Dear lovely people,
Sitting in Sitamarhi on my parents couch, i finally have time to update my blog. It has been almost 1.5 years since I last wrote! Its a long due post.
Just after my trip to Corsica in 2016, I switched jobs. Since then I have been so busy that never had the motivation or energy to update my blog. Its not that we have not traveled or explored the world, we definitely have. In 2016 after our Corsica trip, my parents visited Netherlands with whom we went to Switzerland on an amazing 1 week trip. We also visited Berlin for the wedding of Sayantani's cousin sister. Then in November 2016, we went to India for my cousin sister Palak's wedding in Bangalore. It was a one month India trip in which we visited Bangalore, Jaipur and Sitamarhi. On top of all this travel, I was also adjusting to my new work environment. My new job was very demanding and I had to setup the whole program from almost zero. From defining the aims and objectives of the program to building the team (we went from only me to a 5 people team in 1 year) to defining the whole work flow and deliverable. It was a great learning experience for me to work in a multilayered organization as big as Carnival. Its totally different than working in a small company!
Anyways, so much has happened in 2017 itself that I wont write about 2016 in this post. Our first trip in 2017 was to Algarve in Portugal. The sun kissed southern coast of Portugal took our breadth away and this coast line has since become our favorite holiday destination. We went in middle of April and the weather was just perfect for sightseeing! We flew to Faro from Amsterdam via TUI and booked a hotel in Abufeira town right next to the main beach. We rented a car there and drove around the coast for next 2 days. The town is filled with rowdy British tourists and therefore there are plenty of Indian restaurants and the sports bars were showing IPL matches!
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| Sun baked in Algarve, Portugal |
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| The town of Albufeira, Portugal |
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| Somewhere along the Algarve coast line ... |
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| Wild coastline of Algarve, Portugal |
Then a few weeks later, we went to Krakow, Poland with 3 of our friends. It was a long weekend trip and though the weather was cold and rainy, we had a great time. We ate Perogies like there is no tomorrow! Krakow is young and vibrant city. Its not as multicultural as most western European cities but this fact just adds to its charm. Its a great city to go when you are young and single. The women are pretty, dress sexy and drink more vodka than you ever can. The nightlife is just awesome. Don't miss out on clubbing when you are in Krakow!
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| Krakow nights! |
Apart from all the bottles of Vodka we finished, we also ate at The famous grandma's kitchen called 'Kuchnia U Babci Maliny'. Amazing and cheap food and recommended restaurant! Don't miss the soup served inside the bread bowl.
On one afternoon, we went to another landmark The underground Wieliczka Salt Mine. Its a must visit for anyone visiting Krakow. Its was a unique experience unlike anything I had ever seen. The underground cathedral shown below was a masterpiece.
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Underground Cathedral in Krakow salt mines
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Then we took our most exciting 2 week holiday in end of May. We spent 1 week backpacking in Italy (covering Pisa, Cinque-Terra, Florence, Tuscan villages, Rome) and 1 week on a sexy cruise ship in the Mediterranean sea (covering Sicily-Kotor-Corfu-Crete-Mykonos-Athens)!
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| Onboard Cruise Ship Royal Princess |
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| The unique architecture of Cinque Terre, Italy |
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| Colorful liqueur store in Greek island of Crete selling Raki and Ouzo |
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| And the prettiest of all, The Mykonos |
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| Shan modelling in Mykonos |
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| Leaning tower of Pisa and Le Pose' |
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| Lost in Tuscan wind fields |
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| Our roman conquest lasted just 1 day! |
More recently we attended the Dandiya and Durga Pooja ceebrations in Netherlands. Dandiya was organized by Bridging the Gap and it was as colorful as it gets. The gujju crowd went crazy. Shan gave a stunning dance performance during durga pooja celebrations organized by Kallol.
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Dandia celebrations in Netherlands
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| Shan performing during Durga Puja 2017 celebrations in Netherlands |
Then we visiting the Dutch island of Terschelling for a weekend with a bunch of friends. Its a wind swept island with lots of sheep. Its considered a party island for teenagers in Netherlands, they all go camping there and do binge drinking.
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| On the Dutch island of Terschelling |
In the meantime Shan's parents visited Netherlands for 3 months to celebrate the birth of their first grand kid. We spent some great time together and celebrated the birth of Rylie.
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My in-laws eating waffles in Bruges, Belgium
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A rare family pic with the newest member (Almere, 2017)
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Just a few weeks after they left, we started our 3 weeks India trip. We attended my cousins wedding on 29th November in Sitamarhi and I am going to Bangalore on 12th December. We will be back in Netherlands on 18th December.
The bride and the groom! Congratulations!
The perfect family pic!
Shan blessed by ladies of the house :)
And finally, I found this amazing pic of my grandfather! He made a euro trip with his friends sometime in 1970. What amazing swag, no one can match his smarts in our family.
My grand father (2nd from right) visiting Paris sometime around 1970. Such Swag!!
That is all from 2017. Wishing you all a great 2018! Keep exploring...
Love,
Karan
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