The city both old and young, Boston!

The city of Boston surpassed all my expectations during my two-day trip to this city this summer. Boston is one of the oldest cities of the United States, parts of it reflect the olden times with cobbled stone streets and old architectural buildings while the other part showcases lush green city full of young and intellectual people with such a vibrant outlook. With just so much to explore, we walked endlessly for two days which felt really short. Nevertheless I had such a great time with my friends in Boston.

My love for gardens took us to begin our adventure at the Boston Common and Public garden right next to each other in the heart of downtown. As soon as we parked our car, we walked out to the hustle and bustle of the cheerful little kids relishing the water fountains to beat the summer heat. We relaxed by the huge oak trees next to the lagoon while the tourists lined up to enjoy the swan boat ride. We then walked up to the bridge to catch a bird eye view of the lagoon and then made our way to the downtown area.

I was really excited to see the water front harbor in Boston. So we started making our way to the harbor exploring through streets of downtown. Strolling by the main shopping streets that was meant for just the pedestrians with restricted vehicle entry was such an appealing idea to me. I just love walking on streets with no cars and buses around. After shopping for a bit and keeping time in mind we then reached the Quincy market.

Quincy market is a little art and craft market that we crossed on our way to the harbor. The little unusual things such as the free chess tables and book shelves made me believe that Boston is indeed a city full of opportunities to learn and explore. The market was filled with all kinds of handmade jewelry, lamps and lanterns. We also spotted the freedom trail in the Quincy market which connects all the historical churches and museums in Boston. After wandering through the market and enjoying delicious gelato by the carousel, we finally stepped onto the Boston Harbor area.

The harbor was even more beautiful than what I imagined. The creepers making their way through the dome-shaped walkway by the waterfront was a sight I would like to go back in a blink of an eye. We walked all over the harbor spotting all the outdoor restaurants and bars with very lively atmosphere. We also visited the New England Holocaust Memorial dedicated to the Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. I have never seen something like that in my life and it melted my heart to read those heart wrenching notes from the Jewish families who encountered the death of their loved ones. We ended our day at an outdoor park with lovely music and relaxing ambiance.

A trip to Boston is incomplete without a visit to the Harvard University. Our second day in Boston was occupied for the visit to Cambridge neighborhood which is like a little college town in the city. The Harvard square full of book stores and hustle and bustle of the students reminded me of my school days. We basked under the sun for quite some time in the campus and then after spending some time in the Harvard square shopping for some souvenirs made our way to the airport to catch our flight back to the Midwest.

In all, Boston felt like an absolutely beautiful city to explore. With such a short time visit , I wished I had few more days to get more familiar with the pretty neighborhoods of Boston. Oh well there is always a next time 🙂

Positano, a Cliff-side Village along the Amalfi Coast!

Having been brought up in a small town of India surrounded by so many villages, I have always had desire to visit villages of other countries. I have been endlessly curious to know and see how villages of other lands look like. That is how Positano, the coast side village of Italy was a part of our itinerary during my family trip to Italy. The Cliff-side village of Positano along the Amalfi coast is more like a beach town surrounded by little houses puzzled up together built upon high cliffs. The breathtaking bird’s eye view, ample greenery topped with ornamental flower vines on the hillside during summer makes it look all the more beautiful.

The village of Positano is about 45 minutes drive from Sorrento. The cheapest means of transport from Sorrento is via Sita Bus which leaves the train terminal at Sorrento every half hour. The tickets are just 8 euros person and the bus provides transfer to Positano and Amalfi, the coastal villages along the Amalfi coast. We hopped into the bus at around noon. Our drive was very scenic overlooking the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The drive was uphill cutting sharply through the mountains making way downhill and finally landing into the magical land of Positano.

Bird eye view of Positano

pink Bougainvillea flowers

On our way down the stairs

The bus dropped us at quite far in the hills away from the beach and we stepped down about 1ooo steps to reach to the main shopping area. The walk down the stairs was very unusual, it was through the houses that were built along the hills. It looked like private stairways going down right by their houses. We enjoyed walking down the stairs looking and appreciating the vegetable gardens in the backyards of private houses, just like any other village. I even noticed green figs hanging on the trees yet to ripe on our way down. After a few minutes of walking down the stairs , we overlooked the panoramic view of the city which was just like something that I had never seen before for real. The blue sea surrounded by the cliffs and hills packed with little colorful houses covered with beautiful pink Bougainvillea flowers looked just magnificent. Living in one of these houses must be such a wonderful experience.

