The Silence Below Thirtieth Street

I took the day off work today to help people who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. I did not have to go very far. Twenty blocks south of where I live was a totally different world, it felt like a war zone. There were hardly any people on the streets and the national guard was out delivering food and supplies to shelters. There were policemen at every intersection as the traffic lights were not working. I was humbled by the few shops that were open, they were giving food and water to people who needed them at no cost. Among volunteers were elderly people, children and even the people that had been affected directly. It felt like everyone came together to help. As I walked down the road people asked me if I was ok or if I needed anything. I felt a sense of togetherness and pride; it made me very proud to be a New Yorker.

I hope we recover soon, please volunteer if you can. There are many people that are stuck in their homes with no food, electricity or water. Many of them are senior citizens who cannot fend for themselves and need help. It has been a rough few days. The streets below thirtieth made me see how vicious nature can be.

Filtering The Noise Away

When life moves at a hundred miles an hour one must filter out the noise. Times Square is a place where the world moves at a pace that you can barely keep up with. People bustling, cars honking, everyone in your way tripping over one another. It is difficult to find any semblance of tranquility there, yet I did. I saw a woman dressed as a bride staring at the lights in front of her. It seemed as though for a moment she had filtered away the noise in the noisiest spot in the world. I was lucky to capture her tranquility even if it was just for a second. A moment later her friends gathered around her, popping champagne. She had just gotten engaged and her picture was splashed on all the screens around her. I quickly left her in her whirlwind taking with me the one moment where she was alone with her thoughts.

Bahamian Beach Bliss

If you are looking for a place where all you do is lie on the beach, read a good book, eat, sleep and drink - the Bahamas is your answer. This is the perfect mid winter break. The greens and blues of the sea and sky just takes your breath away. Nassau has some fun snorkeling and if you are interested in diving it is a great place to discover underwater beauty. We tried to stay away from the touristy places. Few delicious eating spots we discovered were: Cafe Matisse, Blu Bar & Dune. Also if you are looking for luxurious relaxation be sure to check out the One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island - it has the most pristine private beaches. For breakfast make a trip to Compass Point where you will experience Eggs Benedict & crepes that will tickle your taste buds. Our trip was all about hopping from one beach to another, while swimming with the fishes and eating tasty food. I came back relaxed and ready to take on the world. Below are some pictures, for more you can click on -> Bahamian Beach Bliss.  

Fairytale Land

I want to live in the place of angels, unicorns and elves 

Where the sun shines everyday and rainbows have a pot of gold at the end 

Where there is fairy dust and your dreams come true 

As you sleep the moon sings a lullaby to you. 

Portugal is such a place
  

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Lishboah

Lisbon – a city of seven hills with white winding roads that are so narrow you can barely tell they exist, as you wind up and down them discovering the city one hill at a time. Almost all the buildings have colorful tiles on the outside that make each one of them look majestic; specially when glistening in the sunlight. We spent most of our time roaming the city taking it all in; visiting castles, monasteries and monuments. Sampling Portuguese food was on top of our list. We ate our first exquisite (10 course) meal at 100 Maneiras. We were fed cod on a clothes line among other strange but delicious delicacies. Another hotspot I would recommend is  A Travessa – a restaurant that is situated inside an absolutely breathtaking old monastery. One thing we noticed about Portugal was the lack of people. No place was ever crowded and come afternoon the streets were deserted no matter where you were. We visited near by towns of Belém and Sintra the former has the best pastel de nata at Café Pastéis de Belém. Pastel de nata is a traditional creamy custard pie that is sinful ! Lisbon has many area’s (Bairro Alto, The Alfama, Chiado, The Baixa) that you can walk up and down endlessly. The city is full of white cobble stone roads, monuments, fado music and amazing food ! Stop one on our Portuguese journey was delightful.

Let’s Run Away

What if you could live another life. What would it be? Would you live on an island in Greece or would you want to have lived in another time. Movies have been made and books written that deal with time travel or living a life other than your own. A few weekends ago I was surrounded by the 1920's. First I watched Midnight in Paris which is a story told (only the way Woody Allen can) about time traveling to the 1920's in Paris. It was so romantic, mesmerizing & whimsical – every character wanted to escape to a place other than their present. The other 1920's experience that weekend was at Governors Island where we came across a 1920's themed day - everyone was dressed as they would in the 20's dancing the day away. It was magical to watch people  escape into a time that seemed simpler and easier.
What is the fascination with wanting to live another life? Why do people want to escape the present? Be curious about what was and what may be - but enjoy your now because it isn't coming back. Below are some pictures from Governors Island that capture the 1920’s era that was.

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Manhattanhenge

Today was Manhattanhenge - it is when the sun aligns perfectly with the Manhattan grid. One of the many things that you learn when you live in Manhattan. I have been meaning to go view this semiannual occurrence but never got down to it - till today. I walked to 34th street with my husband and kept complaining along the way; there are too many clouds in the sky, its too hazy, we are never going to get good shots. Of course I thought that we were the only two crazy people to walk 25 blocks in the heat. We turned the corner onto 34th street - and oh my; there were 100's of people waiting for the lights to turn red so they could jump to the middle of the road and capture this perfect alignment. I am surprised no one got run over. See below pictures from the amazing Manhattanhenge. I am sure centuries from now when people dig up the ruins of Manhattan they will wonder if it has any significance as we do of Stonehenge today.

