London, baby!!!

went to London recently. being an Indian, you kinda expect London to be heaven, God's own little country that created the special people who ruled our country for 200 years, so then obviously you feel let down when you see the real thing. maybe it's a great place to live in, with all the fantastic stores and shows and all that history, but speaking as a tourist, it's too bloody expensive, the tube takes forever to get you from A to B, there are no good information booths or free maps available, tourist attractions are hard to find, and you pretty much proceed on gut-feel cos no britisher has the time to talk to you. there's nothing to beat the Paris or Rome experience. we finally succumbed and took the open-bus tour to find everything. have to say though that after the bus tour, we atleast knew where everything was!

had a grand time exploring Westminster Abbey with their verger-guided tour, which took us to parts of the Abbey that aren't open to the general public. that was really awesome. also awesome - finding lord byron's stone in the abbey!!! after all that hullaballoo, there he was, neatly marked in the poet's corner! there is no leveller like time...

london eye was supposed to be a grand spectacle - turned out to be a huge ride that wasn't even fast! didn't get a good view cos it was quite overcast. guess London doesn't show her best side to visitors in October...





i guess Madame Tussaud's is worth a mention too. realized lifelong dream of meeting the fab four! also gave the big B a lil kiss in the bargain... :)




guess London takes time to open up, just like the people who live there... suspending judgment till i get a chance to live there for some time.

Wandering in Italy

my favorite place on earth (so far, atleast) has got to be Italy. we (my husband and i) went forewarned of robbers and smooth talkers, but didn't experience any problems at all, and in fact had the time of our lives in this beautiful country. the Arno, the pigeons of Venice, the colossal grandeur of Rome - it's unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime stuff!!!

for most people, Venice is about the gondolas, the canals and the glassware. we did all that, but surprisingly, ended up having the most fun feeding the pigeons!

for me, Florence is all about the walk by the side of the river Arno in the evening. the photos show what i saw, no editing. i'm no great photographer, so i guess my eyes saw much more.

pehla padaav

i'd written a diary for years, and then one day i just stopped. lots of reasons. craving it again now though - love the catharsis it provides, and miss expressing myself in my own space. i live an ordinary life, with no great sorrows or anything earth-shaking to write about, so this is mostly a space just for me, to relive my own little memories and, as jane austen put it, to work on my piece of ivory.