New York

I had to make a trip out to New York, Oklahoma, and Houston for work so we decided to make a little trip out of it so that Nadya and I could spend some time with Aliya and Ameya in New York. This was my first time in New York since I was quite young, so even a few days of seeing the city and wandering around was welcome.

We arrived in New York on Friday after a relatively quick 6 hour flight from Paris. We only had three days before I had meetings, so we packed a lot into those few days. We did TONS of shopping (ironically - or by design - it was the Thanksgiving sales weekend), ate great food at an asian fusion restaurant, a Korean BBQ and, of course, fantastic hot dogs, pretzels and bagels.

Warsaw and Krakow, Poland

Wawel Hill Krakow
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: October 14th to 18th, 2006

Mom and Dad were on a trip to central Europe (Budapest, Prague and Vienna) so we decided to meet up with them in Poland for a fews days together touring the country.

The plan was to fly into Warsaw on Saturday morning, then drive to Krakow on Monday, and then fly back to Paris on Wednesday. Unfortunately, things got off to a tough start on Saturday. For one reason or another, our alarm clock didn't go off on Saturday morning, so we completely missed our flight to Warsaw. Normally, this wouldn't be a terribly big deal, but we had booked our tickets with a low-cost airline (Wizzair) so we knew that there would be no help in trying to rebook us on another flight later in the day (in fact, I don't think they fly between Paris and Warsaw more than once a day). I figured the only way we would get a decent flight on the same day would be though Air France. After a number of calls, one incorrect booking in French (from Warsaw to Paris) and a near-heart-attack at the 800 euro/ticket cost, I finally managed to get us a flight to Warsaw later in the day using my Air France points.

We arrived in Warsaw on Saturday afternoon and checked into our hotel (the Radisson). The hotel clerk managed to upsell us to an executive suite, which came in handy the next day when it started raining. The hotel was fantastic; in fact, so good that Nadya and I decided to just spend the next few hours in the hotel while we waited for my parents to arrive on a later flight.

Sunday
Old town
Uprising Museum
Best Pirogie Restaurant

Monday
Drive to Black Madonna
Auschwitz
Krakow - dinner in Old town square

Tuesday
Old town and Wawel Hill
Salt mine
Dinner at hotel

On Wednesday morning, we had a quick breakfast very early in the morning with Mom and Dad. They had an earlier flight than us so we said our goodbyes and then went to the airport a few hours later

8 rules for traveling Europe

I'm no "expert", but over the past few years, I've learnt a few things about traveling economically and comfortably in Europe. Here are a few rules I try to stick to in order to get the best bang for the buck when traveling around Europe:

1. Be flexible with dates; even a few days of flexibility can save you a lot of money. Search for tickets by entering date ranges instead of very specific dates and times. Check out www.skycanner.net to find the cheapest flights in your date range (there are also other equally good cheap-flight checkers on the web - I just happen to use this one).

2. Be flexible on your destination. Usually, I don't even know which country or city I want to visit; I just say "I want to travel for a few days sometime in September" and see what interests me at the best price.

3. Book early. This is usually a given, but particularly true for trains. I've been able to find low-cost plane tickets just a few days before departure a number of times, but train tickets that could have been purchased for 30 euros if booked 2 months early could cost up to 100 euros just a few days before departure.

4. Consider connection costs for the cheap flights. Often, you only save [for example] 50 euros by taking the low cost airline instead of, say, Air France, but the fact that the low cost airline requires a long trek to and from the departing and destination airports can often make up the difference easily and, even worse, sometimes cost you more.

5. Eat food from the markets. For the first few months of travel throughout Europe we always went to the really nice restaurants and ate wonderfully. But, once we tried buying local food at markets and eating by the many fountains and piazzas throughout Europe, we began to enjoy those (cheap) meals more than the expensive ones. They cost less, you get to try out your French/Spanish/Italian/Whatever at the market, and watch the people and culture walk by as you enjoy the local fare in a Piazza - what more can you ask for?

6. Don't worry. Seriously, I've spent a lot of unnecessary money when I first started traveling Europe simply out of fear of the unknown; I'd stay at the nice "North American Style" hotels, waste money on travelers checks, and eat at restaurants that spoke English. Not only did I waste a lot of money, but I also missed out on a lot of the local culture. So, just don't worry and plunge in as if you are a local.

7. Rent a car. If you're planning on visiting many cities in a single country or region (and you have at least one person travelling with you), car rental can be the best deal. You can rent cars for around 100 euros per week in many parts of Europe so it's not only cheaper than all the train tickets you might otherwise need, but you'll get to see the countryside too - which is where the traditional culture often thrives. One more note: diesel cars are much more economical.

8. The best souvenirs are the memories. Do you really need that Paris bumper sticker?

I'll never see it all... but I'll sure have fun trying.

