The Spain Serendipity!! [Part 1]

              When you are bitten by a travel bug, Spain is a symptom you would love to experience.
Let me ask you to close your eyes for a moment and imagine Spain. Thickness in the air, sunny orangish light, dark haired men named Alcazar or Sergio , stunning beautiful girl named Senorita with her gorgeous gown and a medieval backdrop.....and that my dear friend is Seville for you.


Seville is a very artistic place where there are wide variety of things to experience.
A very traditional Casa de la memoria gave us an unmatched experience of watching a delightful Flamenco show. There is a joy is getting drenched in new culture,it gives you much understanding of the world, people, respect ,belief and obviously entertainment.

Flamenco

The theater was small which seemed to be intentional. Gives more connect with the artists and the act.A different pattern of guitaring, singing and dancing. The Involvement and speed at which they tap the feet is unimaginable.It reminds me of Hisenberg's uncertainty principle (one cannot find the position and the speed of an object at the same time in space).
We wanted to watch this again, but with little time in our hands and so much more to see, we had to replay the footage in our minds and console ourselves.
We covered the Wooden bridge as we walked back to our hotel. Architects gone wild.

There was a sense of restlessness motivated by curiosity in the night. Dawn struck. The adventurous animal inside me had been waiting for its prey.Since this was the first time, we had a simple thought in our minds that, we would know if we would be alive in a few hours. We reached the spot which was in the outskirts of Seville.
We had to fill a form where you actually sign your life off and get some instructions. I was given suits to gear up.
The moment had finally come. I had a small company of 5,7 people with me, they all gave me high fives and wished each other.

Engine roared and i got into a small bird. We started climbing the air slowly, we reached as high as 15000 feet and the doors opened.
With Wind punching my face, the first guy said bye see you down and he jumped of the bird, the next lady turned inside and i was like what the F*&$ is she up-to, she gave a flying kiss, waved and jumped backwards doing a somersault. My instructor was pushing me inch by inch to the tip of the door. The sight i had at that moment was surreal. It was time to take the leap.
I must trust you to believe that I'm not trying to falsify any sense of bravado when I say I did not feel fear at that moment. It was not the time to fear,  I felt complete freedom more than anything.
Instructor brought me back to my senses by shouting  "Are you ready?", i looked down for a fraction of sec and shouted back "yes, let's do it", he shouted back "Here we go" and........
We were out of the plane!!

 Due to the fall you get to roll a couple of times in mid air before you take a constant position and attain the right velocity.
First few seconds of the dive gives the most orgasmic experience. There is too much of craziness to absorb into our senses.
I was surprised to feel Complete peace absolutely devoid of any affliction of mind and soul,  I owned the world.
Robert tapped on my shoulder, that was the signal to open my arms and embrace the sky.

I was dashing to the ground at 200 kms per hour free falling, and was trying sky gymnastics. There was another tap on my shoulders, this was the signal to close my arms. Boom!! the parachute opened and we started to sail slowly. It is beyond my literary knowledge to describe this. He gave me the parachute and asked me to pull right, and we started swirling clockwise and then the left to do the anticlockwise spin. The images were getting bigger and bigger. I got to my landing position and touched mother earth safely. There was a silence ringing in my ears trying to realize what i had actually done was for real. By this I declare that I have entered into the elite panel of maniacs who fell from the sky. Skydiving is a great intoxicating experience throttling me a little closer to my existence.
I was given a certificate acknowledging my jump,  a proof of my madness.

With such a mad act performed, the rest of the day was little tough for Spain to impress us. We started roaming in the streets of Seville. There were so many artists performing in the road, shops and colorful garments adding more to the completeness. We covered Alcazar palace which is said to be oldest residential palace in Europe. The cathedral too was majestic.

Alcazar Palace

Seville has some of the best Spanish dishes being served. Do try Tapas, you get both Veg and non Veg, find a restaurant and savor it.

Artists Performing in streets of Seville!!

Bull ring!!

The trip was only getting more exciting as we were heading to Ibiza next!!

-U R
uday.s7@gmail.com

The Affair with Prague!!

         There were lights and colorful decorations. Gifts packed, received and waiting to be given, there were family reunions, special recipes to be savored.
There were cold winds and sporadic snows too. It was during 2015 Christmas season.
We waved this time with a smile and set off to Prague.

Prague holds a special place in my heart, it was the first city to which i bag packed from Germany leading me to fanaticism of a domino's of trips. I can say i grew as a traveler here.

It has gained its name as one of the world's nicest city listed by UNESCO. A place which always seems to be supreme style and crowd never shows signs of abate.
It is a well preserved medieval city with rich history blended with voguish nightlife and a pinch of romance.

