The avant garde metal and glass interior of the Fernando Zobel train station was the last thing we expected when we disembarked after our 45 min. high speed train journey from Madrid. A nagging feeling that we had inadvertently got off at the wrong station persisted as we climbed into the lone taxi out front and sped […]
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When we dashed across, nearly a decade ago, on a (crazy) day trip from Barcelona to Bilbao just to gaze upon those stunning overlapping waves of shimmering titanium, we were clueless about the city’s history of industrial decline, or of the conception of the Guggenheim museum as an icon of urban reinvention. It is hard to imagine that […]
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It is a good thing I enjoy planning my travels in advance, for spontaneity in travel (abroad) is denied to those of us holding Indian passports. Even more so, it seems, for married couples. You might remember I was required to submit a no-objection letter from R for my solo visit to Venice last year. That, I discovered later, is mandatory for […]
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I am teased endlessly for being a chatterbox. But for all my gregariousness I cherish solitude, enveloped as I am by the bustle of a big Indian city. Is it even possible to steal quiet reflective moments from the din of urban living? Yes it is. Solitude is in the mind. Learning to shut out the noise […]
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I loved collecting ‘things’, once upon a time. Objects for the house. Clothes and accessories. And being Indian, jewellery. Because they gave me pleasure, and because it was the done thing. Today, I cannot look at anything of monetary value without converting the cost into travel terms. I have walked out of many stores with a […]
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It is easy to get overawed by magnificent edifices and miss out on the exquisite details that contribute to making them awe-inspiring in the first place. With my design background, it isn’t so much that I don’t notice the finer nuances of architectural construction, as that I get so carried away by their intricacies that I forget to […]
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An unassuming gate, that we drive past twice, opens into a small, leafy courtyard dominated by our restored 19th century ‘manor’ hotel: the former Villa Notre-Dame de la Garde, one time residence of the principal of the French school opposite. Now re-christened La Villa. We find the sparingly restored facade charming. We are relieved to discover, however, that the distressed charm ends at […]
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I would personally qualify the above with the addition of two words: ‘Some of….’ It might be considered blasphemous in the travel blogging community, and among the propagators of solo and full time travel, to admit to not all (my) gladdest moments being travel related. But I shall be quick to add, that while the anticipation of a departure into lands unknown does not quite measure […]
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Travel had taken a backseat in our lives with the past several weeks being consumed by hospital visits and doctors appointments. Thankfully R is fully recovered from a minor surgical procedure, and a condition I was diagnosed with turned out to be less scary than it initially sounded, but they made for some awfully stressful moments. A final all […]
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I believe implicitly in the capacity of all human beings to achieve their dreams if they put their minds to it. I also believe that when you want something badly enough, you – and the universe – will usually find ways to make it happen. Within reason of course. For I know from experience how a lack of means, […]
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This story begins with a legend. From a 13th century Korean chronicle – Karak Sam Kuk Yusa – of the emergence of six princes from a clutch of golden eggs, descended from the heavens in a gilded casket wrapped in red silk. The princes miraculously attain adulthood within twelve days. Suro – the eldest – is crowned first king of the Kara dynasty and ruler of Geumgwan […]
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The Urge To Wander 