Our European Adventures
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

It has been quite a busy year and a half in Paris so far. Our main reason for coming here is to experience life in a new country, pick up a new perspective on life and travel as much as possible.

So far, we've had a great time, made some great friends and have had the opportunity to tour around France, Europe, and even India and Tanzania.

Some of the sights we've seen so far:
France: Paris, Champagne, Saint Malo, Mont Saint Michel, Loire Valley, Strasbourg, Marseille, Bordeaux, St. Emillion, Arcachon, Cannes, Toulon, Nice, Antibes
Monaco
Germany: Berlin, Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Rhine Valley, Frankfurt, Rothenburg, Munich, Fussen, Stuttgart
Portugal: Lisbon
Spain: Barcelona, Madrid
Italy: Rome (in 2003), Florence (in 2003), Venice, Milan
Switzerland: Geneva, Bern, Zurich, Interlaken
Belgium: Brussels, Bruges
Netherlands: Amsterdam
Hungary: Budapest
Austria: Vienna
Czech Republic: Prague
United Kingdom: London
Greece: Athens, Hydra
Turkey: Istanbul
India: Bangalore, Pune
Tanzania: Dar es Salaam, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, Zanzibar
Poland: Warsaw, Krakow

Here are my Favorite European Photos.

My wish list:
China, Southern Spain, Egypt, Scandanavia, Ireland, Scotland, Russia, Ukraine, South America, New Zealand, Australia, Kenya, Morocco, Antarctica, Alaska, Madagascar, Japan, India, Syria, Jordan

Tanzania, Zanzibar and Safari

Serengeti
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: June 24th - July 8th

Having a lifelong love for animals, our trip to Tanzania promised to truly be the trip of a lifetime - and boy, it certainly didn't disappoint.

We arrived in Dar es Salaam late on Saturday evening. It was great to see Nadya's parents again, and it was such a relief to see Sasha happy and living well in Tanzania. After two great days with Nadya's parents, wandering around Dar, eating fabulous food (both in restaurants and at home) and, of course, drinking lots of coconut water, we headed off to our Safari on Tuesday morning.

The Safari started off on a bit of a bad note. Our flight to Kilimanjaro from Dar was delayed for four hours. But you know what they say, good things come to those who wait... and the wait was worth it.

Our guide picked us up from Kilimanjaro airport and, after a small pitstop in Arusha to do some paperwork, we were on the road headed to Lake Manyara. After the long delay at the airport, Nadya and I were quite hungry and so we stopped at a souvenir shop off the side of the road for a picnic lunch; it sounds a little dry, but the shop had a nice thatch covered picnic table out front which was a nice place to stop for a quick picnic. We stayed there for about 30 minutes and then headed out for Lake Manyara.

Lake Manyara was very different than I expected. My impression of Africa was one of dry deserts and hot, arid plains. The Lake Manyara reserve is none of these things; in fact, it is a beautiful, lushly forested area surrounding a vast lake nestled in the mountains. I felt more like I was off-roading in the wilderness of British Columbia than in what I misguidedly had envisioned as Africa. Our first evening safari was by any measure, a success. The most beautiful giraffe picture I took on the whole trip was taken this first evening - just a simple closeup of a giraffe feeding. Following our first drive of the trip, we headed on to the Lake Manyara lodge for the night. Dinner and breakfast is included at all of the lodges and the food is considerably better than you'd think. Oddly, many of the people running the restaurants at the lodges throughout the safari are Indians, so each meal included some good, flavorful Indian food.

The second day on safari started with an early-morning drive in Lake Manyara. I must say, the fresh mountain air and the lush greenary this early morning was refreshing, as were the many animals out starting their day. The one animal that stands out in my mind from this drive was a poor, skinny male lion that had clearly seen better days - but there he was, wandering through the forest, probably searching for his next meal.

After the early morning drive and a quick shower and breakfast at Lake Manyara Lodge, we headed off for the long drive to the Serengeti. If I thought that Lake Manyara was lush, this drive would provide an even bigger surprise. Ngorongoro crater is the largest complete crater in the world. In addition to its unique topography that provides shelter for the animals, a cooling mist every morning, and altitude that allows thick forests to grow even during the usually dry, hot Tanzanian summers, Ngorongoro crater has extremely fertile volcanic soil. This soil, when combined with the other unique features of this region, result in amazingly green, thick, moist and full forest cover. The lucky animals of Ngorongoro have truly found the mytical garden of eden. I'll write a lot more about Ngorongoro a little later, but for now, we couldn't stay and had to continue on our journey to Serengeti.

