Italy!

My heart breaks to see Italy swamped with dreadful Covid-19 cases all over today (April 2020). We visited this country in October 2019 and since then I have been eager to pen down my travel experience of this beauty!

Usually, we are not the ones to plan a trip casually. But on a late August evening sitting at our local ice cream bar, we started looking for cheap flights to somewhere in Europe and found extremely cheap tickets to Rome (250 Bucks!). Without thinking much we booked tickets for October and started dreaming about our vacation. The next couple of days went in a happy state of mind looking at pictures of Rome, Naples, Amalfi Coast and Tuscany just to realize there were no visa appointments until our day of the flight. Bummer! We started researching if we could go to some different country’s consulate or to Italy’s consulate in New York to get an appointment. We had started thinking of plans to visit some different country other than Italy (Finland / Austria as their consulates had open appointments) but Italy was fixated on my mind. Scanning through the consulate’s website every 2 hours for a few days, I finally secured an appointment for myself and squeezed in Parag too!!

The moment we started planning our trip to this country, we had lots of itineraries and never-ending wish list. The north-south – east-west all of it! But considering the length of our vacation, we had to cut down on a lot of places and we finally ended up having Florence and Rome as our base.

It was 10 at night when we arrived at the renaissance capital of Italy – Florence. The city’s spirit and confidence were glaring through the green, white and pink marble facades of the Duomo (Meaning cathedral in Italian). Duomo’s dome also known as the Brunelleschi’s dome is an inspiration to several architectures including Michelangelo’s St Peters dome in the Vatican. This is the centre city and encompasses the Florence cathedral, Duomo, Belltower, museum and Baptistery. You will get to see amazing views of the Duomo from the Belltower (277 Ft, 414 steps).

When in Florence you cannot miss the Arno river which divides the city north-south and has played a major role in building a historical Florence. We did a walking tour of Florence (thanks to Ricks Steve’s book) and ended up walking 20 km a day. The walk across the Ponte Vecchio bridge built over Arno was teeming with tourists, shopping leather bags and scuffling to get a picture with the river ‘Arno’. Heading towards the south, there is piazza Michelangelo from where you can have a bird’s eye view of the city. If you want to save some energy, consider taking a bus (12 or 13 number) from the centre of the city which will drop you right at the viewing spot. As the sun sets down, you will see this beauty with domes, rivers, bridges and the orange-ish light reflecting over those renaissance architectures. While the street vendors start packing up in the evenings, bars and restaurants get busy setting up tables in the sidewalks keeping the city’s energy intact. 

Every morning we grabbed some Sfoglie (puff pastries or croissants filled with ricotta/pastry cream) and cappuccino at a bakery close to the train station before proceeding for our day’s trip.

 

The small towns of Sienna and San Gimignano in the Tuscany countryside were magical. Medieval walls, tight alleys, orange-ish light, cobbled streets, quaint houses and glaring history. Sienna has a huge square called piazza del campo which was one of the largest squares since medieval times in the 1140s. And off course, there was wine tasting to end the tour.

Siena

 

Siena

Wine Tasting!

 

Cinque Terre, Venice and Pisa were quick trips we did from Florence in a day’s time. I personally felt the leaning tower of Pisa is not worth more than 2 hours of visit. We spent 1 hour or so at the leaning tower, clicked pictures and took a train to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre literally means ‘Five Villages’, comprising Manarola, Riomaggiore, Vernazza, Corniglia and Monterosso. We visited 3 towns Riomaggiore, Vernazza and Manarola.  Liguria region of northwestern Italy is home to Trofie Pesto pasta. So make sure you do not miss this 🙂 Vernazza has one of the best Gelatos in Italy with unlimited flavours. There is a castle in Vernazza which will give you beautiful views of the Ligurian sea.  Manarola was a little more crowded than others but had beautiful views of the colourful houses. If given more time, I would recommend doing a hike across these smaller towns of Cinque Terre.

