Champagne, France - October 6th & 7th

We took the early Eurostar from St Pancras to Lille, France. We picked up our rental car at the train station in Lille and drove to Epernay, France which is one of the main hubs of Champagne production in the Champagne region.

Our tiny (toy) rental car!

Immediately upon arriving in Epernay, we met Nathalie our tour guide for the afternoon.  She and her husband and his parents own a small champagne house called Domi Moreau.  The tour lasted about 3 hours and we began the tour by driving to a section of vines owned by her family. Nathalie's family owns 6 hectares of grape vines and they grow both red (Pinot noir and Pinot meunier) and white (Chardonay) grapes. Each hectare of grape vines is worth approximately 1 million euros.

First stop on tour with Nathalie

Nathalie showed us how to prune the vines which her family does annually, usually between January and March; but it can be done anytime after harvest.  Because Nathalie's family grows and produces Champagne and also handles all of their own sales and marketing, and there are only four of them, they stay busy throughout the year with a variety of tasks. In the spring and throughout the summer until August there is also a great deal of time spent training the vines.  It not only involves tending the vines to make sure they stay trimmed so that the grapes can get the sunlight they need to grow, it also involves maintaining the vines to avoid pests and mildew and also literally training the vines.  There are three sets of wires at varying heights.  The bottom two are fixed heights but the top one can be lowered for the early stages of growth and then slowly moved up over time to ensure that the vines continue to grow straight.  There are also clips that are used to make sure that the vines don't grow out of control.  In addition to the four of them, Nathalie and her family also hire college students in the summer to help with detangling the vines as they are usually quite long and tangled by the time summer arrives.  For the harvesting season they hire a group of gypsies that they have been working with for more than 20 years.  The main reason they hire gypsies is because they bring their own camper vans which eliminates the need to provide sleeping accommodations for the approximately 10 days that it takes to complete the harvest.  Nathalie says that the 10 days that the gypsies are working for them are the most stressful!  The period after the harvest to the end of the year is spent producing and bottling the champagne and selling the champagne particularly during the holiday season.

Next we drove over to another section of Domi Moreau's vines in a different village. The vines are all spread out within the region because the plots have been acquired and patched together over time.  Nathalie's mother-in-law and father-in-law both inherited the vines individually and Domi Moreau is the combination of the two families vines. Natalie told us that her son plans to become involved in the family business but he's only 16 so it will be a couple of more years, at least, before he joins them full time.  Her daughter, on the other hand, aspires to move to NYC and shop.  She says that she's not sure what she wants to do with her life, but she knows she does not want to be a champagne producer. Clearly, reality has not hit yet!

Mo and Nathalie

The final stop of the day was Domi Moreau's cellar where they press, ferment, store and bottle the champagne. One fact I found interesting is that, like all of the champagne houses, big and small, Domi Moreau makes a small amount of red wine which is combined with the white still wine which is eventually fermented and becomes pink champagne. Now knowing it...it seems obvious. Domi Moreau produces about 30,000 bottles of champagne a year and they only sell their champagne to customers they know.  They also sell their excess juice to Nicolas Feuillatte and Vueve Clicquot. They have been selling their juice to Vueve Clicquot for more than 40 years. All of the big champagne houses buy juice from many small producers in order to maintain a consistent taste from year to year.

Domi Moreau still does the bottling process by hand as well as most of the turning process, though they do have two machines that turn the bottles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  The bottles that are in excess of the capacity of the machines are taken to Nathalie's house and stored in the basement where she turns the bottles by hand.  The turning process takes about 6 weeks by hand as opposed to 6 days by machine.  The method used does not affect the quality, the only difference is the length of time it takes to do the same work.

As the tour came to a close, Nathalie invited us up to her tasting room and we got to taste two kinds of champagne, one was a blend, meaning all three types of grapes were used and the other was a blanc de blanc which is made exclusively with Chardonnay grapes. Mo and I both liked the blanc de blanc the best.