[Still need to write about Serengeti]

[Still need to write about Ngorongoro]

[Still need to write about Zanzibar]

Day 1: Flight from Paris to Dar es Salaam
Day 2: Dar es Salaam
Day 3: Dar es Salaam
Day 4: Flight from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro and Lake Manyara
Day 5: Lake Manyara, Serengeti
Day 6: Serengeti
Day 7: Serengeti and drive to Ngorongoro
Day 8: Ngorongoro and flight to Zanzibar
Day 9: Zanzibar
Day 10: Zanzibar and flight to Dar es Salaam
Day 11 - 14: Dar es Salaam

To summarize our trip: we had a fantastic time. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing these beautiful animals in their natural habitat. We saw so many animals, all unique in their own way. The most striking thing about seeing them in the wild is that they are so healthy and full of character and personality. We should really shut down all zoos and preserve their habitat so they can live free and naturally.

French Riviera

Nice
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: June 2nd to June 6th, 2006
Marseille, Toulon, Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Monaco

I had to go to Cannes for a Business Objects user conference in May. Unfortunately, I didn't take Nadya with me, but promised to take her back to the South of France ASAP. So, without delay, we decided to take a five day vacation to Marseille, Toulon, Cannes, Antibes, Nice and Monaco a month later.

We started the trip off with a 3 hour TGV train ride from Paris to Marseille, where we rented a car and started driving along the coast. Since we had been to Marseille a few months earlier, we decided not to spend any time and and just head on off to Cannes.

For our first night, we stayed in Cannes. We mostly just spent the evening having dinner at a nice Italian restaurant near the shore and wandered around the promenade for a few hours.

The next day, we headed off to Nice. The drive from Cannes to Nice was, well, nice and the beautiful turquoise water was just like all of the pictures we'd seen of the area. We spent two nights in Nice with trips to the market, wandering around town and two drives along the corniches to Monaco.

We actually ended up going to Monaco twice. First, we drove through the grand corniche during the day. This was an incredible drive with incredible views and a rather scary, winding scenary. In Monaco, we visited the museum and walked through the gardens and to the palace. Monaco was beautiful; very much like an adult disneyland. Clean, shiny, safe, but beautiful. In the evening, we had dinner in Villefrance sur mer and spent another evening in Monaco. This time, we just sat outside the Monte Carlo drinking cafes and eating a great ice cream sundae. Just watching the people and incredible cars was quite a scene. Sometimes there is nothing better in the world than just sitting there watching and taking in the ambience.

After two nights in Nice, some walks around town and long walks along the beach, we headed off to Marseille to spend the 4th night and relax. Our plan was to go to Chateau D'If but, for some reason, the boats weren't running that day. This was a let down since we'd now been to Marseille twice in the last few months, but not once being able to get to Chateau D'If.... well, better luck next time.

All in all, we had a fantastic trip. Gotta love those French RTT days that you can wrap around the weekends to take a 5 day break in some of the most beautiful places in the world!

Milan, Italy

Milan, Italy 2006
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: April 29th to May 1st, 2006

My mom was in Paris visiting us for a week, so we decided to go off to Milan for the Labor Day long weekend. We arrived in Milan on Saturday afternoon and checked into our Hotel. Unfortunately, something went wrong when booking our hotel, so they only had one room available. The Hotel Spadari was very nice and payed for our first night's room at another hotel while my mom stayed at their last available room.

We had a great time in Milan; the picture to the right is of the Vittorio Emanuele II shopping gallery, which is a beautiful, glass roofed shopping center built in the 1860s.

We spent most of our time wandering around the shops of Milan, visited the Duomo Cathderal which was built over the course of 400 years starting in 1386 and is one of the largest cathedrals in the world.

On Monday, our last day, we took a tour out to Lake Como, which is a small town about an hour north of Milan. It is the playground of the rich and famous and has some beautiful villas along the shore. We took a boat tour in the lake and saw many of these villas.

Overall, our trip to Milan was great. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the Last Supper, but I suppose the good news is that we have an excuse to go back.

Bordeaux, France

Bordeaux
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: April 15-18th, 2006

Our trip to Bordeaux was another one of those RTT funded long weekends that make you thankful for living and working in France. We took the TGV from Paris to Bordeaux and rented a car so that we could drive around the wine country and visit Arcachon.
We spent the first night in Bordeaux and ate dinner at a very interesting Fromage restaurant. All of their dishes were cheese based and their cellar had more varieties of cheese than I've ever seen before in my life. The second day, we headed out to visit the Bordeaux wine region. In a nutshell, we spent the day driving around the beautiful countryside, visiting Chateaus and trying world-famous wines.
We then drove out to Arcachon to see the dune de playa (the largest sand dune in Europe) and to spend the night in the quaint little seaside town. The Dune de Playa was actually much more interesting than one would think. First of all, it was packed but, most importantly, it provided fantastic views of the Atlantic ocean from its summit. In Arcachon, we had one of the best seafood dinners of our lives. We decided to splurge a little and have a huge seafood platter with crab, lobster, prawns, huitre, mussels, scallops and a number of other types of shellfish. Dinner was great, and we felt like a king and queen eating a feast that we didn't deserve. The rest of the evening, we drove around the town (I was missing the long evening drives that we used to take back in the day when we had a car) and then walked along the promenade.
The last day, we drove out to Saint Emillion, one of the most beautiful, quaint, hilltop, walled cities in the world - not to mention one of the best wine producing regions in the world. Saint Emillion was a joy to walk around (although a little steep at times). Its narrow cobblestone roads, great restaurants, and wineries make it one of the must-visit wine sights in the world. That night, we went back to Bordeaux and spent the night at a not-so-great hotel. On the other hand, we had a great steak dinner a L'Entrecote - a famous steak restaurant known for having no menu - you get the steak plate of the day, with fries, no ketchup - I asked.

