These were all real conversations from Frankfurt...It was so much fun catching up with you guys!!
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H: Do you think German shepherds are called 'Shephards' here?
R: Do you think Frankfurters are called 'ers' here?
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Li'l I: (looking at the handout of the church service at the wedding) Amma, I want to order fish curry!
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U: (on the apple-wine tram) Why would they serve Apple-wine here; can't they offer Riesling instead?
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Li'l R: mamleyameamalalapumalama...
Li'l K: Eeeya!
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Monday, August 30, 2010
The Adriatic Cruise - Part 2
The last two ports on our cruise were the two jewels we hadn't heard of/ known of before and completely took us by surprise by their beauty. The island of Rhodes was one. We visited the old Acropolis in Rhodes followed by the Old Town of Rhodes - which is one of the prettiest medieval towns on the planet and like being on the movie set of Lord of the Rings!
The Palace in Rhodes was classical Greek. It was in this prestigious palace that Kabeer decided to start screaming, "Mama, poo-poo done" over & over again in a loop until we had to explain to total strangers that he was just in one of those moods and he in fact had not done any poo-poo!!!
The next port was Dubrovnik on the Croatian coast. By the time we reached Dubrovnik we had really had enough of history and medieval towns, but Dubrovnik literally pumped life back into the tourists in us!:) The Old Town - which has been restrored by UN after the Serbian shelling during the war in the 1990s - is breathtaking in its architecture, sculptures, old pharmacies and palaces. The antiqueness of the town really takes one back to the Middle Ages; and the natural green beauty of the port just completes its look. Couldn't get any prettier than this - Venice, you have been over-shadowed!
The Palace in Rhodes was classical Greek. It was in this prestigious palace that Kabeer decided to start screaming, "Mama, poo-poo done" over & over again in a loop until we had to explain to total strangers that he was just in one of those moods and he in fact had not done any poo-poo!!!
The next port was Dubrovnik on the Croatian coast. By the time we reached Dubrovnik we had really had enough of history and medieval towns, but Dubrovnik literally pumped life back into the tourists in us!:) The Old Town - which has been restrored by UN after the Serbian shelling during the war in the 1990s - is breathtaking in its architecture, sculptures, old pharmacies and palaces. The antiqueness of the town really takes one back to the Middle Ages; and the natural green beauty of the port just completes its look. Couldn't get any prettier than this - Venice, you have been over-shadowed!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
The Adriatic Cruise
The Adriatic coastline is pretty beyond words.
We left Venice and the next port was Bari (Italy). Near Bari, there's an ancient town called Matera which is believed to be one of the oldest human settlements that is still inhabited. The town is completely carved out of stone [and therefore called 'sassi'] and makes a really pretty picture!
After Bari, we visited 4 Greek ports. The first among them was Katakolon which is the port closest to Olympia. We visited the ruins at the stadium of the ancient Olympics and marvelled at how advanced the ancient Greeks were.
The port of Katakolon was our first peek into the bluest blue of waters that we would see for the rest of the cruise!
The next two ports were the most famous of the cyclade islands in Greece - Mykonos & Santorini. Both of them were pretty, but Santorini's O'ia town with its postcard blue-n-white, cobblestone pathways, cliffs, pink flowers, waters and all the pretty things just took our breath away!
The sunset in Mykonos was our favourite moment on the trip!
We left Venice and the next port was Bari (Italy). Near Bari, there's an ancient town called Matera which is believed to be one of the oldest human settlements that is still inhabited. The town is completely carved out of stone [and therefore called 'sassi'] and makes a really pretty picture!
After Bari, we visited 4 Greek ports. The first among them was Katakolon which is the port closest to Olympia. We visited the ruins at the stadium of the ancient Olympics and marvelled at how advanced the ancient Greeks were.
The port of Katakolon was our first peek into the bluest blue of waters that we would see for the rest of the cruise!
The next two ports were the most famous of the cyclade islands in Greece - Mykonos & Santorini. Both of them were pretty, but Santorini's O'ia town with its postcard blue-n-white, cobblestone pathways, cliffs, pink flowers, waters and all the pretty things just took our breath away!
The sunset in Mykonos was our favourite moment on the trip!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Venice
So as I was saying in my last post, we landed in Venice next. There's no denying the beauty of Venice, its quaint bridges and cafes; beautiful structures and the gondolas. We had seen so many movies shot in Venice, but when we saw the real thing we realised we had under-estimated the size of this city! It wasn't just one Grand Canal and a couple of small ones; its a much bigger city than we had imagined it to be with many, many water-lanes and bridges. Its a miracle that the Venetians find their way from anywhere to anywhere without getting lost.
But we were slightly disappointed with Venice. There were just so many tourists there (and we were there on a weekday too!) that it felt more like a flea-market than the romantic place we imagined it would be. Really, there was bumper-to-bumper human traffic on every bridge and every corner of the city and we couldn't soak in the beauty of the place as we would've liked to. The blazing sun and the infant in our arms* didn't make things easy either.
* Obviously the ancient Venetians didn't provide for prams and wheel-chairs when they planned a city of bridges!
Next, we embarked on a cruise ship and started a cruise along the Adriatic Sea. But that deserves a separate (and long!) post.
But we were slightly disappointed with Venice. There were just so many tourists there (and we were there on a weekday too!) that it felt more like a flea-market than the romantic place we imagined it would be. Really, there was bumper-to-bumper human traffic on every bridge and every corner of the city and we couldn't soak in the beauty of the place as we would've liked to. The blazing sun and the infant in our arms* didn't make things easy either.* Obviously the ancient Venetians didn't provide for prams and wheel-chairs when they planned a city of bridges!
Next, we embarked on a cruise ship and started a cruise along the Adriatic Sea. But that deserves a separate (and long!) post.
A wedding in Frankfurt
I have not posted on the blog for a while, but there's a good reason for that. We were holidaying in Europe for 2 weeks! First up was Frankfurt to watch one of my oldest friends get married in a beautiful ceremony in one of the prettiest cathedrals ever. An ancient heritage venue, a bright red sari, beautifully henna-ed hands, yellow sunflower bouquets, a bilingual service; it was all so romantic and lovely!
Next, we went to Venice & I so want to write more, but its also my first day back in office after a long break; so will write my next post while taking a break from scrolling down that long list of unread emails.
Next, we went to Venice & I so want to write more, but its also my first day back in office after a long break; so will write my next post while taking a break from scrolling down that long list of unread emails.
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