You can surely find lots of tourists, international food, modernization but Prague still sits firm. Quaint buildings, small winding streets and  incredible charm gives you a superb true essence of the city.

There are plenty of walking tours that will give you all the needed information on the statues, city, buildings, and its history.
Charles Bridge is an iconic landmark in Prague and is a place visited by all who come here.

Charles Bridge

As we were heading to the castle, we were able to witness the change of guards in front of it. It takes place everyday and is a fantastic little ceremony.

The first time that you will be able to set you eyes on the castle is simply magical. All of a sudden, you will be able to see the entire castle which will surprise you.

You can go up the stairs and get fabulous view of the city.

Hanging out in the Square and people watching is unbeatable. Kids, couples,Old people, families, students.... just grab a sandwich,sit there and enjoy.
Once you finish the new town, you may walk uphill to visit Petrin tower.

Old town square and Astronomical clock: Over on the other side of the bridge is the old town and famous clock. Stop by to check out how it reacts every hour.
The winding streets indeed takes you back to medieval times, it is a joyous experience to walk in these streets.
And there are number of musicians along the streets who will keep you smiling and entertained.

When the lights turn on and sun takes some rest, Prague becomes exquisitely enthralling.

Right timing..

Do not miss the nightlife here. We went to a famous pub here, where there were tons of locals and tourists. It was a great experience which cannot be forgotten.


Prague is a stunning place and will remain as one of my favorite cities that keeps enticing me to come back. It is a destination not to be missed.

-U R
uday.s7@gmail.com

Roman Dreams (Part 2)

      We chose train as means to reach Pisa from Rome. The route unfolded giving us splendid view of sea on one side and beautiful countryside farms on the other side.

Most people choose Pisa as a stop over to check out the Leaning tower, so did we. Its a 20 min ride from train station to the tower. Leaning tower is a famous landmark on the global map and it deserves to be seen at least once. Take cheesy photos of yours pushing or holding the tower, and go up if its not closed :)

We were off to Venice via Florence. Not to forget the bullet train that we took from Florence to Venice got us super excited.

Old canals, winding roads, colorful buildings and medieval feel makes Venice one of the most romantic places in the planet. it's probably in everyone's "must-see" list and i must say i'm lucky enough to tick it off from the list. 

Venice never loses its capacity to enchant which seems miraculously built on water.

There is no doubt that you will have jaw dropping sights of Grand Canal once you get out of train station. Getting lost in Venice is the best way to explore its beauty.

Venice is not the cheapest place in Italy, but it doesn't cost you a fortune either. The day was spent roaming around the narrow streets and quick visit to Lido. We need to experience the loveliness of this place both during day and night. We went for a ride in the water bus during night to get amazing views of the island.

Plan was to spend the next day in Burano. Block like colorful buildings makes this place absolute beauty. Enjoy the view of this island roaming around and taking pictures. It has few wonderful restaurants and local shops.

You may also go to Murano, where the Murano glass is pretty famous.

Burano

Go on a Gondola ride in the main island which may cost you about 60-80 Euros, after all its Venice, there are no second thoughts about getting on this.

Rest of the day we were roaming in the main island shopping and exploring. Venice has got some beautiful markets, don't forget to buy some masks and scarves which are very famous here.

To make the trip more memorable we had some food in the banks of Grand Canal.

Venice leaves everyone stupefied and with vivid images in minds. It's probably got few more decades left for its beauty to sink(hope it doesn't). So, pack your bags and visit it while we are still lucky.

One of the great joys of travelling through Italy is discovering firsthand that, it is indeed a great destination. It will be a dream that keeps returning for the rest of you life!!

-U R

uday.s7@gmail.com

Roman Dreams (Part 1)

             It was during March of 2016, I visited Italy. There is so much about this old country that one cannot resist to experience.
It's food, fashion, beautiful countryside and long history leaves no one underwhelmed.
There is so much to do and see in Italy that its nearly impossible to finish in one trip.
Milan, Florence, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Rome,Venice, Napoli are some of them in the list.

We managed to squeeze 3 places out of the list with the time we hand in our hands.
Rome,Pisa and Venice.


Rome is a busy place, quite like any other major cities, it's pretty crowded. Why not? entire world wants to travel to this place at least once in their life time.
Although we can make use of trains, its best to walk through the city. Major attractions are accessible by foot.

Pope wanted to visit Colosseum on the same day as we planned, as it was Easter,So we were not allowed to get in.
We restructured our plans to visit Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain for reminder of the day.
Pantheon is one of the best preserved history's in Italy, its marble and the humongous dome makes it a marvel by itself.