While enjoying the tastings, we had the opportunity to chat with the other five folks on the tour with us.  They were a group of friends spending a long weekend together in Epernay.  They were all from England but one of the couples has been living in Orange County, California for the last 20 years.  They were very nice and gave us some tips about places to see in the UK.  After finishing our samples, we bought a couple of bottles of our favorite and thanked Nathalie for the entertaining and informative tour. She drove us all back to Epernay where we went our separate ways.
Before leaving Epernay, we took a short walk around to explore the town.  It's a pretty small town and it was raining so we kind of hurried through it. Also explains why there aren't any photos!

Avenue de Champagne

Avenue de Champagne

Then it was off to Verzy to check in to the B&B where we were staying for the night.  We arrived at Lex Molyneux and were greeted by Yvonne, the owner of the B&B.  Mo had communicated with her prior to our arrival and she was the one who recommended Nathalie's tour.  Yvonne was a gracious host (and a great cook).  We opted to eat dinner at the B&B on Saturday night and there was another couple, Dave and Karen, who we shared our meal with.  Yvonne was a expert host, she made the introductions, initiated conversation and as soon as she realized the the four of us were hitting it off, she disappeared and only returned to serve our delicious dinner.
We had a great time talking with Dave and Karen.  Meeting folks during our travels is half the journey!  Both were very interesting and had lots of good tips and information to share about places they had lived and visited.  Both lived at some point in the past in London but they met and are currently living in Sydney where Dave is from.  Karen is from Zimbabwe and grew up in South Africa. They were spending their last weekend of their three and a half week holiday and told us all about their travels through the various regions of France in the previous weeks. We ended up staying up quite late after dinner just talking and sharing experiences.

The next morning we had a breakfast of breads and croissants, juice and coffee. Karen and Dave were at breakfast and another couple staying at the B&B also joined us.  I can't remember their names but they were scientists living in Germany working for the United Nations. She was Canadian and he was Swiss. They told us about their time in the Champagne region thus far and we recommended Nathalie's tour to them since they still had one more night.

After checking out, we went back to Epernay and toured Moët and Chandon; probably the biggest champagne house in Epernay, maybe France. This tour was all about conveying the glamor of the label.  The tour was rather brief and not as informative as Nathalie's tour but it was well worth it as it was good to see the difference between a big and a small champagne house.  While on the tour, we did have the opportunity to see what was probably thousands of magnums of Dom Perignon in the cellar. They weren't yet labeled, they were still in the aging process. Dom is owned and produced by Moëts but is a separate label.

Statue of Dom Perignon outside Moët & Chandon

Moët & Chandon

Mo outside gates of Moët & Chandon

Bottles of Dom Perignon aging in the caves

Tasting at the end of tour at Moët & Chandon

After our tour of Moëts we got back in the car and headed towards Reims (the other major hub of champagne production) with the intent if touring Pommery. The caves in Reims where the champagne is stored are carved from limestone whereas the ones in Epernay are chalk.  Karen had toured Pommery in the past and suggested it, as the caves were unique and beautiful from her recollection.  We took a slight detour in route to stop in a small village called Bouzy (I thought that name was funny--if only it was spelled Boozy) to take pictures in the vines. I noticed a sign in Bouzy that said their grapes were Grand Cru which is apparently the best quality of grape.

We eventually arrived in Reims and decided to stop for lunch at Bistro Edgar. Lunch was nice, but the service was a bit slow even by European standards. By the time we wrapped up lunch we concluded that there was not enough time to tour Pommery. Instead we took a short walk around Reims before heading to Pommery to see what we could without doing the tour and to stop by the gift shop.  Reims was completely shut down with the exception of a few restaurants and the champagne houses, but people were out--doing what? I'm not exactly sure.

Around 3PM we started our 2-hour drive back to Lille to catch the Eurostar back to London at 7:30. After returning the car, we stored our luggage and went for a walk around Lille.  Like Reims, people were out, though there were lots of sidewalk cafes open compared to the handful of restuarants open in Reims.  Lille is the largest city of the French Flanders and the Belguim influence was definitely apparent.  All of the cafes were serving moules and frites (mussels and fries) and Belgium beers--of course Mo had to partake!
Before heading back to the train station we stopped by Les Brasseurs (3 Brothers) before heading to the station. Several summers ago Mo had work in Montreal and I went up for the weekend to meet him.  We discovered Les Brasseurs early in our stay and went there at least a couple of times and Mo always goes when he's in Montreal. They have great flat bread pizzas.  It was neat to see something familiar in a completely new place.  I suppose that means its a chain, but I didn't know that previously. 

