Okay why is it important for us? Because we had lots of good food, met good ol’ friends, had a good time! Isn’t that what we are all about: Good food, Good friends, and a Good life!

So, let me recap what all happened, and then I will follow up with the new recipes. I am sooooo excited!

First stop: Harrisburg, PA. Let me say one thing, wow, for a small little place, it is power packed! Has lots of good stores for shopping, good deals, lots of good grocery stores, lots of Indian grocery stores.

We lived with Maira jaan and her parents. Maira is so gorgeous! Maira’s mom, Sadia, is such an awesome cook. She is a great artist too. I will post some of her recipes.

They took us to Hershey town. While I have been to the Chocolate Factory long back, its always been in the winter. But it is Maira loves it, and Sadia says its much more fun in the summer with the rides and stuff.

From Harrisburg we went to Baltimore, to dear friend Tehsins. She has a new house! Its so lovely. Its purrrfect!
And the food she cooked; Oh, oh! Thai Curry with chicken, Chicken manchurian, super simple fried rice (ofcourse, its all Indian-ized!).

In Baltimore, Tehsin treated us to the Aquarium located in the downtown, right at the Inner Bay (I think that’s what it is called). It was so much fun! The highlight was definitely the Dolphin show and the 3-D movie theater which was playing our sons favorite movie ‘Diego’!

Did lots of grocery shopping, again awesome Indian and Chinese grocery stores!

So, I know even though its winter up here in Northeast Ohio; its still possible to have fun. Just take the effort and drive to a little bit warmer place. This way you get to meet your friends, spend some time with them, (of course remember to invite them to your place too), enjoy good food (also help them however you can, so its less taxing to the host), and have a good time!

Gotta go, I have to cook lunch now (planning to cook the Thai curry with chicken now, and then use the Shan Chicken Ginger masala).

I will come back and post the super awesome recipes, and promise they are super simple too.

Till then, take care!

Kashmiri people, Kashmiri food, Kashmiri Pashmina shawls, Kashmiri Silk carpets, just few of the things about Kashmir that are so special, you need to experience it first hand to believe me!

Gently glide your hand over the silk carpets to experience the unique craftsmanship, the intricate designs on a Pashmina shawl, or the warmth it gives, the kebabs or the various chutneys you can enjoy at a wedding in Kashmir, every thing is so unique, and so detail oriented.

Even if you get invited to a tea party, the preparations that go into it, oh, reminds me of a scene from Kate and Leopold movie, where Leopold explains to Kate the importance of preparations and the menu for a guest.

Yes, even in the chaos I can smell the fragrant Kehva (the spice tea), I can hear the gurgling of the streams with cold water of the Himalayas, I can feel the softness of the pashmina and the silk carpet, I can appreciate the architecture of the fallen apart houses in the older cities of Kashmir.

Yes, I am in love.

It must be paradise.

Dubjan

We accidentally arrived at Dubjan last weekend, or more like our Driver tricked us into it. It is beautiful!!! It has the lovely fog covered mountains on all sides, a small flowing creek with cold water, that you can easily cross over to go trekking (not really trekking, but for lazy people like me, it felt like trekking a huge mountain) . Reminded me of Switzerland, and ofcourse the best part, it was FREE! (you know how I love bargains, especially free stuff).

We could not go any further because of our little companions, but on top of the small hill, there was a lake, where everyone was heading. Not too many people, so it made it a path less traveled more exciting.

I will update this post more in sometime, with more information on Silk Route, Mughal Road and some pictures of our outing. Till then, stay happy!

So turn on the Tele, and micro some popcorn, and have a good time!

Bon-nuit!

Well, I did add the Reconnect to the list. Actually, I woke up this morning, and I started emailing and calling my friends. I would rather prefer seeing them and spending time with them. But atleast talking to them, or seeing an email also makes me happy.

I talked with Komal, and then Shilpa (Happy Birthday Shilpa). Then tonight I also bumped into a batchmate from good old engineering days. He was with his family and his daughter was so cute! It was lovely seeing them all. Last week too, I bumped into another school friend. Happy times.

So reconnect, I did.

I dont see how you could backpack your way through Europe. Its crazy expensive.

In Switzerland, there are a whole lot of mountains, a whole lot of beautiful cows, with bells around their necks, and a whole lot of either grass or snow on the mountains. And oh yes, the lakes. So overall, it is very beautiful. Definitely a destination for honeymoon.

The two things I did that I enjoyed the most in Switzerland are: Toboganning and Para gliding. Totally worth it. Infact toboganning is not that expensive too. We did it only a couple times, because of the time constraint. Para gliding was awesome! I think we paid something like $150 (for 20 mins of flight and the picture CD). You feel like a bird. I am not kidding.

Zurich is a wonderful city. Nice to walk through the streets.

I love Paris, no matter how cliche it sounds. Also, I ate crepes with chocolate and banana topping in Paris(yes; at a road side cafe).

We visited the Louvre museum, to see the Mona Lisa, (super disappointed – because it is sooooooo small in size, and they dont let you get close to it). But I think museum is fun, if you get a guide who would explain the history behind the art. I got bored soon. Beautiful yes, but for a art major, it would be Disney Land.

Eiffel Tower on the other hand, totally awesome. I would recommend getting there during day light, so you can make the most of the parks around it, have kind of a picnic. Look at the beautiful bridges, admire the beautiful old buildings, oh I miss Paris.

We rented a car, we bought a GPS with Europe maps (totally worth it), but I think sometimes, it makes sense to just get lost. Our trip started at Amsterdam, drove through Germany (stayed at a very nice Wegner Hotel (very nice people, family owned I think, delicious breakfast). Most of the trip we were in Switzerland; Grindelwald (you can take a train from here to Jungfrau), Zurich, Interlaken, Geneva, etc. Then drove to Paris, finally from there back to Amsterdam (lived in a very nice BnB). We drove on highways in Germany and France, would definitely recommend to take inner roads once in a while.

So, recap: Love: Toboganning, Para gliding, Paris!

I am from India, and married to a Kashmiri. So last few years, my perspective of Kashmir has completely changed. When my friends or acquaintances ask me about Kashmir, all I have to say is, visit Kashmir once and see for yourself!
Even before landing from the airplane, you see from up above, the military like camouflage used for all the buildings (the airport, the hanger, etc etc). After you land, at every step of the way, even after a few kilometers away from the airport, their are security checkpoints. This is how you would start your trip to Kashmir.

Deforestation, Bomb blasts, military bases every few kilometers, that’s what you see first, but even amidst the ruin, the valley (Kashmir is a valley) is so breathtakingly beautiful. But I fear, if the current scenario prevails, its all going to change, it will be a shame! And all this for what? Just expanding boundaries? Sad, very sad.