We slowly crawled our ways to visit St. Peters Basilica in the night. It was lit up in a gorgeous manner.
There is so much of history to this place, So many popes, Galileo, Copernicus, Micheal Angelo, Rafael have walked in this very same street centuries ago.

We continued towards Trevi fountain. Streets leading us to Trevi Fountain were narrow and beautiful, it had lots of restaurants, and shopping places which one cannot resist getting attracted to.
Trevi fountain is probably the most famous fountain in Europe, crowd is never thin here during night as the best view is during this time.

Its a crime if you don't try Pizza and Pasta in Italy :). Delightful dinner in authentic Italian restaurant ended the day for us.

Its beautiful, big and over 2000 years old. Colosseum is a massive structure and its place in history makes it one of the important places to visit in Italy.
All my life i have been seeing Colosseum in Television, Magazines and movies and it never failed to reward me with its majestic aura when it stood right in front of my eyes.
The line seemed to be endless to enter Colosseum, luckily we had got tickets online.
One may buy tickets online, its pretty nominal and it can be used for 2 consecutive days in the year of purchase. The line however was going circles around the perimeter of Colosseum, so we hired a guide who could cut the line and take us in along with his guided flock.

Next to it is palatine hill where the Roman aristocracy lived. Stroll through the lane and you will get a feel of how it was centuries ago.

Vatican city is very easy to visit but it takes time.
It's surrounded by walls and once you enter, the way to Sistine chapel will get you drenched in history and art. Sistine Chapel is a masterclass art that you cannot stop appreciating.
Rome is filled with tons of churches. If one has time, they could visit many churches as it is filled with brilliant art and sculptures.

As i came out of Vatican, i felt guilty for not shopping in Rome. The area around St. Peters Basilica has got plenty of wide variety of shops where i grabbed some stuff.
On our way back to hotel we covered Spanish steps. Its a place where people can hang out and relax.

We had an early morning train to Pisa the next day.
It was time for me to see the sunshine in other Italian cities.

-U R
uday.s7@gmail.com

A gift in the name of Garmisch

              I rubbed my eyes and woke up in the train, gravity was pulling my eyelids down, but excitement fought gravity and i managed to open my eyes. The glimpse outside was nothing short of awesomeness, i was so surprised what alps threw at me in the first shot,
whitest white, hehe....snow had extended its carpet all over the mountains and land
and we all were waiting to fall in its arms.
It was a good journey to see sunlight slowly climbing in the sky.

Munich is the place where we can get trains/ buses to Garmisch. Its around 1.5 hrs journey from there.

As always once we reached, we did not know where to go, we managed to find the ticket counter to gather details.
The man was patient enough to answer our silly questions and we were ready to roll.

The train route from foot of the mountains to a slightly elevated foot, Ebbesse(i hope my memory is right),was so amazing, its only when nature hits you on the face our age and maturity comes down and the kid inside us pops out with excitement....
same happened and everyone's face was lit up with smiles and pictures were taken like never before.
Coming from a tropical country this is a sight of a lifetime.

The next thing was to take a cable car to Zugspitze.
cable car?? i had only heard about it, i had not even seen its 3d image correctly before....

So then, We were inside this cube and it was a fantastic ride, It was as if the cable car was brushing the hill and i was totally enjoying this. kids with the ski suit, jumping here and there
old people too were in the group it was totally different.


we rented the ski suit once we reached the top of the glacier and decided to sledge.
They rent ski suits which is a great thing, tourists who cannot carry it with them can rent it for a day at a nominal price.

So,its time....
And, we went out to do some adventure stuff finally

To find the track fr sledging was another story all together....
i remember people going half way down in some wrong track and climbing up again to start in the correct route.


we found the track and started to sledge....as i mentioned in my Facebook comment...
i have played in mud,dust,rain,dirt but this time its snow-time.
It was a fabulous feeling sledging in the snow
falling and learning how to do the thing and climbing back up in that flying couch was such an experience.....

There's a wonderful restaurant up there where we had lunch, one cant complain anything about the food. They are feeding us at such harsh conditions, we can only be grateful.

Sledging was done behind Zugspitze, so we came back to reach the top of Germany.
We started our way back in the same track, cable car, train to the main station and waited there for our bus to Munich.

I took off to the streets in this time....the 7:00am kind of sunlight in the evening.....the view in front of me..wht a bliss nature can give....

But a walk gives the feel of the city....the houses, some people, cars and small shops and petrol bunks, signals....it gives you a good vibe of the city....and Garmisch was such a pleasant city!!

We will never get to spend time like that again so make the most of it when you travel to such a wonderful place....

Great place Garmisch

-U R
uday.s7@gmail.com