Boutique shops

Main market area

Pathway to the beach

Lemons and more lemons

We then finally reached further down to the main shopping district of Positano. Little boutique shops on both sides, lemon scented soaps and perfumes, ceramic handmade art and craft were few of the things that caught my attention while walking through the shops. As we walked further down, the streets got narrower and narrower and they were covered with purple pink bushes all over the walkway. The beauty of the this place can be experienced only by visiting it for real and I was really awestruck looking at the natural creativity and happy at the same time that I got to visit such a lovely place.

More vines

More flowers

At last we reached the beach “Spiaggia Dell Fornillo” which was a sight absolutely worth those stairs and walkways. The colorful beach chairs all around the beach, tourists basking in the sun and the hustle bustle of the little restaurants nearby was a perfect spot to relax. We spent some time sipping on green detox smoothies in one of the restaurants facing the beach. After lazing around for quite some time and soaking in the view of the city, we made our mind to head back to the shopping area to buy some souvenirs. We really loved the lemon scented perfumes and I personally loved the soaps too, their lemon like fragrance was just to die for. We then made our way to the local bus which dropped us back to the Sita bus stop to hop on the bus back to Sorrento.

Beach by the cliff

Overall we had a lovely day, although we were bit tired by the time we reached Sorrento at the end of the day, it was all worth it. I had never seen such a serene and scenic village. It is a perfect getaway to spend time away from the city and enjoy mother nature. Is there any other villages you would recommend for visit? Do share. I would love to hear!

The City of Canals, Venice!

Venice is the most unique city I have ever visited in my life so far. My recent visit to this city has left me amazed and the time I spent there with my family is very memorable. We visited Venice just for two days and explored every nook and corner of the city on foot. We stayed at The Westin Europa and Regina which was an absolute delight with magnificent views of the Grand Canal.

As soon as we landed into Venice we rented a water taxi to our hotel. The water taxis are expensive in comparison to the water bus, however we had a lot of luggage and ended up taking the taxi. There is no way to get to Venice by car since there are no cars or roads in Venice, isn’t that amazing. Venice is full of narrow streets and walking ways just like a maze. There are canals and boats all over the city instead of roads and cars. Our boat ride to the hotel was very exciting, it was a speed boat with a covered seating area and right there our trip started with a bang.

Grand Canal

Water Taxi to Venice

View from the Hotel Deck

After reaching the hotel and relaxing for a bit, we made our way to the Piazza San Marco which was just a five minute walk from our hotel. The square was full of tourists surrounded symmetrically on all four sides with magnificent architectures on each side. The sight of the tourists feeding the pigeons with the backdrop of the beautiful St Mark’s Basilica is still vivid in my memory. We sat by the Basilica and enjoyed eating delicious Pizza topped with red pepper and cheese from one of the many Italian restaurants at the square. After enjoying lunch by the square we started exploring the little shops along the narrow streets making our way to the Rialto Bridge which was full of touristy shops along both sides. It is also called the Rialto market and it is the bridge that connects the two sides of Venice that is separated by the Grand Canal. I really liked browsing through the Murano glass work and leather bag shops which were very prominent throughout the city.

Saint Mark Basilica

San Marco Square

Pigeons at San Marco

After reaching the other side, we relaxed for a bit by the canal taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful view of restaurants by canal lit with lamps and decorated with flowers on both sides. I loved walking by them and took the opportunity to capture them as well. We spent the rest of the evening at our hotel enjoying beautiful view of the Santa Maria Church reflecting over the calm well lit water of the grand canal.

Canal view

Restaurants by the canal

Our second day in Venice started with the delicious breakfast at the hotel deck which overlooked the Grand Canal. The fresh smoothies, juices and fruits was an awesome kick start to our day and we were ready to explore the rest of the city. We started our day with a charming gondola ride along the beautiful canals and bridges. Although it was a bit overpriced, we enjoyed riding under the bridges, passing by little restaurants by the canals and appreciated the elegant view from the water. We learned a little bit about the history of Venice and the lagoon that was created after diverting the water from the Adriatic Sea. We were then dropped on the opposite side from our hotel at the Santa Maria Church.

Santa Maria Church

Canals with Gondolas

Gondola Boat Ride

After strolling by the stairs of the church, we crossed the narrow bridges to walk towards the market and made our way to the Academy Bridge. The bridge showcases brilliant views of the city with Grand Canal in the back drop and is such a perfect spot for photography. We then returned to our hotel to pick our luggage to get to the train station. In the mean time we had hot cup of tea with some snacks at the hotel bar at the deck facing the canal view. It was a perfect end to our absolutely splendid trip.