 

Cinque Terre

View of the Ligurian Sea from Vernazza

Venice 🙂

Next, we headed to Rome! With every caution to take care of our belongings and pickpockets, we started the long day with Colosseum (most visited site in Rome), Roman forum and the palatine hill. Walking through the steps once Ceaser had walked felt awe-inspiring. For a moment I went into the Gladiator era looking at the colosseum structure dated 2000 years back. We were extremely excited to photograph colosseum at night! So one night we left our BnB at 11 PM to see this (Photo below)!

Our BnB in Rome was next to Campo di Fiori so we got to see this piazza (meaning square) day and night. Late night and evenings, the square was full of bars and restaurants, live music and tourist relishing their wine. Surprisingly, in the morning, this same square was occupied by local shops and market place. This is an old tradition in Italy where piazzas are used for the market place and a convenient area to meet people during the day and restaurants during the night. This tradition is followed even today in some places. We followed Ricks steve guide to wander around in Rome. Ended up walking average 10 km per day! 

How can you go to Italy and not have COFFEE! It is said, Howard Schultz –  Founder of Starbucks got the idea of starting a coffee chain from whole bean coffee roasters La Casa Del Caffè Tazza D’oro in Rome very close to Pantheon. We had a pit stop here though it was not our coffee time! Coffee lovers neither care to sit leisurely nor care how much change you get back on the payment. All they care is the Coffee here.

Roman Forum

Tuscany

We had read that the Vatican city (smallest country) has one of the best pizza. And trust me, that pizza with pesto and cheese drooling over the pizza base was out of the world. Minimalist, fresh and perfectly baked. If I ever go to the Vatican again, I will make sure to have a pizza in Vatican city.

More pictures are here: https://www.instagram.com/hislenshereyes/?hl=en

Tips:
1. To beat the rush, consider visiting the bell tower in Florence or Leaning tower of before 9 AM.

2. Take extra caution of your wallets and personal items at touristy places like Trevi fountain, Pisa

3. Public transport is excellent in Italy! In fact, driving a car in small towns like Cinque might be time-consuming and strenuous

4. Pre-book all train tickets from 1 city to another. Otherwise, you will end up buying tickets twice the original price.

Trofie Pesto Pasta

Mindblowing- Pesto Pizza

 

The Canadian Rockies.!

It’s been almost 2 weeks that I am back from Alberta, Canada. But I keep reminiscing about Mountains, Glaciers, Falls, Lakes with blue waters and if not anything then the amazing people out there. Mind and Soul are trying to hold back memories which the brain is trying hard to fade away. It is 5 AM now, and I woke up with a splash of Canadian dreams. Dreams about snow clad mountains, emerald green water, blue coloured lakes, crystal clear lakes, I can go on with the colours that we saw. Those colours were like nothing as seen before. Over the years we have been taught that  ‘Water is Blue’. I think it’s time to believe it now.

Oh! These views ❤

On a bright sunny morning, we began our journey from Edomton, Canada towards Jasper. Our plan was to stay in Jasper one night and then move towards Banff (even better landscapes) for next couple of days. As we left Edmonton after an hour or so, roads started curling into the alpines. ‘Colourless’ water turned green-blue. We were twinning with high mountains on the left and the turquoise Athabasca River on the right. We took stops where our eyes pleased to do so. And as we proceeded, these stops increased. Yes, Jasper (And even Banff) has curbside lookout points for you to stop and relish the view. But unfortunately (or fortunately) it snowed for a couple of hours in Jasper. We were puzzled to see snow in July but nonetheless, the views were beautiful – Christmasy like.

Lake Maligne, Maligne Canyon and lake medicine were on our radar. The drive to Lake Maligne is equally beautiful as the destination. You can kayak (17 miles) or cruise up to Spirit islands from lake Maligne to get beautiful views of the Canadian Rockies with the island in the centre. As it stopped raining by the end of the day, we also visited Lake Patricia and Lake Pyramid and ended our day at ‘The Earls”, a popular family-owned chain started since the 1980’s.