Our train ride was quiet and since it was dark out, there wasn't much to see.  I studied most of the way back. I'm taking a UK tax certification test in early November so I've cranked into high gear on the studying.   We arrived home at a very decent hour since Lille is only an hour and a half from London and we gained an hour on the way back!  More importantly we made it home in time to see the Falcons beat the Redskins during the 4th quarter of the game. It was a great weekend all around!

India and Thailand - Part V

Bright and early Monday morning, we checked out of our hotel and headed to the airport for our flight to Phuket. We flew Bangkok Air, a boutique airline that, get this, allows ALL passengers to enjoy the lounge and the complimentary refreshments while they wait for their flight. Consider us fans!

Our flight was quick and painless; only about an hour and a half. Upon arrival at Phuket airport, a driver from Naka Island, the Starwood resort where we were staying, was waiting for us. He immediately showed us to the Toyota Camry (the bimmer option was an extra $30) for the 30 minute ride to the marina. From the marina we took a boat to the island where a golf cart awaited us at the end of the pier. So many modes of transportation for our journey!  The hotel staff then did a small welcome ceremony with us that involved drinking a cold lemongrass concoction and each taking a swing at the gong while we made a wish for our time at Naka Island. From there we were shown to our villa where would spend the next five nights.

On the boat in the marina before our first trip to Naka Island

Approaching Naka Island

Our villa was amazing.  I made a villa tour as a reminder of what the layout was like.  The bathroom was screened in but essentially outside.  The bedroom was air conditioned which made the nights more comfortable, but I really enjoyed the fact that the bathroom was outside.  Of course with the humidity, my hair was never looking its best, but hey, it's vacation = no stress, no worries!

We had a ride around the resort on our assigned bicycles the next morning before heading to the pool.  Parts of the resort were quite hilly so I ended up riding and walking with my bike.  We stayed around the resort until early afternoon and then we headed to Phuket Town. We decided to go ahead and go into Phuket on Tuesday so that we could have the last 3 days of our time at Naka Island without further interruption and also because it made sense to go into town early in the week so that we could go to the grocery store for some drinks and snacks so we wouldn't end up spending a small fortune in the minibar over the coming days.

Pool at Naka Island

Immediately upon arrival in town, we spotted an area with street food stalls so Mo sampled a couple of things. He's more adventurous than me when it comes to unidentified edibles.  Then we just spent some time walking around trying to get our bearings and checking out the Sino-Portuguese architecture around town.  It was a bank holiday so many shops and restaurants were closed and in general it was pretty quiet.  While we were walking around we came across a restaurant that I had read about, called Cook, and decided to have dinner there.

The Thai owner of Cook used to cook Italian at a mega resort so when he opened his own Old Town cafe he fused the two cultures.  There were many traditional Thai options, but there was also a green curry pizza with chicken and a pork curry coconut milk pizza.

After a delicious dinner, we decided to have a Thai foot massage.  Hey, when in Rome...The typical Thai foot massage parlor is a long open room with a long row of plush reclining chairs.  The massage is mostly concentrated on your feet and legs, but they also massage your shoulders and arms for a portion of the time.  An hour-long foot massage (including a fairly hefty tip which seems to be expected but not required) was approximately $5.  If I lived there, there is no doubt I would be springing for one every week! The two ladies that gave Mo and I our massages were really nice and even tried to chat to us in English a little.  They both thought Mo was good looking and asked if he was a Bollywood star!

After our massages we went to the grocery store and picked up some drinks and snacks for the rest of our time on the island before we met the driver from the hotel and headed back to the resort.

The next several days were all about relaxing and enjoying some time at the pool.  A couple of the more memorable moments were the owl we spotted one evening when we went to Z Bar for drinks at sunset; the Korean honeymoon couple that wore matching speedo for him and one piece swimsuit for her in a bright, iridescent, solid color--a different color each day but the design of the swimsuits did not change (wish I had a photo of this); and the food served at the two restaurants at the resort.  We had the pleasure of chatting with the executive chef, Ian Thomason, on a couple of occasions.  He spent many years in London working at different restaurants including The Savoy Hotel before settling in Thailand.  Both restaurants at the resort were really good and one of them in particular was quite affordable, especially for a resort of this quality with a captive consumer!

