of our friends and family ask us, after all its their ‘’Hakkach  ghar ani manasa’’. We equally love having people at our place or atleast make it a point to see them in London considering its just the two of us throughout the year.

With travel, curiosity fills the minds of our guests, ‘’ Oh! It is so quiet here’’ to ‘’ The pubs open at 11 am!’’ General observations and discussions follow and we are happy to give all insider tips and experiences. 

Painting the town red

But the best part of it, is the to do lists people have when in London. When Shruti visited London, she had every attraction on her agenda . The two of us were delighted to roam arround every nook and corner of the city. I was two months old in London myself and it helped me get acquainted into cultural ways of the English. The history and museums fascinated our geeky brain whilst accidentally attending a practice session of musicians at Cambridge made our faces smile.

The Shahrukh bridge /disclaimer - google image

When Teju visited us on a cold autumn weekend, she couldn’t be happier posing at the ‘Bridge’ on Thames where Shahrukh Khan dances to Challa song. I couldn’t be more delighted to see Adi at Lords souvenir shop, he spent half hour selecting his merchandise whilst three women waited for him patiently. He handled every bat with such care and drooled at it with puppy eyes. That moment I wished, '' Agale janam muzhe cricket bat banna.'' :P

 Sana spent a couple of weeks of summer with me last year and my darling sister wandered inside the Harry Potter Studio with total enchantment. Harry Potter made her childhood which she cherishes to date.

We travel also for the food

My in-laws visited us recently and my otherwise demure mother-in-law held us at ransom at Kew Gardens. She took her sweet time looking at every plant, posing near all sorts of landscapes. Her joy held no bounds as she imparted us all the information of every species of plants and was never shy to gather and tuck the pine-cones in her pockets.

Aai and Baba at Kew Gardens

Perhaps this is the best part of travelling to a distant place. It not only opens gate away to the world at large but helps you discover yourself, a part which you sometimes sadly ignore at home. The child within you.

Paradise found : The mountains, the sea and a little adventure

The sky was twinkling bright and our stomachs were filled to the bream as we entered our cute villas by the sea. Just as I was relaxing in the shower after an exhausted day, Preeti knocked on the door.

Zorbas Beach Village

‘’Dev has big hives on his body!’’, she declared panic-stricken. Very unlike Preeti. It was nearly midnight on this largest but quiet island in Greece. The sweet resort manager was not answering his call (save his otherwise hospitable demeanour), we did not have a single medicine in our travel kit (surprise, surprise!) and the four of us were frantically trying to call emergency medical help.

Our prayers were answered as an ambulance took apna party-boy Dev away to Chania, the next major town which was 12 miles away for an exciting night-out. So as Adi and I tried to catch forty winks, Preeti being the Pativrata Naari spent her night with very loud nurses. 

We were the early visitors on this serene island where the ‘season’ actually begins mid April. The winds were still strong, restricting any sailing or diving activities. The gorgeous looking snow covered White Mountains were not accessible either as the water flows through the gorges till early spring. 

 

Feeling a little dejected, we hired a taxi ( No, we don’t drive in London ) and drove from north to south of the western side of the island. The island spans 270 km from east to west, has two international airports and is an important naval and air base in the Mediterean sea.

P our very amicable, bulky driver and guide drove us on the road overlooking Souda bay, the naval base. Our next stops were at ancient city ruins of Aptera (7^th century B.C.) Many such ruins belonging to Minoans, Byzantines and Romans are scattered around the island.

Ruins at Aptera

We took our own sweet time, touching each brick and plucking wild daisies in this piece of history. The sight of the cistern bought out the singers in Dev and me. Our cacophony managed to get us surprised looks from the fellow tourist audience. Vacations are meant to be silly!

P then drove us through  the pretty villages in the hills. The trees were laden with oranges and lemons. I wondered if the popular rhyme was inspired from this place. 

The only sound was our constant chatter and P’s non-stop calls from clients.

As we neared the south of the island, the clouds and the chill had vanished and bright sunshine welcomed us. Jackets off, sunglasses out.  P who waved at every single passer by on the road throughout the drive directed us to Nikos tavern at Hora Sfakion for lunch. ‘Treat this as your home’, said the welcoming owner, shaking everyone’s hands – a very Greek way.

Harbour of Hora Sfakion

We were in for a feast! The lamb cooked in spicy tomato gravy was one of the best ones I have had in Europe! We relished the ‘feta cheese’ pitas with honey and polished off the souvlakis. The Greeks are certainly the most hospitable folks I have known. Preeti who is a vegetarian was equally delighted with her stew and Greek salad. We ate like there was no tomorrow.

The Xtraaaa Large Platter

P with his soft spoken broken English accompanied us during lunch narrating his experiences on Crete, the future for Greece in these uncertain times and his faith in Alexis Tsipras. His face beamed as a proud father of a daughter who had graduated in Mathematics and wondered what future she had in times where salaries were halved in most work places.

 Just as were about to burp, the chubby owner placed a plate of thick yogurt drizzled with honey and Raki, a local alcohol before us.

Old harbour of Chania

We spent the rest of the day passing various beaches and closed the evening at the old harbour of Chania. The streets near the old harbour are lined up with jewellery stores, leather goods and art shops. Not to forget the several buzzing cafes lined around the harbour. We had enjoyed a large platter of fish the evening before. A platter so large that we had to give up on it. (Including Adi!!!) But Dev still wanted to have some fish that fated evening. Ofcourse, little did he know what he had signed up for.

 The next day arrived with a cloud of doubt. Dev and Preeti had arrived only at 6 am from the hospital. We had plans to walk the Imbros gorge , a 12 km stretch as Samria, the largest gorge in Europe was shut for visitors. ( We were not fit enough to walk it either)

By late morning, Dev and Preeti woke up sportingly. After a few digs at Dev we started our drive for Imbros gorge. All the four of us love walking and this was a must do on our Crete list. The winding roads and clouds on top of the hills reminded us of the drives in the Himalayan foothills. It brought me memories of my last proper holiday with mum and dad. That was nearly 7 years ago! 

Imbros Gorge

Each turn in the gorge brought forward a different sight and a landscape. Black, Brown and Green predominated the pathway. Sometimes a stretch only had grasslands and shrubs while a sudden turn surprised us with slender, tall trees. Herds of sheep greeted us midway as sunshine played peek-a-boo. We threaded over big stones, small pebbles and humungous boulders. Not a single trickle of sweat on our brows. As the wind gently blew in the narrow gorge, we could hear cattle bells in a distance.

 This was a paradise!  This was un adulterated happiness. 

Valley views - Crete

Would we visit Crete again? Most certainly, we have only seen half of Crete. I missed visiting the Knossos Palace. Preeti liked the simplicity of the Cretian people. All of us will try to be fit for Samaria as well. Bonus point are the ferries which depart from Crete to other greek islands in the season. Adi will come for the beautiful curly haired women and food. Did I mention Desserts and Raki are complimentary on the island? 

White mountains - View from the Airport

As for Dev, guess he will be careful with any fishy experience in future. He survived only on bread and selected fruit during the rest of our stay.

All photo credits : My in-house photographer Aditya Pandit