Athabasca Falls

Next morning we woke up to see beautiful views right from our Inn in Jasper downtown and there were Elks in the middle of town. How can you come to the Canadian Rockies and not see Elks, right? Though we were excited to see this herd, mind you the locals in Jasper today think they are quite a nuisance to the city.

Athabasca River

Our day started with Athabasca falls. Gushing forcefully on Hard quartzite, these falls from Columbia Icefields Parkway have created narrow gorges cutting through the softer limestone. It is breathtaking to see this water pouring forcefully into deep canyons with mountains in the backdrop. Additionally, we hadn’t seen the sun on the previous day, so even a shaft of light was a ray of hope. And the weather got better over time and gradually white clouds started to look like cotton-candies amidst the blue skies. We had our GoPro mounted to the windshield and I bet no one in the car has relished better views of Candian Rockies than him. We headed towards Golden, (where our AirBnB was) via the Icefields Parkway and had countless stops on our way, each one being better than the previous one. Almost all stops were either falls or lakes. But each lake had a different shade of blue or green. I am falling short of colour names here and I guess the dictionary will fall short of it too.!

We had Lake ‘Peyto’ high on our list but somehow we missed it as there were no clear directions for it. Little did we know it was not a lake to be seen at eye level but from a Summit (Bow Summit) which is the highest driveable pass in the Icefields Parkway. (Additionally, you can hike to this lake too (Next Visit :P)) While admiring the beauty of Bow Lake which was 5 mins further to Peyto Lake, we decided to drive back and give a shot at finding lake ‘Peyto’. Parked at Bow Summit, walked 200 ft and BOOM! There it was –  A Turquoise colour lake in a valley surrounded by mountains and alpine trees. It was hard to believe what my eyes were perceiving. I literally had wet eyes by the time I left this place.

Lake Peyto on the way to Banff via the Icefields Parkway

Emerald Lake

Further, as we drove towards Golden, BC, the sun was starting to set and sun rays on the mountains made them appear Golden in colour. Guessed why the city is rightly named as Golden. Our BnB was 20 mins away from Golden which is almost in the Yoho National Park. Since 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railways, make their way through Golden and have spiral Tunnels winding through the lush green mountains. People queue up to see a train coming through those spiral tunnels.

Following day we headed to Lake Moraine and Lake Louise which are the most visited lakes in Banff and the Rockies. Lake Louise has a trail going up to Lake Agnes where one can enjoy the British style Tea House serving local cakes and Tea/Coffee. The hike was 3 hours long and steep but it is a treat to see Lake Louise from the top. Note that if you plan to buy tea/ coffee at the tea house, plan to bring cash. Also, I would suggest having proper hiking gears as you can go further to Lake Agnes and hike up the mountain. I will skip on commenting about their beauty and let the pictures speak for themselves.

9 PM at Emerald Lake.

The best part of this trip was the hours of daylight we had. Even at 10 pm, we were enjoying the view of Lake emerald in the dusky light. We had so much to see that we were falling short of 18 hours of sunlight too. There were 0 tourists here, water was so calm and seemed to hold no grudges with roaring mountains surrounding it. We missed Lake O’Hara which was again high on the list, as it was 13 Km hike away. And if you plan to take the shuttle, there are only 2 in a day (10 Am and 3 Pm). So plan accordingly.

Last day went strolling across Banff downtown and maybe the cutest town I have ever seen. Local cafe’s and souvenir shops were tucked into high mountain ranges. On our way back home, I looked behind and I could see the mountains ranges going far away. Physically I was moving farther but even after 2 weeks now, I am still there; In the mountains.

PS: Thanks to the amazing bunch of people for hosting us and making this trip so memorable. It wouldn’t be fun without you guys. You rock!