Mo enjoying a swim in the pool

On Friday it rained quite a bit.  So I took advantage of the situation and went for a back massage and facial. By the afternoon things cleared off a bit and we spent the last afternoon at the pool.

Saturday came way to fast and it was sad to say goodbye to Naka Island.  The only silver lining was that between our return journey to Mumbai and the following one on to London, we got to spend a bit more time with Mo's dad.  He met us at the airport and we headed home to relax, have dinner and take a shower before our flight later that night.

The long flight back to London was uneventful and we arrived early on Sunday morning.  We had a bit of extra time to settle in since Monday was a bank holiday.  We hadn't realized that when we booked the trip and probably would have stayed the extra day in Thailand, but in the end it was nice to get back and have the extra time before getting back to reality on Tuesday.  All in all, it was a wonderful vacation with the perfect mix of family, tourism and relaxation.

Note: This is the fifth and final installment of India and Thailand...FINALLY!

India and Thailand - Part IV

Our flight to Thailand was an overnight flight so we arrived in Bangkok around 6:30 Sunday morning.  Immigration took quite some time but after completing that process and collecting our bags we took a cab to our hotel, The Royal Orchid Sheraton. 

One of the best things about our trip to Thailand was that all of our accommodations were paid for by points earned with our Starwood American Express.  Cash back is an obvious choice as far as credit card perks are concerned, but for those who love to travel, Starwood American Express is awesome.  In addition to the credits we earn, the card also makes obtaining gold status easier which means that we frequently get free upgrades when they are available and we also get other freebies like a choice of free cocktails, or wi-fi during or stay.

The Royal Orchid Sheraton was very nice.  We had a great room on the twelfth floor overlooking the river Mae Nam Chao Phraya.

View from our room in The Royal Orchid Sheraton

We didn't waste much time settling in, just dropped our bags, washed our faces and brushed our teeth before setting out on a full day of sightseeing.  As our flight to Phuket the next morning was around 9, we had to cram as much sightseeing as we could into the 24 hours we had in Bangkok.

We typically like to enjoy each destination as locals would, which for us means navigating public transportation, but we decided that with such a short stay we should make the most of our time and just take taxis.  Taxis are extremely inexpensive in Bangkok if you've taken the time to educate yourself in advance.  Rule number one (come to think of it, the only rule), always insist that the meter be used.  Many taxi drivers in Bangkok take advantage of tourists by agreeing a flat-fare 2-3 times more expensive than what the meter would actually run. As a matter of fact, we got out of a taxi later in the day because the driver refused to use the meter.  We found that 50 Baht which is roughly equivalent to $1.50 covered just about any taxi ride we needed around town even during rush hour traffic. To and from the airport was a bit more expensive; about 350 - 400 Baht.

One other side note--it was so hot! Around 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Fahrenheit. It was also extremely humid.  I stayed damp pretty much the whole day, or at least until the sun set. Over the years I feel like I've really built up a tolerance to heat and humidity between growing up in South Carolina, going to school in Charleston and then Gainesville and more recently living in Atlanta and visiting India frequently. Perhaps it seemed extreme because of the previous 6 months of living in London. But, we had just spent a whole week in India!! Maybe it was the lack of coastal breeze that we get in Mumbai or perhaps it was because it was a jam-packed day with little time for sitting down and cooling off. All I know is at one point I told Mo I didn't think I could spend more than a day or two in Bangkok under those conditions.

Side notes officially out of the way, we took a taxi to The Grand Palace. Before going in, we decided to walk away from the main tourist sights and try to find a spot for breakfast that didn't solely cater to tourists. After a decent walk around, we settled on a cafe near a small outdoor market area. We had a traditional Thai breakfast of some sort of hot broth soup.  I'm not really sure what else was in the soup which is why I wisely opted for the veggie version.  Mo loved it and I must say his broth was better than mine--not sure about the mystery meat though. While I could tolerate my soup, I enjoyed it much less than Mo.  My broth was sort of sweet which was the main reason I didn't care for it.  Regardless, 2 soups and a Coca-Cola was 60 Baht so the price was certainly right at about $1.80. 

