Passport to Europe

Feel tired.. Real shallow. Right down where the leg connects the hip. Just got back from the Gym. Had not been there of almost 2 weeks. I guess I have forgotten how to run. Sorry for the long silence. My classes are over and I was in Europe with Prasanna, my husband. It was a great mini vacation for us. Sort of excursion I would say.

We managed to go to Switzerland, Spain, Southern France, Monaco and Italy.

Our first stop was in Zurich. Zurich has a gorgeous modern airport. Surprisingly, I love airports — well, the good ones anyway. We had rented a car. A cute Mazda =) I would have preferred Nissan. (I have worked at Nissan therefore I am a loyal Nissan fan =). Since Mazda was a Japanese car, I cared less for Nissan. After Excitingly hopping in the blue car, we drove to Interlaken. Interlaken is considered the gateway to the Berner Oberland, a major part of the Swiss Alps. Driving in Swiss was simply beautiful. I became absolutely transfixed. Gazing out from my window, stretching farther then the eye could see were the Alps. I had no idea how immense in scope these mountains were. It looked like an ocean of mountain peaks and valleys.

The Alps, the Green meadows and the Great Lake… Really you can’t ask for more. After spending two nights in Geneva, we drove down the southern France. After almost driving for 8 hours we made a stop at “ Montpellier.” And Yes, we also managed to go to Nims, the supposedly “creator town” of the “DENIM” jeans.

They say that travel broadens the mind and challenges our preconceptions. Exploring Europe was GREAT!!! The vineries, the roads, the elegance.. the whole mixture is indescribable. Did we manage to get lost… Umm.. I would say here and there. But….what fun and adventure is it if we don’t?

One of the downfalls of our trip this time was the FOOD =) Apparently, the entire kitchen closes at 1:00. In Geneve, we had no luck with Fondue. Poor Prasanna, he really was very much looking forward to having the fondue. Every time, we made a stop for lunch, “ Sorry, Madame, the kitchen is closed” a lush and sensuous voice would say. Argghhh.....Our option was Baguette; we practically lived off the typical French cusine for dayyysss. Baguette, cheese and wine.

Barcelona was our next destination. The drive from Southern France to Barcelona over the Mediterranean sea was B-E-A-U tiful. The roads were bit curvy, but other than that the Drive was superb. We were both very excited to see Pradeep dai and Srijana. We were so excited that we got lost =) Pradeep dai had explicitly told us to follow this “ Ronda” thingie (the supposedly roundabout to enter inside Barcelona) and while trying to find that" RONDA De Dalt", we realized we had way passed the city of Barcelona. We had a make a one hour de-tour and yes, thanks to the nice Spanish people, we managed to find their lovely apartment and along with that also met an interesting fellow who seemed to know quite a lot about Nepal.

Weather wise-- We couldn’t have asked for a more brilliant day. Crisp and autumnal with a cloudless sky. Barcelona was beautiful. One feels different just being there. Walking the streets, you sense the heaviness of its long, influential history. Even the architecture, with its thick stonewalls, echoes the weight of its importance

And we also managed to go to the FCB Museum in Barcelona. Since Barcelona had just won the cup by beating Arsenal, YEAH!!!! it was a real treat for us to get to see the REAL trophy. I was excited!!!

I guess I should stop it here.. But not worry, I am not done. I still need to write about our most exciting trip to Flamingo dance,Cannes and Monaco and how I saw(not) Aishwarya Rai, the famous Indian Actress =)