FunderfulWorld

I gazed and admired and stared and marveled and wondered and gazed again… We rode the metro to the ‘Duomo’ stop, took the exit towards the Piazza del Duomo, ascended the stairs, and… I simply couldn’t take my eyes off the Duomo, located in the heart of Milan. I had viewed many pictures of this centerpiece of Milan earlier. Yet, when I saw the actual marble structure in all its grandeur (there is absolutely nothing that is simple about it), I was almost speechless.

Another very cold and grey weekend morning. The unanimous choice was to spend at least a couple of hours riding the ‘passante’ trains in Milan (with 2 ardent train lovers in the family, even if I hadn’t voted FOR, it would’ve been the majority choice! :)) We marched out in the ‘grey’ outdoors for a short walk to the Porta Garibaldi Railway Station. And VOILA! What a colorful feast for the eyes!

A winter weekend in Milan. Freezing temperatures outdoors. A three-and-a-half year old bundle of energy waiting to head out on a weekend morning. Parents in deep thought. How about the Milan Aquarium? It turned out to be a great decision on our part. A short ride in one of our favorite modes of transport, the tram, took us to one end of Parco Sempione, where the Milan Aquariumis located. This small aquarium, which offers free entry to all visitors, was a welcome respite from the bitter cold outside.

After unpacking, shopping for essentials, recovering from a wee bit of jet lag, and settling down in our little apartment, we looked forward to a relaxed weekend in Milan. Someone had mentioned that a street market took place on Tuesdays and Saturdays in our area. Well, I’d heard a great deal about the open-air markets in several European cities and I wondered what Saturday had in store for us. At about 6 am, we heard voices and the sound of vehicles outside.

Pasta, pizza, Parmesan, mozzarella, Espresso, cappuccino, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Versace, Gucci, Armani, Ferrari, Lamborghini, AC Milan, Inter Milan, … LA DOLCE VITA 🙂 Buongiorno from Milano, Italia! After a brief hiatus from blogging (a very busy couple of months on the personal front), I’m all set to share more stories with you. Join me as I explore the ‘funderful’ wonders of Milan, Italy, and the surrounding regions with my family.

After a lovely day in the midst of Ganesh Chaturthi festivities in Pune, we awoke to a bright morning in the city. With all the mandals in the snooze mode until evening time, we opted to spend the morning walking along Main Street (MG Road). A large part of this area remains unchanged from the last time I was here (was it 7 or 8 years ago?). And again, a flood of memories came by: unbeatable potato chips from Budhani Waferwala, brand new school uniforms from Indo-Foreign Stores, endless shopping in “Wonderland”, and MARZORIN!

Wish comes true! Destiny has a way with making wishes come true unexpectedly. For the past several years, I’ve been trying to plan a trip to Pune during Ganesh Chaturthi. I earnestly wanted my husband to experience the vibrant festivities first-hand. Somehow, the plans never worked. I almost forgot about this wish. And then, out of the blue, with less than a week’s notice, we had to visit Mumbai(and hence, an opportunity to visit Pune) right in the middle of the 10-day long festival.

And after that trip down memory lane, here’s what Maximum City Mumbai actually had in store for us during a very short visit this year: A breezy taxi ride over the “much talked-about” Bandra-Worli Sea Link (pretty impressive!). Picturesque glimpses of Haji Ali. A pleasant evening stroll along Napean Sea Road. A magnificent surprise: Glorious views of the Arabian Sea from the Priyadarshini Park (We happened to spot this park during our evening walk, and after much debate, decided to spend about 15 minutes there.

A sudden and unexpected short trip to Mumbai (Bombay) was the perfect stimulus for another vacation. As we hurriedly planned our travel, I traveled back in time… Bombay, Mumbai, Bambai – brings back a host of memories. For my family, long-time residents of the “slow-paced” Pune, life in Mumbai always seemed to have a “very fast pace”. However, the lively spirit and energy of the financial and entertainment capital of India ensured that we visited Mumbai several times.

Day 3:

We couldn’t leave the city without visiting the lake. Off to Kankaria Lake in the morning!