For more pictures follow us on https://www.instagram.com/hislenshereyes/

Second Stop – Pittsburgh

You always tend to judge a place by the circumstances that brings you to that place. Or the kind of work you do in that place. Or maybe just the vibes. So, Pittsburgh.!  The first city that I travelled out of my home country. The first city that pinched me how much I love my friends and family. First city I had to be on my own and make my own good friends. Pittsburgh tested me in all my elements (I think).

Now that I think of the past, coming to the States from India was quite a huge decision for me. It’s been 5 years in the USA, but the first 2 years in Pittsburgh has carved some good memories in my heart. 6th August 2012  –  I landed in Pittsburgh to pursue Masters. Oh!  by the way, I still have the first international flight ticket in my wallet 🙂 I am definitely not preserving it, but somehow I never felt like trashing it off. The journey was smooth. My eyes were capturing much more than my brain could capture.

Church

Cathedral Of Learning

Clean roads, huge aircrafts, left-hand drives, the punching machines (Everywhere; home/ bus/ college), tall buildings, everything was so overwhelming. First few skype days, I could not tell my parents anything about the city. Because we were still stuck with basic questions like housing, food, cash flow etc.

This city slowly grew on me. And now, I totally, totally love Pittsburgh. It is historically known for American and civil war. Popularly known as steel city for largest steel business and also known as the city of Bridges (With around 450 bridges in this city). And trust me, If you visit Mt Washington you would yourself say, it is indeed a city of bridges. You get one of the most gorgeous views of the city from here and you clearly see the confluence of 3 rivers  – Allegheny, Monongahela River and Ohio River.

Mornings here were so pleasing. There was an acute crispness in the air, I had never experienced before. Colder mornings were even more stimulating. I was working part-time in the library which demanded odd working hours. But thanks to that, I could witness the sun rising behind the Cathedral of Learning (Tallest academic building here). And snow days were magical. There is nothing better than watching the snow with ‘Hot Chai’ in your hands.

The street that we lived on, Walnut street, was lively and charming. And known for a good neighbourhood – Shady Side (Don’t go by the Name. It is not shady at all :P). There were cute cafes by the street, happy drunkards (mostly students), nice options to eat and of course branded shops  (which we hardly went to :P; as students). The public transport was superb. Mind you, people owning cars generally don’t say that.

Everything had doubled, tripled in scale after coming here. The library was huge (as huge as 3-4 marriage halls combined in India). Grocery stores were like never seen before. I slowly got used to all this. But not sure if I liked all this. There was an emptiness within. The fact that I was 12000 km away from my family would suddenly someday scare me. But the best part was, my parents were awake even If I would call them in the middle of my night 🙂 Different time zones is a boon sometimes 😛

I have no clue how my 2 years passed by. But if I think of Pittsburgh right now, it gives me goosebumps. I am confused if I miss the place or those days. I made few close friends (I think its time to call them Family) for a lifetime and definitely earned a degree.

Cheers to some good old days!

P.S. Stay tuned for “The First stop” 😉

 

One of my favourite photos of ‘THE’ city from Mt Washington captured by Aditya Jaltade. (Pittsburgh Family .! ) 

The English style!

Jetlagged? No. Tired? No. I had no idea what had spoiled my sleep at 5 in the morning. Maybe it was the overwhelming memories of our trip to the UK, or maybe the dream I was caught up in an old style pub in England, or maybe the people I left behind or the entire place itself. Sipping a cuppa of ‘Chai’ (Tea bought from there), with their cookies and the Bakewell cake, I cannot get off the memories of this place. Physically, I am back here in the USA but feels like I left behind something. Mind and soul are still trying to catch up with the body.

 The flight was just 6/7 hours long from east coast which is approximately the same time it takes to reach California from here. So apart from the fact that I was carrying my passport, I did not think in any way I was travelling internationally. And with the fact that, we will be staying at my sister-in-law’s place, I knew even if the weather was harsh upon us (which is quite common in the UK), we would not fail to have a good time with them at home. But we got lucky with the weather conditions. There was a cloud cover in London for some time but other than that it was nice bright days during our stay out there.