Our first sight of our big sightseeing extravaganza was The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. We actually ended up deciding not to go in because Mo was going to have to rent a sarong to cover his legs since he was wearing shorts.  The Grand Palace was extremely busy and there were lots of folks around the perimeter heckling the tourists.  In the end our decision to skip going inside was the right one for us this day but we still got to see the distinctly Thai architecture from outside.

The Grand Palace - busy with tourists on a Sunday morning

Entrance to The Grand Palace

We walked over to a riverside park that had a nice view of Wat Arun across the river. Wat Arun consists of four stupas around an elongated tower all covered with Chinese ceramics and seashells.  As Wat Arun was the only sight on the other side of the river that we had any interest in seeing we decided not to make the effort to cross the river and instead see it from afar and focus on the side of the river where most of the noteworthy sights were.

The view of Wat Arun from across the river

Next we went to Wat Pho which is Bangkok's largest and oldest temple.  The main attraction at Wat Pho is the Reclining Buddha and it did not disappoint.  The pictures do not do it justice.  It was enormous.  Way beyond what I expected.  The Buddha itself is 46 meters long and 15 meters high and includes 3 meters high feet with inlaid mother of pearl.



The reclining Buddha

Stone giant at the entrance gate

Temple grounds - the design in the grass says "Welcome to Wat Pho"

Buddha statue with Naga in Wat Pho temple

Wat Pho temple grounds

Wat Pho temple grounds

Our next destination was Chatuchak Weekend Market.  It's a gigantic market, according to my guidebook, the daddy of all Thai markets. Around 200,000 people visit the market every Saturday and Sunday. Our first purchase (not including use of the toilets) was some fresh guava that we enjoyed as we walked around checking out many of the stalls.  A bit later after we were all finished browsing, we had lunch at one of the covered restaurants/food stalls.  We had a couple of dishes including some excellent pad Thai.

Waiting to eat some pad Thai

Trying to stay cool while waiting for lunch

Our next  tourist attraction was Jim Thompson's House which is actually a complex of six traditional teak buildings and the legacy of the American businessman who helped revitalize the Thai silk industry in the 1950's and 1960's.  The traditional wooden houses were collected from as far away as northern Thailand and as near as the Muslim village of Baan Krua, just across the Klong river where silk is still woven today.  Jim Thompson had the buildings reassembled as a private mansion, which took a year, and he lived there up until his disappearance in 1967.  We took a guided tour of the entire complex.  This was definitely one of my favorite tourist sites.  It was very well maintained and managed. There was a lovely restaurant and gift shop on sight.  I really wanted to purchase something from the gift shop because there were so many beautiful things, but I didn't because I wanted to be sure and avoid travelers regret.

Our next and final stop before heading back to the hotel was one of the many sky-high bars.  We went to Moon Bar on the 61st floor of the Banyan Tree Hotel. The views were awesome.  Yet again, we weren't dressed appropriately so Mo was loaned a pair of loose black polyester pants and we both had to borrow a pair of men's slippers.

View from Moon Bar

Another view from Moon Bar

The view from Moon Bar after sunset

After a long day, we headed back to the hotel.  After finally taking a shower we went out for dinner.  I had read some reviews about a place called Harmonique a short walk from the hotel so we first tried to go there, but found that it was closed.  Instead we ended up going to The Gallery Cafe which was very quiet, and not very busy, but very nice.  The food was excellent.  We had a curry crab dish  which was delicious and packed full of crab meat. With our fully bellies we returned to the hotel for a good night's sleep before our early flight to Phuket.  Is it just us, or does everyone agree that it's so much easier to get up to catch an early flight to go on vacation than to go to work!?!?!?

London 2012 Olympic Games

As the world watches, we are living amongst the action of the London 2012 Olympic Games. We are so fortunate to live in London during this historic time. Like most people who are not in London during these two weeks, we have been spending our evenings at home watching events on television.