Acadamy Bridge

Church of San Giorgio Maggiore

Canals with Gondolas

Venice has undoubtedly been one of the best destinations that I have ever visited and it is definitely worth an experience. It is truly a romantic city with unique setting. Which is your favorite city so far? Do share. I would love to hear!

Cherry Blossom Festival, Washinton DC!

Year after year Washington DC celebrates Spring Cherry Blossom festival in the honor of the 1300 Cherry trees gifted by the Mayor of Japan to the city of Washington DC to represent cordial relationship between the two countries hundreds of years ago. I personally think it is such a beautiful gesture and wanted to experience this phenomenal event of watching pink bouquets of flowers all over the city for a long time now. Finally my yearning came to an end when I recently visited the green and clean architectural capital of United States with my friends.

Library of Congress

US Capitol

Washington Monument

The historical and architectural vibe of the city made me fall in love with it the moment I stepped in. We started our day at the US Capitol and mostly explored the city by foot. Strolling around the colorful tulips and pink/white cherry blossom trees along the streets, we made our way to the enormous Washington Monument. As a part of the spring festival, kite festival was being observed at the Washington Monument over the weekend that we were there. We were amazed to see hundreds of people flying vivid kites around the monument. My favorite ones were the Kung fu Panda and the Minions, those were the most adorable ones 🙂

Floral Library

US Capitol

The White House

Right across the road from the Washington Monument stands the World War 2 Memorial with pillars embedded with all the States of the United states surrounding the magnificent water fountain. Walking all day and exhausted at the end, we relaxed by the refreshing breeze of the water fountain for a while and then headed to the tidal basin which has rows of cherry blossom tress with the backdrop of Jefferson Memorial. The floral library by the tidal basin had beautiful tulips at its peak bloom and plenty of tourists around to get a picture. The sun was setting and the day ending while my heart was greedy and wanted some more of it.

The Reflecting Pool

Cherry Blossom by the Tidal Basin

Lincoln Memorial

Cherry Blossom

Next day we visited the Alexandria Old town which is a cute little neighborhood in Virginia. After our slow day spent there sipping on coffee and munching some fine dining, we headed towards the White House which is definitely a spot not to be missed in Washington. The White house was well surrounded with security and we managed to get some beautiful pictures with the security guard of course. We also went back to the Lincoln Memorial to catch a view of the Washington Monument in the reflecting pool. During sunset , the reflection looked spectacular. After a long day, we chit chatted and relaxed by the serene reflecting pool. My favorite part of the trip was the walk from the Lincoln memorial to the World War 2 Memorial. There was something very romantic about the site with the benches surrounded by lanes of lush trees. I had a great time strolling by that area and could sit there forever.

Overall I loved my short trip to Washington DC and would definitely recommend to take this trip during spring to make it all the more beautiful. Is Cherry Blossom one of the items in your bucket list? Do share 🙂 I would love to read.

A Perfect day in San Francisco!

Can San Francisco be explored in a day? Yes, it can! I have done it. Here are a few highlights of the city that I enjoyed in just one day.

Golden Gate Bridge

Our day in the city began with the beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Point. We enjoyed our walk along the pathways by the Pacific Ocean down the stairs all the way to catch scenic views at the bottom of the trail. I wish I was wearing more comfortable shoes, I wasn’t really prepared for a trail in the middle of the city. Nevertheless I had a great time. The ocean was perfect for surfing with huge waves and I caught a glimpse of a surfer swim on his board towards the strong tides.

Golden Gate Park

After enjoying the views of the Golden Gate Bridge we drove to the Golden Gate Park which was about twenty minutes’ drive. To my surprise the drive was very scenic with huge trees on our way with winding roads. That I think is the beauty of California, lot of surprises my way. We parked our car and made our way to the garden which was huge. It started with the rose garden, tea garden and then we finally reached the main area which has famous museums surrounded by lush greenery. My favorite was the huge palm trees which I hugged so tight 🙂

Union Square

By the time we were walking out of the Golden Gate Park, we were hungry and ready for a delicious lunch. So our next stop was Union square which is the Downtown area of San Francisco.  At this point we parked our car in one of the public parking garage by our hotel because finding parking in downtown is calling danger.We relished the authentic Indian buffet at ‘The Amber’ which had great variety of options in their lunch buffet and also was very appetizing.

After our lunch, I was very excited to ride the cable car which was one of the adventures in my bucket list. Cable car is one of the oldest way of commute in history and San Francisco is one of the very few places to still have it. The drivers have to manually rotate the cable car to ride the opposite way. It was a wait of more than one hour but completely worth it. We rode up the steep hilly roads of San Francisco city with our heads hanging out of the cable car which was quite an adventure. We rode the cable car towards our next spot and that was Fisherman’s Wharf.