St Paul’s Cathedral

London in its elements

Just to make the picture clear, UK currently comprises of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England, Wales and Scotland is together called Great Britain. So briefly, I can say we visited England only. There is a subtle difference between the Scottish and the English people belonging to Scotland and England respectively in various respects.

             

 From the moment we planned our trip to England, I was all excited about London. But after getting there, I realised there is much more to England other than London. And surprisingly the English countryside was even more beautiful, historic and wealthy. Endless grasslands, herds of sheep, mountains, narrow roads and windmills and the same scenes in every other direction. It was eye pleasing. We hiked through the mountains and lush green farms in Lake District National park. This national park is towards the north of England just below Scotland.  I wondered, If this is their Winter how would their Summer be like? 🙂

View after a small hike in Lake District National Park

Lake District – Endless scenes around

There were some perks of visiting England in December. We got to see their Christmas lights, fun filled Christmas markets and happy faces drinking Mulled wine all around. London had a different charm in the Christmas season. (Or maybe it is always charming 😉 ) The Christmas lights over Regent and Oxford street in London were mind blowing. All bars and pubs were overcrowded. I adored the old pubs in London (Especially, Ye olde Cheshire cheese)  and was stumbled to know it was rebuilt in 1660. 😮  Yes, you read it right, Rebuilt.!!  We had planned to have English breakfast at a very old restaurant called the ‘The Breakfast club’ in Soho. But was shocked to see a long queue, worth 2 hours wait, for this place which hardly had 4/5 tables inside .! haha. (Maybe this is what London is.!) Oldies did not miss their 3 o’ clock and 5 o’clock tea’s, with some cakes and scones. I was overwhelmed with their bakery products, especially Almond croissants. I wish I could pack 20/30 and get them here. Besides, the London eye, Big Ben, Picadilly circus, it is the history and culture that holds this city together. The telephone booths are still preserved, the crown’s palace, their guards and the horses, the old castles and mansions.

 

Tight Alleys ❤

Christmas Decor

Benefits of staying at my sister -in-laws’ place were; they knew a hell a lot of English countrysides. We would not see these small towns as first timers in the UK if it was not them. We spent a day in Cotswold area in Southern- Central England. Cotswold is known for golden/ yellow stone houses. They have traditional thatched roofs and that’s the beauty of these old English cottages that marks them different. These roofs are traditionally crafted using dry vegetation and can last more than 50 years if thatched skillfully. I was in complete love with a town in Cotswold called Chipping Camden. It had old English style houses, narrow roads and pubs and cafes. People in the countryside still prefer to use paper maps and scenic routes. They are not concerned if it is cloudy or not. They look if the clouds are grey or white or black! haha.!

Cafe/bar in Cotswold area near Broadway tower

Bath and Stonehenge were further on our list. Stonehenge, now owned by the crown, has countless theories (there are tonnes online) and is believed to be built in 2000 – 3000 BC. Bath which is an hour drive from Stonehenge is yet another touristy place primarily known for the natural hot water springs (spa) which are extremely rich in minerals. I recommend spending at least 1 night here to give proper justice to this place. There is a lot to see in Bath other than the Roman Baths.

Roman baths- Hot water spa

Stonehenge

I know (and maybe even you know 😛 ) I have not given justice to our Darling city – London in this write-up 🙂  But I think it clearly deserves its own piece and will be up soon. ! Meanwhile, you can see lots of photos from our trip on our Instagram Page.

Maine – The way life should be!

Couldn’t have agreed more with this state’s slogan  –  The way life should be. Maine, was never on our mind until we were left with no plans for the 4th of July weekend. And it surprisingly turned out to be a nice small vacation.