Deloitte's UK firm is the official professional services provider to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Upon joining the firm back in November, I learned about all the support that the firm was providing through volunteer hours as well as the perks that employees like me could benefit from.  Among other things, Deloitte had lots of tickets to give away to employees for various Olympic and Paralympic events, mostly through various competitions. I'll cut to the chase, I was not fortunate enough to win any.

One perk I did benefit from was holding the Olympic torch (or one of them) when it travelled to my office. It came on Tuesday, July 24th, just a couple of days before the opening ceremony. I actually got nervous while waiting in line for my turn. The torch was at my office all day and the line remained about 45 minutes long throughout most of the day. I had the pleasure if standing in that 45 minute line...but it was worth it. After holding the torch, the excitement and anticipation of the games really hit me.

Erica with one of the Olympic torches

As a general observation, we have definitely noticed alot more visitors in central London than usual, many of them wearing their country's colors.  Despite the influx of visitors, normal everyday life has not been interrupted--a real testament to the efforts on the parts of the organizers and all of the volunteers.

Friday, July 27th, Mo and I decided to stay in (we typically go out on Friday) and watch the opening ceremony live. The ceremonies did not begin until 9PM, but there was pre-opening ceremony coverage.  At one point during the pre-show festivities, The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows, did a fly-past the Olympic Stadium spraying red, white and blue smoke trails. It was so cool and exciting when seconds later they flew past our living room windows, leaving the same red, white and blue smoke trails.

The opening ceremonies continued on just past 1AM and I could barely keep my eyes open waiting until The Parade of Nations got to the U's. Even though I thought the NHS (National Health Service) tribute was a little out of place with the rest of the theme, overall I really enjoyed them and they continued to build the excitement of the following two weeks.

For us, the next big event was the one event we managed to get tickets for during the lottery--a football match at Wembley Stadium between South Korea and Gabon on Wednesday, August 1st. I took the afternoon off from work (what could be better than a half day on hump day the day you go to an Olympic event?) and Mo worked from home in the morning. The organizers advised that you allow plenty of time due to increased traffic on public transportation and security checks at the venue. Since the match stared at 5PM we left home around 3PM. The tube journey was relatively uneventful and didn't take longer than normal, but one stop before Wembley Park lots and lots of people got on tube. I've never before been so cramped on the tube. Security at Wembley Stadium was pretty much a breeze especially for me since I got to go in the ladies line which was much shorter than the men's lines!   We met up with our friends Julee and Jeff who had also gotten tickets to the very same match through the lottery. In fact they got 10 so they brought along several friends too.

The view upon exiting the Wembley Park tube station

Mo pre-match in front of Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium during the match

Mo and Erica in Wembley Stadium

The match was more fun than I thought it would be. The atmosphere was amazing despite a nil-nil draw. The stadium holds approximately 90,000 and there were over 76,000 in attendance.

After the match was over we returned to Richmond where Julee and Jeff live, along with the rest of the group. Saying they traveled to and from the match in style is an understatement. Julee arranged a private coach (that's a bus in American) and to her surprise it was England's national football team's coach! It was awesome--so spacious with leather captains chairs. I could travel by bus all the time if it was like that. It was so fun to watch random people taking pictures of the bus and we got more than a few waves on our ride back to Richmond. We spent a couple of hours with the gang at The Red Cow, their local pub, watching some Olympic events that evening before heading home.

Our transport from the match

Mo and Jeff inside the coach

While we will continue to try to get tickets for the remaining events, even if we are not successful, our firsthand Olympic experience exceeded all expectations!

India and Thailand - Part III

Our week long vacation in India continues...

We spent most of Tuesday relaxing and taking it easy and just doing whatever we wanted to do.  No schedule, no to do list.  Around mid-morning Mo and I took a rickshaw over to one of the schools that his mom and dad founded and that his dad continues to actively volunteer at, both in the morning and afternoon sessions.  We spent some time with the children and listened to what they were learning.  We also had the pleasure of meeting some of the teachers that Mo's dad works with.  Both the children and the teachers were very sweet and welcoming.  What they are doing for these children really warms the heart and puts life into perspective.  It makes you reflect on your own life and how fortunate you really are despite the daily challenges that leave you feeling depleted.  I for one definitely needed that reminder and as I sit here and type this blog entry I'm reminded yet again how fortunate I am.

