Barcelona

Barcelona
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – December 24th – 27th 2004

We arrived in Barcelona, Spain on December 24th. It was clear and sunny in Barcelona for most of our trip, but it was much colder than we expected. As you can see in our photos, we were bundled up quite a bit the whole time. We'd definitely like to make another trip out here during the spring or summer months.

We visited some of the famous sites of Barcelona. On the first night, we went out for dinner in the old city center and went to the Picasso museum. The museum was interesting in that it contains the early works of Picasso during his time in Spain. There are also later works, but the Picasso museum in Paris (which we've also visited) has a better selection of Picasso's later works.

The most impressive sight in Barcelona is certainly the Sagrada Familia (by Antonio Gaudi). It is an enormous church that has been under construction for a hundred years. It is in the typical Gaudi style, incorporating natural themes into the architecture itself. In fact, the enormous columns that make up the inside of the church look like trees. The intricacy of the exterior is also amazing. It is far and away the most intricately detailed structure of its size that I've ever seen.

We also took a trip out to Mont Juic, which is a mountain (well, really a very large hill) that overlooks the sea on one side and the city on the other. At the top of the mountain is a castle with a moat and everything. Very nice.

We had a wonderful time in Barcelona. The food was great (Paella, Tapas, Cava, and fish) and the shopping was some of the best in the world (Barcelona has more shops per capita than anywhere else in Europe).

London, Rome, Florence and Paris

Rome, Italy
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

It is actually October 31st, 2005 right now, but I'm posting our trip to London, Rome, Florence and Paris in December 2003 (yeah, I know I'm a little late writing this).

This was our first trip together to Europe and we had a fantastic time. It was definitely a busy trip since we went to London, Rome, Florence and Paris all in the matter of two weeks, but we had a great time. The biggest event from this trip is the fact that we got engaged in Rome (in Piazza Navona, to be specific). It is also the trip when we fell in love with Italy: the art, the food, the people and the history.

Ironically, it was the trip to Paris that would also provide a defining moment for us. It was the first time that I visited the Business Objects offices in Paris. Little did I know at the time that we would move back to Paris just a short year later (in fact, we arrived back in Paris exactly one year later (almost to the day) .

The photos from the trip are here:
London
Rome
Florence
Paris

Highlights from the trip:
- Getting engaged in Piazza Navona in Rome
- The Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica
- Colloseum, Pantheon, Trevi fountain, Via Veneto
- David, Uffizi, Florence
- The food in Rome
- The Louvre
- Tour Eiffel, Musee D'Orsay, Pompideau Center, Sacre Coeur, Latin Quarter
- Rue de la Roquette and Bastille in the evening
- Walking around the Seine and Champs Elysees
- Baguettes, wine and fromage in Paris

Calgary, Alberta Canada

Dates - September 2003

Went to Calgary for Shahebina and Karim's wedding. We stayed with Shaheen and Karina and had a great time... really tired at the end though :)

We tried some interesting Indian dancing this weekend and had a blast (go figure). I think we'll try to take Mom and Dad out some time... I think they'll love it.

Kelowna, BC, Canada

Kelowna Nov 2002 027
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates - September 2003

Went to Kelowna with Nadya... we only got to spend one real day because we had to fly off to Calgary for a wedding. We did get to visit some vineyards though -- Mt. Boucherie, Gray Monk, Quail's Gate and Mission Hill -- We got a private tour of Mission Hill.

Los Cabo, Mexico

Cabo Mexico 2002
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates - December 2002

Our trip to Mexico got off to a rough start as our hotel reservations didn't work out as planned. I did manage to hook us up with a place at the last minute though (the night before we left).

We had a great time! Spent a lot of time on the beach, went to Squid Roe for New Years and generally had a nice relaxing vacation. I'm going to miss the laid back life... but I guess we have to get back to our real lifes (and school).

Nadya is also starting a new job now, so we'll both be busy with new things. I'm glad we were able to move on from Kronofusion so quickly. It should be an exciting year!