I had heard and read a lot about this state and its rugged coastline. There are many tourist places across Maine on its US1 coastal line. If you are planning to drive from Boston towards Bar Harbor; US 1 is quite a scenic drive and recommended, but the interstate highway I95 is also comparable. Throughout I95, we had glimpses of harbors, ponds, the Atlantic ocean and off-course pine trees all around.( Maine is nicknamed as  Pine Tree state)

Rocky Shores of Maine

Our plan was to visit Acadia National Park and its neighborhood towns like Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor, etc. Maine is full of docks. Any place you go, there has to be a port around the corner. Bar Harbor, near Acadia National Park, is quite a scenic town. It has some beautiful Bed and Breakfasts, Victorian homes and cute cottages. We wished to stay in such a BnB but due to our eleventh-hour plan, all were pretty much booked. We stayed at a charming inn called Elsa’s Inn overlooking the Prospect Harbor which is little farther away from the main campus of the National Park.

We reached our Inn at 10 pm in the night. As I just got out of the car, I saw up above, and I was in awe. Couldn’t believe my eyes! I could see the lightest star with naked eyes. I was never so happier (maybe) before. While my family was taking our belongings upstairs, I was still looking at the sky in pitch dark.  And maybe my best friend (some people prefer to call it better half 😉 ) realized how happy I was, and as soon as we got settled down in the room, he took out his camera, tripod, keys and said let’s go! I did not think for a split second, took my camera and drove little further on the outskirts. What a view!! Cannot put into words!  Imagine if the night itself is so crisp how would the day be!

Long Exposure Experiments on the Milky way

Early morning we headed towards Acadia National Park. Emerald green pitch pines and sapphire blue oceans were soothing to the eyes. Besides a paper map, we pretty much did not need anything else. The park has a 27-mile loop with different spots laid out where you can stop by and admire the nature’s beauty. Every place we were seeing was better than the other. And the one I adored the most was Jordan’s pond house with exceptionally clear water. Acadia National Park is a result of geological rock formations on Mount Dessert Island about 500 million years ago.

Cadillac mountains were on the top list of many forums and is well known for the first sunrise in the USA. We ended our day with Cadillac mountains and assumed we had seen the most beautiful place in Acadia. But yet the next day, we got to see another beautiful spot- the Schoodic point which is secluded from the rest of the park (and hence not much crowded). Schoodic was by far the best point in Acadia, and we were glad we did not miss it.

Jordan’s Pond House

 

Park Loop Road

 

Maine is famous for lobstering and hosts lobster festivals in the months of August. The seafood was obviously fresh, and crab cakes were delicious. And a meal with a harbor view was icing on the cake. We got a chance to dine at ‘The chart room’  which is a good place for dinner and has a view of docked ships appearing in silhouette against the sunset.

On our way back to Boston, we had another pit stop at Ogunquit, Maine which has some beautiful trails along the beach. One such walkway is the ‘Marginal Way’ with breathtaking views of the rocky shores of Maine. It did not seem marginal at all 😉

 

❤ these views.!

There are many other places like Portsmouth, York which are worth a visit in Maine. It’s a great place for people who love harbors and fishing. Would like to stay in a Victorian house on the next trip. Waiting for the Fall season to visit again 🙂

 

whateverPuertoRico

On a busy Friday (which seemed like a Monday), amidst the work pressures, we somehow managed to leave early from work. The fact that it was Friday evening itself had relaxed my mind and soul. And to add to it, my thoughts were drenched with tropical temperatures, beaches, Pina colada’s, long drives and the Caribbeans. Initially, our plan was only for the long weekend. But as we read more about Puerto Rico, we realized three days would not do justice to this beautiful island.

Vlog of our journey! Do watch.

