Paradise found.

After an 8 hour overnight journey,you reach this place called Garmisch.Temperatures are in single digits.And its so freezing cold that you cannot even get your hands out of your jacket pockets to munch some chips.That cold,now you know what I mean.This place’s most famous tourist spot is Zugspitze .Which is the highest peak in Germany.If its this damn cold down town,we are pretty sure by now we would never survive Zugspitze.We look at each other and wonder,what in the hell were we thinking when we decided to make a trip to this place.We walk aimlessly ,searching for the big MacDonalds sign anywhere.At least,lets keep our tummies happy,we think.During this aimless wander,we chance upon the Tourist Information Center.She tells us that temperature at Zugspitze is zero degree c. At least,ingeyaavathu single-digitla irukku,anga mela ponnaa aapu thaan,we think to overselves.As an after thought,she adds,”Actually,the conditions at Zugspitze are pretty mild today [ Err..since when did zero degree c become mild???].Though its zero degreeC,the suns shining up there and its a good time to visit the place.”We thank her for her advice and resume our search for Mac.Finally,after having filled our tummies,we decide,Zugspitze it is.Whether we can bear it or not,at least lets shiver a bit and catch the next train back.

Sitting in the cogwheel train ,all buttoned up to face the music.

First signs of snow atop this shed.

A little further down,hmm..more snow..

More time passes,and we see…

a lot of snow !!

After a 1 hour journey we reach the mountain station,go out the door.And this is what we see.

A piece of heaven on earth.

Pointless??Really??

I always though modern art was pointless. Was proved wrong by this one.

Can anyone tell me whats the point proven by this pointy “art” ?

Bee movie

Seinfeld.

Spielberg cameo in the trailer.

Animation.

Dreamworks.

I just can’t wait for Nov 2.

Gracias,Italy! – 2

So the first thing that impressed me was the Colosseum.The next,a much lesser known one.I didn’t know it existed till I visited Rome

2.The Trevi Fountain.

Generically,for all the monuments in Rome,there is a big difference viewing it by day and by night.While by day,you do admire the architectural intricacies,by night you just admire how magnificent and beautiful it looks.

The theme of the fountain is the Taming of the Waters.That is the God Neptune ( The God of the Sea in Roman mythology),and his Tritons  (They are the sons of the God Neptune.Also,Triton is the name of the largest moon of the planet Neptune) are taming the seahorses.Legend has it that if you throw one coin into the fountain,you will surely return to Rome one day.If you throw two,you will get married in Rome and If you throw three,any guesses ? You will be divorced in Rome !! Can you beat that ? How many people would be throwing three coins in there ).Everyday almost 3000 euros are thrown into this fountain [ Courtes:Wikipedia].Whew.Thats a lot of people either wanting to get divorced or wanting to return to Rome,I guess

As usual,the above shot is one of many failed attempts at perfection.This was the best of the lot.To add to our woes,the place was perpetually crowded at any time of the day.Really hard to get a nice clean picture here.But this view of the fountain by night really took my breath away.It would have been much more beautiful if it had been less crowded. But you gotta live with the fact that Italy is too major a tourist centre to expect those luxuries.

Little Miss Sunshine

Really hard to describe this movie.This was released way back in 2006.It has been on my should-I-watch list for almost a year now ,and finally I did watch it during the weekend.And I really regret not having seen it earlier.Its one of those movies that ,for some totally inexplicable reason,just touches you deeply in someway .Its still hard for me to figure out why I liked this movie so much.It has no big storyline,no big names(as far as I know),no unpredictable twists,no nail-biting climax,no rolling-on-the-floor-with-laughter one liners either.But it works!Brilliantly.

In a line,the story is about a dysfunctional American family that takes a road trip so that their little daughter could participate in a beauty contest for kids thats taking place in California.Thats about it.Really.At least to Indian movie-goers,this hardly classifies as a story.But,what makes this movie worth watching is the subtle screenplay.

No bucketloads of tears to express sympathy,affection .One of the best moments is the one below.Sometimes,all you need is a hug to express your empathy.

This kid ,who plays the role of the little daughter whose desire is to win the Little Miss Sunshine contest,takes it all.Shes perfect for her role.Can’t believe she wore a “fat” suit to fit into the role of a plump little kid !!

And the subtle message here might be -Functional,or dysfunctional,family is family.We need each other to get by and get through !

Italyil Idli..

..romba miss pannen.Enna irunthaalum namma idli, dosa pola varaathu.I remember the times during my childhood when I used to avoid idli like the plague.Every single day of school ,just seeing that plate of 2 idlis used to make me go eww.It was a humongous task for my mom to make me eat just half an idli before going to school.

Absence does make the heart grow fonder,I can say.The first time we made idli after arriving here ,it was one hell of a feast.And,during the Italy trip,my love for this food group has only grown.Four days of croissants,cup cakes,pizzas .Had enough of it.

