Kotland ( Scotland in Kerala -> Kotland ;) )

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Why would anyone have a crane and hen sculpted and jutting out of their balcony?  Not to forget that the house including the balcony is colored a very dark obnoxious pink...Come a bit further down the road and you will see a hoarding of a jewel store with a lady and her constipated expression trying to sell you a gaudy looking bangle…please ignore the hairy elbows of the model in full bloom…

 Well!!!so was the hilarious journey to Ponmudi…a nice, picturesque hill station 2 hours from TRV.  Our friends - A & P picked us up and after a quick lunch at Café Mojo (the lunch was quick, once we ordered.. but I will not go into the ordering bit…it will get as long as the menu there…hmm…the pain of ordering when you have too much to choose from), we left for our destination.

 As is all Kerala, the drive was scenic and within an hour, we were in the midst of rubber plantations and thick forests.  There are 22 hair pin bends which take you to the hill top.  Once at the top, it was very windy but quite a sight.  It is interesting how high a few hairpin bends can take you…meadows interspersed with rocks and plenty of pathways you could choose from to take a walk.

Barring a few men peeing by the road, the view is serene and refreshing…what with being at so different a place within 2 hours of driving from the city.  We spent an hour taking pictures and enjoying the cool breeze.  The KTDC hotel provided us with a nice cup of tea and fries and some more pictures later, we drove back to Trivandrum.

Can’t ask for more from an outing considering the minimal effort it took to reach Ponmudi.  I am sure, it will continue to be a good getaway for us while we are at TRV.

- Sudhir

Zoobi doobi Zoobi doobi ZOOOO..:)

What color animals have you seen? The monkeys are brown & the crocodile is green.. Zebra & Panda are black & white.. the yellow giraffes are a beautiful sight..

This is the song from R's fav choo choo train.. In order to figure out if R really liked animals yet, we headed to the zoo.

As we entered the zoo, we were reminded of London…thanks to the street artist singing outside…don't remember hearing Malayalam melodies at London though ;) ..

 The colorful birds were most fascinating, especially the ones that were hanging out in pairs.  While the African grey parrot addressed all the visitors with its loud voice, the storks were, true to their style, standing still on one leg…I did ask Archana 3 times whether they were for real :).  We did wildlife photography in not so wild a surrounding and  managed to get some good shots.  The hippos were completely immersed in water for their noon siesta and all we could make out were their backs barely peeping out…plenty of deers, buffalos, barking deer (with a new hairdo :)) and our very own desi langoor…oh!! also, to be fair, we did hear the KING roar.

 I think R liked the animals outside the cage more (those who had paid tickets to go in…) than those inside…guess, in a year from now, he would know the bark, the roar and the tweet better :)…fun day out in nature's lap.

 An awesome lunch followed at a small restaurant named Flavours…the best Broccoli soup (the best any soup) we have ever had…jalapeno + cheese dollops, mexican wraps and appam…quite impressive…

The first holiday with our prince!

 The first holiday with our prince…we were keen to get it right…not too far, not too packed…nothing much to do and so Alleppey was selected.  A drive of 4 hours from Trivandrum brought us to the offices of the resort in the town of Alleppey.  

The Lake Palace Resort is scenically located in the middle of Vembanad lake, (which happens to be the longest lake in India) with their offices and parking space conveniently located in the city at the jetty.  We could park our vehicle and get into the boat which then ferried us to the resort.  It took us just 15 minutes to reach the resort passing by numerous house boats of all shapes and sizes.  

The resort lived up well to our expectations with us having a choice of 3 kinds of rooms to select from.  Nice lake view room with a hammock right outside our room…the boat comes to our door for pick up and drop…a luxury house boat anchored right next to us…awesome setting for a holiday.

 Unlike most of our holidays in the past, we just took time to unwind and relax.  There are not many things to do either so chilling out is the name of the game.

The food was swell as well…the biriyani was the best we have had ever and the chef was kind enough to share the recipe.  

We did the sunset cruise on one day and a canoe ride on the next.  The 2 hour canoe ride was truly relaxing…we could take the canoe through narrow canals and all the way to the shop sides…had tender coconuts and biscuits while enjoying the ride.  

These were R's first boat rides and he enjoyed thoroughly.  All in all, an extremely relaxing holiday – quite memorable especially considering the long gap after which it had come.  

Romancing Rome..

 Rome is timeless with it's ancient history, art and architecture containg more treasures per square foot than any other city in the world. 

Our walking tour took us through the treasures of the city such as the Colloseum, Roman Forum, Trevi fountain, The Spanish Steps and The Pantheon.

Our visit to the Vatican included the Museum containing Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and such other jaw dropping art and antiquities collections.

Our trip ended at St.Peter's Basilica, which is the largest church in the world.

We left Italy for London the next day.  Italy is a feast for the senses and intellect.  The 10 days there, helped us absorb the rich treasury of art & architecture while enjoying the cuisine, countryside and Italian lifestyle.

As we leaned over Pisa and Florence...

We had gotten so used to not seeing vehicles around us in Venice that seeing them after 3 days on our way to Florence hit us with quite a disappointment…felt like coming out of a dream into the real world. Passing through some really pretty landscape, we reached Florence…city of over 100 palaces and 70 museums. The Renaissance began here. It is said by UNESCO that more than 50% of the world's great art is found in Italy and half of Italy's great art is found in Florence!

After settling in to our Victorian residence (a bed & breakfast in a cosy ancestral house), we headed to Pisa. The leaning Tower of Pisa was true to it's past of being a wonder of the world – one of the most instantly recognisable buildings. The fact that the tower is leaning sinks in, when you enter it expecting the floor to be flat but find it to be inclined. The view of the town from the top was picture perfect with the houses and landscape spaced symmetrically.













The next morning, our day started with the walking tour through the markets lined with leather goods. Walking through the cobbled streets, we got to see some grand palaces and churches, highlighted by Michelangelo's distinct architecture. The Duomo, Campanile and Baptisteryat Florence is the crowning glory of the city, breathtaking with geometrically patterned bands of white, pink and green marble. The tour ended at the Petite palace where we were amazed to see the splendid porcelain, gold and silver collections. Behind the palace are the Boboli gardens filled with fountains, which are supposed to be the inspiration for the Versailles gardens in France. From top of the Boboli gardens, we could get a dazzling view of Florence. Next on the agenda was the world's oldest museum – containing some of the world's finest art collection - the Uffizi Gallery. Our extraordinary tour guide had been a teacher for 9 years and took us through the marvellous journey of the evolution of art. Developments such as humanising of God, 2D to 3D with geometrical calculations coming into play; shadows etc (something which we take for granted today) were explained.













The next morning, we took a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. Siena is surrounded by olive groves and the vineyards of Chianti, and is one of the most beautiful cities of Tuscany. Set on three hills, the city is drawn together by winding alleyways and steep steps. It is famed for the "Palio", the annual historic *horse-races.












San Gimignano – the golden lily of middle ages is called the Manhattan of Tuscany since it preserves 13 of it's noble towers giving it a sky scraper skyline. We left for Rome the next morning.

*Catch a glimpse of horse races in Siena in the first few shots of the movie Quantum of Solace!