 

Streets of Old San Juan

Since we landed San Juan pretty late, we spent that night in Old San Juan, which is the oldest Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico and also happens to be their capital. Our Airbnb was right in the heart of the city with a view of historical fort Castillo de San Cristobal overlooking the Caribbean sea. I could smell the fresh air and hear the gusty waves hitting the fort walls. The thick city walls seem to guard the city against the Pirates (of the Caribbeans :P). Old San Juan can be best toured walking around its narrow cobbled streets. And trust me it is a bliss to see colorful houses on the left and Atlantic ocean on the right. After a long time, I was using a paper map instead of Google maps. Old San Juan is even better at night…tight allies, small boutiques, vibrant surroundings and gracious people all around.

Caribbean sea by the City walls

Room with a View

Next we headed to a rainforest in Utuado – Central West of Puerto Rico. This place had a countryside feel with its narrow, curvy roads. We stayed in a treehouse, which by itself was an experience (And maybe deserves its separate blog :P). I was in love with a cute little Puerto Rican shack close to our treehouse serving some Mofongos and Wine with light music in the backdrop. Mofongo is an incredibly delicious Puerto Rican cuisine made up of Plantain. This place was in the city yet in the forests. Life seems so laid back when you wake up to the sound of birds chirping around. And welcome the sun sipping your morning coffee on a hammock on a deck that opens to a dense rainforest. I am so amazed at this island; it has dense rainforest on one end and beautiful rocky beaches just mins away from it. The Northwest and North has more rocky beaches than the East. La Cueva del Indio caves located in Arecibo had a breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean. You can see all shades of blue-green water here!

Caves at Arecibo

Hammock in the Treehouse!

I thought this was the perfect ‘date’ until we headed to Culebra – a land mass apart from the mainland to the east of Puerto Rico. We took a five seater flight (you can also take a ferry) operated by Air Flamenco named after one of the top 10 beaches in the world, Playa Flamenco located on Culebra. The aerial view of these land masses was worth the flight cost.  The Blue’s and the Green’s complemented each other.

Culebra

It is pretty easy to tour around with a golf cart or a bicycle. Being a foodie, we didn’t miss a visit to Zacos- Tacos and Dingy Dock. We loved Dingy dock; it was right on the deck with a view of the ocean again. Wherever you go in Puerto Rico, you will end up seeing the Ocean 🙂

If you are here, you ought to kayak the bioluminescent bay/ Mosquito Bay, known for its blue-green glow in the dark. There are so many things on the list you ought to do when you are here like snorkeling, ATV rides, watersport activities, etc. The list can just go on and on!

Photo credits@ Parag 🙂

A day of Baking!

So, well, I had read about this recipe in bits and pieces here and there. I came up with my own revised version of it 😉 The best part of baking desserts is the smell of melted butter and of course the dessert after immense efforts put into it. This post is primarily for experience with food photography but nonetheless, dessert turned out to be good too. So compiling the recipe and the photos together 🙂

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of Maple syrup
32 Oz of Ricotta cheese
6 beaten eggs
1 table spoon vanilla
Chocolate chips

 

Mix eggs and Ricotta cheese with a beater. Make sure there are no lumps in it.

 

Add Maple syrup to it depending on the sweetness you want.

 

Coat your baking bowl with butter and maple syrup at the bottom.

 

Transfer the cheese mixture to this bowl and bake it for 45 -50 min at 370° F.

 

You can cut into Pieces or scoop it. 😀 I topped it with chocolate chips.!

 

Enjoy.!!

 

 

Siendo yo Mismo – “Being Myself”

This is my first blog and I am pretty excited, startled and happy to share my experiences. I love visiting offbeat places, researching on the logistics until we get the ideal location, trying out traditional cuisines and yes, good food! So expect my posts on food, travel and life based on personal experiences.

Many of you who know me will be surprised to see that I can write too 😉 But I am trying to make an attempt at it. You may see more photos as and when they do better justice than words do:) I would love if you could make any kind of suggestions, comments and advice.

You can email me at: nehap1611@gmail.com and follow on: Instagram