After visiting the school we went to a restaurant near home called Gajalee.  Mo and his dad tried it for the first time when Mo visited in December.  While the restaurant has been around a while, the one we went to is a newer branch.  We were the first table to be seated for lunch that day and it never got too much busier, but I suppose that's what should be expected of a Tuesday during lunch in a fairly suburban, residential area.  Lunch was delicious and the service was top notch.  Mo truly enjoyed himself...and would probably rank it among the top 5 meals in his lifetime. 

The remainder of Tuesday was laid back and we just spent time enjoying Mo's dad's company.

Wednesday was a long day!  We left home around 7AM and headed to Pune to visit relatives. The journey was moving along fine and it seemed we'd managed to escape morning traffic.  Day trips in India always start off as planned, but traffic is so unpredictable in India, the journey ALWAYS takes much longer than expected.  This time was no exception.  Instead of traffic or an accident delaying us we got majorly lost.  Mo's dad aways takes the train so he is not familiar with the driving directions.  We essentially missed the turn off and it wasn't until we reached the center of the city that we realized we missed the turn and had gone too far.  We ended up totally lost as none of us, including the driver, was familiar with the city.  Why oh why did the driver not have GPS?!?!?  Eventually we pulled over and called one of Mo's cousins to come meet us and lead us back to his home.  He showed up about twenty minutes later by motorcycle and we followed him to the house--the home of Mo's aunt (his father's eldest sister) and her husband and their two sons and their families.

Mo and his dad with relatives in Pune

Mo's aunt and her daughters-in-law had prepared delicious snacks which they insisted we have, in true nurturing, female, Indian fashion. As we were visiting mid-week and in the middle of the day, Mo's other cousin took a break from work to come all the way home just to spend a couple of minutes visiting with us. I had never met these relatives before and Mo had not seem many of them in quite some time so it was well overdue and well worth the effort made.

So that we wouldn't spend any more time lost, Mo's uncle, Bhai mama (his mom's eldest brother) came by motorcycle to lead us to his home.  Bhai mama and his wife Lata mami and daughter Sonum used to live in Nasik but relocated to Pune a little more than a year ago.  This was our first time visiting them in Pune.  Of all of Mo's extended family, I know them best as I have spent more time with them than any of Mo's other relatives.  Also my visits with them are much more interactive because Bhai mama and Sonum speak English very well which allows me to join in the conversation more easily.

Lata mami prepared a delicious lunch.  Mo loves her mutton curry and she made some just for him.  Lata mami is an excellent cook and they are especially careful to take all the food preparation precautions to ensure that what I'm eating will not cause an upset stomach.  I can always eat whatever Lata mami prepares and know that it's safe to do so.  After spending about an hour or so with them, it was time to hit the road and get on back to Mumbai.  We were hoping to miss the rush hour traffic.

Of course things couldn't go smoothly.  Our driver was quite young and he must have been inexperienced because he did not know his way around Mumbai and he totally got lost again!  He ended up just pulling over and asking for directions no less than a dozen times before he finally figured it out and got us home. Mo and I had an over/under going on how many times he would pull over and ask directions...I took the over and I won! We could not have been more glad that day trip was over!!!

Thursday morning we went to Star Mall for a few provisions in preparation of going to Kelve for an overnight stay.  We met Farookh around 1PM at the designated pick up spot which is literally on the side of a highway. He lives in another area of the city and to come all the way to pick us up just doesn't make sense so we always take a rickshaw to the designated place and wait on the side of the road until he arrives.  It would be an odd sight to see in the US, but there are so many people all over the place in India at all times, you are never the sole person standing on the side of the road.

Farookh drives and has a car so while he and Mo's dad typically take the train to Kelve, since there were four of us, he drove us.  Our journey to Kelve consisted of several stops.  The first was a dhaba (traditional roadside restaurant for travelers) for lunch.  The food was really good and this dhaba had alot of character.