The cappucino was heavenly,though.

Gracias,Italy!

This poor blog has been neglected for so long.But seriously,I think I’ve ADD [ If you didn't know,its Attention Deficit Disorder].Nothing can hold my attention for longer than a day.And,actually,this blog has been an exception.Another reason is I’m running out of fodder to write and ,my puny little brain just wouldn’t bother to think of any topic to write.But,its time to dust the cobwebs off this place,in the hope that I shall continue to keep this blog alive.Obviously,the last most exciting thing that happened was our trip to Italy.It had its ups and downs with me falling sick on the very first day,having nothing much to eat during the whole day,ordering one Italian Veggie pizza in the night and finding boiled brinjals and zucchini as toppings was enough to put off my appetite.But that was the only bad thing.The rest was all fun.I don’t want to make this post really really long by writing elaborately in detail about everything.I’m sure my few readers too would be having Attention Deficit Disorder ,heh.But,would like to list the things that impressed me the most.

• The Colosseum :

Have to admit,that at first sight,which was like around 3 in the afternoon,I wasn’t too impressed.From the outside,it looked like just any other ruined monument.But when we got inside,I realized that it was pretty huge.And can you believe,it was built roughly around 1920 years ago ?!! And it took almost ten years to build this.The scene of many a bloody sport,surely,you would have an idea of what took place inside the Colosseum if you have watched Gladiator.To date,no matter how many times I watch that movie,the scene where Crowe puts a knife into his opponent’s feet makes me go ouch!This is what the Colosseum looks like from the inside.

All those compartments that you see below the arena were used as dens for beasts as well as for housing the gladiators.

My admiration for the Colosseum increased as time passed by.Because,by evening ,it was totally lighted and ,definitely,it inspires more awe with the lights on .It was then,that we really regretted not having a tripod as it was way too difficult to get a good shot in natural lighting without using Auto mode.But,somehow ,after many lame attempts ,we did manage to get one.Here goes.

Isn’t it a beauty? And,to think ,it still remains standing after so very many years.Think I’ve already exceeded my own limits.I mean,I wouldn’t possibly read a post longer than this.I suppose that holds true for the readers as well

On a totally different note,except for that one Pizza,Italian Pizza truly rocked It was our staple food for the next four days !And,yea,I’m not done with thanking Italy.To Be Continued.

Pesu India Pesu

Has anyone seen the new Reliance India mobile ads ? The theme ,being,so many people are willing to give advice for free.So,Reliance is coming up with free local calls whatever.And they use the tag line “Pesu India Pesu”.A really creative ad that does tickle your funny bone a bit So true,ain’t it ? When you are single,people advise you to get married.When you’re married,people advise you to get divorced.When its cricket,there are so many people ready to advise our men in blue.When you’re pregnant,everyones a born doctor with loads of advice.When you’ve forgotten something or made a mistake,there is so much of the useless “You could have done” advice.Sigh,advice,advice.So many people,so much advice,so little thats really heard and so much more little that makes any sense at all.Unfortunately,I could not find it anywhere on the net.So just hope you guys have already caught it on TV.

Smmokkkinng !!!

Talk about making a fast buck and having fun along the way as well.These guys just knew how to do it.Spotted outside the Colosseum.Lots of these guys dressed up as gladiators ready to pose with you for 5 Euros.We caught this rare sight of a gladiator having a smoke.Gladiator smoking outside Colosseum.Some sight to see

In the olden days,it seems that it was preferable for gladiators not to kill each other during the fights.They would be just instructed to inflict non lethal wounds on each other and they often lived long ,successful lives ,purchasing their freedom after three years. However,accidents did happen at times,resulting in death.Courtesy:Wikipedia.

This is so contrary to what was shown in the movie Gladiator .All these days,I thought this whole gladiator fights thingy was a brutal show of violence.Looks like it was not always that way.

Italy,here I come !

Preparing to go on a vacation is way too hectic.Paranoia strikes after you read about the umpteen instances of pickpocketing and thefts that take place at your destinations.Then you start to read about how to carry your belongings safely.Its when you read other travellers’ accounts that you realize,thankfully,that you’re not the only one who is over-cautious while travelling.What can I say,there are people who’ve stuffed money down their socks ! Paranoia is finally replaced by exhaustion when you decide its just not worth getting so worked up about,just,a vacation.Then comes the checklist.What to take.What starts off as a simple half -a- page affair elongates and prolongs like our TV serials.Then the getting charged part.Charge,charge everything you can get your hands on.Cell phones,camera batteries,ipod.Thats when you realise it would have been better to be living in the Stone age.Next,print.Print everything you can get your damn hands on.Flight tickets,train tickets.hotel confirmations.

Too bad we grew up.It was easier just holding my Dad’s hands and walking to the train station for a vacation.Or I could console myself that the Colosseum and the Leaning tower of Pisa is worth this Paranoia