Fisherman’s Wharf

I don’t know what that was but I always imagined Fisherman’s Wharf to be this beautiful place in San Francisco that everyone goes to. It turned out to be completely opposite of what I imagined. It was beautiful no doubt but it was very crowded and smoky. It was more of a tourist trap with shops around and crowded street performances around. To be honest I wasn’t able to enjoy much there because of the swarming tourists over the weekend. Probably would have been better over the weekdays.

The only thing I liked in the Fishermen’s Wharf was the Ghirardelli Square where you could actually watch how chocolate is made from scratch using raw cocoa. It was great experience to know how chocolate is processed.

 Lombard Street

Quick but not easy walk up the hill from Ghirardelli Square took us to the Lombard Street which is a steep winding street. It is one of its own kind and one of the must see stops in San Francisco. While other people were driving down the Lombard Street, we walked up the stairs to finally reach the top. The funny part was our Uber cab driver that we called to go back to the hotel was very kind to drive us down the Lombard Street. So we got to ride down the steepest winding street, yayy!

China Town

After relaxing in the hotel for an hour or so, we then went to China town for dinner which was just a few minutes of walk from our hotel. We enjoyed the Chinese food there and the jasmine tea which I still remember which was such a bliss after the long day 🙂

We crunched in everything in a day because we just had one day in San Francisco. End of the day I was contended to explore an awesome city full of surprises.

Things to do:

Explore explore explore

Hiking at the Fort Point

Ride Cable Car

Drive down Lombard Street

Places to Eat:

Amber (Indian)

Hunan Home’s Restaurant(Chinese)

El Yunque National Forest and Luquillo beach, Puerto Rico!

By now you all know how much I love hiking and being out in the nature trails. I thoroughly enjoyed trekking the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico which is the only tropical rain forest in the United States. The jungle is located few meters above the sea level so we had to drive through winding roads to reach one of the parking spots to catch the trail. We also stopped to enjoy delicious coconut water on our way up to the forest. We decided to take the La Mina trail which took us to the La Mina falls. It was a challenging trail and although it was just a mile each way, the uphill walk made it seem longer.

It was totally worth it when we reached the gorgeous La Mina waterfall. The tourists enjoyed taking a dip in the icy cold water while the warm weather around kept them comfortable. I couldn’t resist myself from getting into the water and enjoyed the dip amidst the slippery rocks. After our hike, we quenched our thirst with the refreshing lemonade right where we started our hike.

On our way back we stopped at the magnificent Luquillo beach which was about 20 minutes of drive from the forest. The beach was beautiful with the rain forest in the back drop. The beautiful tall coconut trees made the beach all the more beautiful. I watched the kids enjoy digging sand in the beach while sipping on my mouth-watering virgin Pinacolada. After a short walk along the beach we ended up having the most delicious italian dinner at Pasta y Pueblo which was a little restaurant by the beach. They were giving away free Margaritas on the occasion of Valentines Day and the their pesto pasta was one of the best I have ever had. Their menu was limited yet delicious. The day ended on a very sweet note when we munched on the chocolate cake on the house 🙂

Things to do:

Hiking the Rain Forest
Swimming in the beach
Take a dip in the waterfall

Places to eat:

Pasta y Pueblo( Italian)

The Colors of Old San Juan!

One of the most architecturally rich old cities, Old San Juan is a perfectly small town easily tourable on foot. The charming cobbled stone streets that go up and down hill through out the city surrounded by vividly colored houses make Old San Juan a very bright and colorful getaway destination. The little downtown that is always buzzing with tourists and offers world famous delicacies with fresh local drinks specially Pina Colada in a pineapple shell.

Wandering in the streets which had innumerable photogenic spots was the most joyful experience I had in the historical city. I found it to be a very laid back town and was amazed to see people learn and play musical instruments right by the streets. The art galleries by the main street was very interesting to look at, most of it represented the history and design of the city. The colorful doors of San Juan was the highlight of many of these galleries.

We visited the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista which is the Roman Catholic Cathedral and one of the oldest buildings of San Juan. We also explored another National Historic Site Paseo Del Moro which is a scenic relaxed walk way along the coast on one side and wall on the other which once upon a time protected the city. Overall the experience of Old San Juan is very welcoming and pleasant. I would love to return and unravel the unexplored areas of the city.

 Things to do:

Visit the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista
Explore National Historic Site Paseo Del Moro
Walk,walk and walk all over the city

Places to eat :

Istanbul Turkish
El Picoteo Spanish

The Forts of Old San Juan!