Marseille, France

Dates: March 10-12th

Marseille
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Nestled on the Mediterranean in the Provence region, Marseille is a relatively warm destination even in March. The only downside is that it can be a bit uncomfortable if you get caught in the strong Mistral winds.

Since Aliya was in town for Spring break, we decided to take a small trip out to Marseille for the weekend. We took an early morning train from Paris to Marseille at a top speed of 310 km/h. The TGV is really cool and still feels very fast even after a few trips on it. In a mere 3 hours we got from central Paris to central Marseille almost 800 km away. We arrived in Marseille right around noon and quickly checked into the Citadines Aparthotel near the Vieux Port (Old Port). The Vieux Port is one of the oldest ports in France and has been used since the Greeks first inhabited the area in 600 BC.

Marseille is home to some very interesting landmarks, the most interesting of which is Chateau d'If located on a small island just 20 minutes south of the city. Chateau d'If was the prison for the ficticious Count of Monte Cristo in the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Unfortunately, the Mistral winds were out in full force which resulted in very rough seas. The boat that normally takes tourists out to visit the Island was not able to stop at the Island so we had to continue on to the Frioul islands instead. While beautiful, it was difficult to ignore the strength (and cold) of the Mistral winds. I don't think I've ever experienced winds so stong. Even the locals found the weather triste (sad) and generally ventured out into the gusts when necessary. The good news is that the sky was blue and the Sun was shining; a definite solice to those of us not entirely happy in the winds.

Another highlight of our trip was a miniature train ride up to the Notre Dame de la Guard cathedral built atop the highest hill in Marseille. The view from this location was stunning; the hills on one side, the city in the middle, and the sea and islands on the other side. Marseille is truly blessed with a unique location in the South of France.

Bangalore, India

Tiger in Bangalore
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Our trip to Bangalore got off to a good start even before we left Paris. The thought of almost ten hours stuck in a small seat en route to Bangalore wasn't too appealing, but luckily we got upgraded to business class on the Air France flight. What a treat that was; we arrived in Bangalore rested and relaxed. The non-international Bangalore airport was another story, but at least the flight was comfortable.

We spent the first day wandering around Brigade road, which is the main shopping stretch. We bought some Hindi movies and CDs and had some great Dosas for lunch.

On Sunday (my last free day before heading off to work on Monday), we spent the day at Bannerughatti Bio Park, which is a conservation park that allows lions, tigers and other animals to roam freely in a large forested area. The area is beautiful and seeing these animals in the wild is a completely different experience from seeing them in cages. The 35 tigers they have were playing, running and jumping; they seemed much more at peace then animals you see in zoos. We took a safari, which essentially is an enclosed vehicle tour amongst the tigers, bears and lions. While in one of the tiger areas, our bus broke down. Now this was a truly exciting experience; being trapped in a bus while tigers are roaming around just outside. They sent another bus to pick us up, but transferring from one bus to another isn't as easy as one might think; remember, there are tigers just feet away! In order to transfer from one bus to another, they had to line the vehicles up so that the doors we right up against one another. Then we were able to transfer without anyone being eaten by a tiger (which would have been a likely possibility if we had to transfer the traditional way).

London in Winter

London January '06
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: Jan 14th to 17th, 2006

This is one of my favorite shots from London. No monuments, no buildings, just a pretty girl in the Underground.

I actually had to go to London for work, but since I was going to miss Nadya's birthday the following week (I went to Poitiers for the PG Kickoff for four days), I thought this would be a good opportunity to extend the trip and have a nice time with Nadya for the weekend.

We stayed at the Millennium Gloucester in Kensington and spent the weekend eating, walking and touring with Navida. On Saturday, we went walking around central London and had dinner with Navida at a Chinese restaurant in China town. On Sunday, we all went to the British Museum (and saw the Rosetta stone), wandered around town and had fish and chips for lunch.

For the next two days, I had to work, but Nadya was able to see the British Library and do some great book shopping (we don't get a huge selection of English books in Paris).