Lunch at the dhaba with Mo's dad and Farookh

The next stop was Papi's house, Mo's dad's youngest sister, who lives near Kelve and more or less on our way there.  Just about every time Farookh and Mo's dad go to Kelve they stop by Papi's house because she always prepares some food for them to take along for dinner that night.  This time was no exception and I knew that we were in for some good food because she prepared it for us the last time we went to Kelve in November 2009.

Our final stop before reaching Farookh's house was the small, nearby village for some groceries--milk for chai, eggs and a few fruits and vegetables.  Mo and I just waited in the car while Farookh and Mo's dad went about talking to the villagers and making their purchases at each individual's stall. Over time they've gotten to know many of the villagers quite well and they periodically bring them items that they need from Mumbai. It took considerable time for Mo's dad to purchase the eggs because we had to wait for them to be delivered...apparently the egg shop had just run out...but finally a motorcycle arrived with about 50 plastic crates stacked one on top of the other on the back of the motorcycle.  How you transport eggs like that and keep them balanced much less keep them from breaking, is beyond me.  Amazing India! Wish I had taken a picture of that!

Finally we reached Kelve.  It is about a two hour drive outside of Mumbai close to the coast.  Mo's dad owns a home there and his friend Farookh owns one opposite.  The area is really rural and these two homes are some of the very few around.  Farookh spends quite a bit of time there and his house is beautifully furnished and cozy--he probably visits almost on a weekly basis.  Mo's dad's house is more of an apartment building with six units that Mo's mom envisioned  becoming sort of a retirement home for them and some of their friends.  Mo's dad rarely stays there so he doesn't keep the utilities on all the time, therefore, we all stayed over at Farookh's house.

Mo's dad's place on left and Farookh's on right

Farookh's kitchen

Farookh's family room

Farookh's house

Mo's dad and Farookh on Farookh's front porch

Friday morning Mo and I made breakfast--french toast--definitely not a typical Indian breakfast, but a nice break from curry for me.  Then we went across the street to Mo's dad's house for a bit.
He keeps a bunch of old family photos there so we had a great time going through the photo albums and reminiscing.  It was quite emotional seeing all of the old photo's of Mo's mom and grandparents.  We even saw some photos of Mo's parent's wedding for the first time and Mo's dad let us pick out a couple to bring home with us. 

Us in front of Mo's dad's Kelve house

Mo and his dad in front of Kelve house

When we returned to Farookh's house, we freshened up and packed our bags and then he showed us around his plot of land.  He's doing a lot of farming and has been for some time, but he's now starting to yield enough to sell some of it.  He grows many fruits as well as rice and onions.  He sells the onions and he and family and friends consume the rest. After the tour we packed the car and headed back to Mumbai.

If anyone is interested in a stay at Chateau Farookh, just let me know.  Mo and I both give it two thumbs up!

Farookh's remaining onions in the store room

Farookh's unofficial pet/a stray dog that's stayed around for years

Farookh's farm

Hibiscus flowers in Farookh's garden

That evening the three of us went to see Bombay Talkies at Prithvi Theater.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the production though some of it was a bit lost in translation for me since the actors threw in some words/sentences in Hindi here and there.  We went to the 6:30 show so afterwards we went to Mo's dad's favorite little hole in the wall seafood place.  We are talking extremely local.  I may be the first tourist that has ever eaten there.  The seafood was good and cheap.  Afterwards we headed home.

Saturday was our last day in Mumbai.  Mo and I went to the early movie to see The Avengers. We were able to get reserved seats in the VIP area complete with popcorn and coke for about $11.  It sounds expensive by Indian standards, but now that we are used to London movie prices of about $45 just for two tickets, we were thrilled and amazed by how cheap it was/seemed. 

VIP waiting for The Avengers to begin

We also saw this movie poster in the lobby while we were waiting...am I the only one that found it hilarious?

Don't angry me...you rowdy rat whore!

That afternoon, I went for a few beauty treatments.  After capitalizing on the inexpensive movie experience, I decided that I needed to capitalize on other things that are inexpensive in India and super expensive in London!

That night Mo's dad cooked us a nice dinner at home and we packed up and got ready to embark on the next leg of our trip...Thailand.

Our goodbyes are always emotional, but this time it was not nearly as tough as normal because we  knew we would see Mo's dad again in a week on a stopover before we headed back to London.