A photographer’s delight, San Juan in Puerto Rico holds a very long and enchanting history. A tropical hub of forts, jungles and beaches, Puerto Rico is a chain of islands in the Caribbean deserves to be in every traveler’s bucket list.

On our first day, we explored the old city of San Juan by foot and visited the national historic sites of the city. The two castles stand proudly in the heart of the island about a mile apart from each other for hundreds of years now. Our first stop was the Castillo San Cristobal Fort. The dome shaped stone walls in every corner looked marvelous with the backdrop of the dark blue Atlantic ocean. The fort was originally created by Spanish rulers to protect their land of San Juan. It is very commendable that the strongly built tunnels, walls and canons are well preserved for decades of years now.

Dome Shaped Stone Walls

Atlantic Ocean Coast

Interior of the Fort

Castillo San Cristóbal

Castillo San Cristóbal

We then walked towards the San Felipe del Morro Fort which was about twenty minutes walk along the coast from the San Cristobal Fort. We enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the tourists flying large colorful kites in the park. The castle is surrounded by the colonial-era cemetery Santa María Magdalena de Pazzison on one side and a gorgeous pebble walk way on the other. We relaxed by the park for quite some time and relished delicious mango coconut ice cream on the way back as it was a beautiful sunny day in the middle of February. I truly loved the spectacular tropical city of San Juan and would recommend it to all the avid travelers who would like to explore a historical yet serene city.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Bird Eye View

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery

Dome Shaped Stone Walls

Pebble Walk Way

Interiors of the Fort

Blast from the Past, Wisconsin Dells!

Every year my parents visit me here in the United States and we usually plan our annual travel trip during the summer. Last summer, we traveled to Wisconsin Dells because it is at a driving distance from Chicago and there are just so many fun activities to do out there especially during the summer. In small towns such as the Dells, we prefer staying in bed and breakfast over a hotel. It feels more homely and you also get to enjoy breakfast first thing every morning. Our Bed and Breakfast was Victorian style old home with a pool right by the breakfast patio. We really enjoyed the home cooked delicacies every morning. The inn had a huge backyard that overlooked the Dells river. The evening we reached there we enjoyed sipping coffee in the backyard and then crossed over the road to walk along the river walk.

We spent our first day in Dells exploring the river area with Upper Dells Boat tour. Our guide gave us brief descriptions of rock formations and sandstone cliffs overlooking the Dells river. The boat took us to two scenic locations where we got down and explored the areas on our own. We walked down the mysterious pathway of witches gulch and enjoyed watching the dog jump over the stand rock. We did a short hike through the forest and reached back to board the boat that took us back.

We ended our first day in Dells enjoying delicious wraps at a local restaurant in Downtown Dells. Downtown Dells was walking distance from our Bed and Breakfast and that was one of the best part that we did not had to deal with any other means of commute. My parents loved our trip to the Dells and it is definitely one of the best destinations in the US for family vacation. We also went river tubing, jungle safari and horse canyon riding in the Dells which I can’t wait to share in my next post 🙂 Family vacations are just the best, where did you recently travel with your family? Do share. I would love to know.

My Birthday in the tropical forest, Key Largo!

I always tend to find reasons to travel and my birthday was just a perfect reason for another travel adventure. Starting this year I have decided to travel to a new destination every year on my birthday and make some extraordinary memories every year. This time I spent my 27^th Birthday in Key Largo, one of the islands in Florida. It is also called the diving capital of the world because of it numerous diving sites in the Atlantic Ocean.

To name a few, Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon and Key West are a string of islands that stretch across Southern Florida also called the Florida Keys. After visiting Key West last year, I really wanted to explore the other islands and picked Key Largo since it was just a couple of hours from Miami. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo is very famous among divers for its shallow coral reefs which makes excellent snorkeling location. So we were really excited to take a snorkeling trip there. We were lucky that our guide decided to take us to the Christ of the abyss location for snorkeling. The bronze statue of Jesus Christ stands underwater and makes one of the favorite spots for snorkeling.

After spending the day snorkeling in the ocean, we then headed to our resort, which to my surprise this was by far the best place I have ever stayed during my travels. We stayed at Hilton Key Largo resort which had its own private hammock beach and huge tropical forest. Our room overlooked the forest area I enjoyed every moment of our stay at this resort. I celebrated my outdoor birthday dinner with live music at one of the local restaurants and it was like a dream come true to sit outside and enjoy the warm weather in the month of December. Now that is why Florida is one of my all time favorite destinations to travel. What’s yours?