This was our first disappointing glimpse of Cristo Redentor. Barely discernible from behind those hazy clouds. We decided it would be pointless going to Corcovado if visibility was going to be so poor. So we went to the Päo de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf) first instead and prayed hard that the weather would clear, for we had very little […]
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Faded blue window shutters never fail to transport me back to Provence. To those quaint, sleepy villages perched atop sun drenched hillsides. Their narrow cobbled streets flanked by ivy covered stone walls and those weathered shutters painted that unique shade of blue. Aah, to wander down these streets again on a summer afternoon and linger over a […]
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Also called the Sultan Ahmet mosque and built across from the Hagia Sofia, the exquisite Blue Mosque in Istanbul is the only mosque other than the Masjid al Haram in Mecca that has six minarets. Most visitors enter from the North. But if you take the west entrance you will be rewarded by the sight […]
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If you have read my ‘about’ page, you will be familiar with the excerpt “The Importance of Elsewhere” by Paul Theroux. That about describes how I felt growing up in the small port town of Mangalore. It felt…small and restrictive. I rued the lack of opportunity. My ruling obsession was to get out, to experience a ‘better’ more […]
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Through all my rather obsessive planning for our trip to South America, and to R’s perverse glee, I somehow overlooked the fact that our dates coincided with the presidential elections in Argentina. I realised my blunder when the Buenos Aires soccer schedules were released and I couldn’t find a single match for the entire week […]
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The folklore is reason enough to visit the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat near Barcelona. Like the fantastic claims of this being the ‘Castle of Munsalvaesche’ where the Holy Grail is believed to be hidden! Or those of miraclulous occurences in 890 AD, that led shepherd boys to the ‘La Moreneta’ (the little dark […]
Read MoreThe heavens decided to open up while we were in the vicinity of Rue des Petits-Champs in Paris after many, many hours in the Louvre and a wonderful souffle lunch at – where else but – Le Souffle! So we ducked into the Galerie Vivienne, one of the historic ‘Passages Couverts’ in Paris.Galerie Vivienne – 4 Rue Petits Champs Built specifically […]
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The scaffolding covered structure that towered over us was underwhelming. Not that I had expected much else. As mentioned before, I had never been a Gaudi fan. But again, delving into the symbolism inherent in every stone and more importantly, the principles of construction, the designer in me could not help but be drawn into the […]
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I had always thought Antoni Gaudi’s buildings were…well gaudy. My minimalist aesthetics were offended by all that ornamentation and I never really paid much attention to his work. But as soon as I stepped inside this iconic building in Barcelona, I knew I had been so mistaken. About Gaudi and about modernist architecture. One of […]
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Going to Cappadocia, Turky? A breathtaking balloon ride over the surreal landscape and its fairy chimneys is a must do.
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The Dendera Zodiac is proof of how well the ancient Egyptians could map the skies. Read on for a handy guide to the Dendera temple complex.
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We couldn’t see the Caldera from the main road. The manager of our hotel was waiting for us with her dishy looking assistant, who hoisted our (very) heavy bags casually over his shoulders and sprinted across the narrow path to their gate. We followed him past the gate to the top of the stairs, and gasped! […]
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The Urge To Wander 