Hampi and Badami

By day 2 we were getting used to being tourists in India and were wowed by every aspect of what we saw. Our cameras working over time; we did not want to miss a single shot. We spent the entire second day in Hampi - the capital of the Vijayanagra Empire built between 1336 – 1565 and on the third day we visited the Badami caves that date back to 600 AD; they made of almond colored sandstone and get their name from the stone; almond in Hindi is Badam. The city and the caves were spectacular – I could imagine a civilization flourishing in these surroundings by the banks of the Tungabhadra river. 
As we were exploring Hampi I could not help but compare it to Machu Pichu. We had visited Peru earlier in the year. Both were built around the same time – one was a learning and religious center way up in the mountains and the other was a sprawling capital of an empire that had temples and monuments at every turn. Machu Pichu is made from stone and is a glorious salute to Incan architecture and engineering. While Hampi has beautiful carvings adorning every aspect rich with art and culture. Sadly,  I also noticed was how the Indian government had maintained Hampi; plastic bottles everywhere, graffiti on the walls tarnishing history that goes back thousands of years. In comparison, The Peruvian government has taken the maintenance of Machu Pichu very seriously; restricting the number of tourists that can visit and not allowing visitors to carry anything that would tarnish the the premises. Both are UNESCO World Heritage sites that I was fortunate to visit in the same year. Below are some pictures.

Hampi & Badami VIEW SLIDE SHOW

The Golden Chariot - Day 1

The Chariot was Purple not Golden - but felt like a princess in it. The Golden Chariot is a luxury train that travels through Karnataka, India stopping at key places; from where you go on excursions. The three days I spent on the train were phenomenal. At first it felt a little awkward being a tourist in ones own country. I was used to being the guide for people visiting India not the other way around. I soon accepted that being away for almost 10 years would qualify me as a visitor. The train experience was great - I would compare it to a cruise ship but on a train. It had a spa, restaurant, bar and gym. The rooms were small but comfortable.
We joined the train mid-way at Hassan; from where we had excursions to Shravanabelagola famous for the colossal statue of Gommateshwara in the morning; and in the afternoon we visited Belur and Halebidu - cities that are the epicenter of Hoysala architecture. All three places were simply breathtaking. It amazes me how much history, culture and beauty there is in India - we had only barely scratched the surface. Click below to see pictures from the first day aboard GC.

Peru Diaries 5 - Cuzco Chilling & Floating Fun

 After our hike and Machu Picchu we needed a day to just chill. We did this in Cuzco with no real agenda in mind. Meandering around town we discovered the local San Pedro market. This market had entire sections designated to just flowers or just meats or cheese or corn. I have never seen so many varieties of things in one place. After the market we moseyed on to an area called San Blas. This is a part of Cuzco that is very quaint with winding streets, art stores and lovely cafe's; we spent 2 hours at Jack's cafe where we had the most amazing coffee and food. I highly recomend you take a day to just relax in Cuzco you won't regret it !
The next stop on our trip was Puno. The town is very shabby but we were visiting the nearby Floating Islands which are a treat. We spent a day on the island of Uros and then visited Tequile Island. The Floating islands are man made; woven together with mud and reeds that grow in the shallow lakes. Walking on these islands feels like your walking on sponge. The local people are friendly and were very gracious. We ate a most scrumptious lunch of fresh trout, potato and rice. We had a spectacular view of blue skies and sea. The Floating islands were our last stop and it was time to head back to New York. One thing I am sure of - we are definitely going back to Peru; feels like we just scratched the surface of this beautiful country.

Peru Diaries 3 - Hiking in the Andes

If you are visiting Peru you MUST hike the Andes. Yes it is tough and the altitude will get to you but it is all worth it. The food that you devour as you lick the last morsel off your plate, the scenery that you see on your way up the mountains and the locals you will mingle with; will all be worth it. It is a truly unique experience.
We were picked up by Ruben our tour guide at 5:30 am in the morning; along with him were 2 ever eager helpers - the porter and the cook with their horses. We trekked from 6 am till 7 pm that night. In those 13 hours we crossed 10 mountains, saw the most beautiful valley that was covered with purple flowers and tested our limits as far as altitude sickness goes; but it was all worth it.
It was just us, nature and of-course ever eager Ruben prodding us along when we felt we could not go any further. We camped in Huchuy Cuzco which was where the Inca's first settled. We slept like babies that night. The next morning we woke up to see the sun rising over the beautiful mountains - it was magnificent. We continued to a small town called Lamay from where we would make our way to Aguas Caliente - which is the town that rests in the foothills of Machu Pichu.

Pillow Fights and Easter Bunnies

I have not written in ages and feel very guilty for being so inconsistent with my postings! I took these pictures a long while back. It was a perfect Spring day probably because it felt more like summer and the weekend was full of festivities. I have always wanted to go to the Annual Pillow Fight. I have to say I was a little disappointed. I imagined beautiful feathers flying about while people tenderly hit each other with soft pillows. No tenderness was shown in this fight, it was each person for themselves. I was actually scared and took pictures from the periphery – not wanting to go anywhere near the action which looked very boisterous and intense. On that same weekend I happened to stroll down 5th Avenue and caught the end of the Easter parade. I love it when in New York you just chance upon things. It was lovely to see people dressed in their “Sunday Best” – I took some shots that captured the mood. Click here for more pictures from Spring.
   

Parades and such….

I have had bloggers block for the last few weeks; I guess sometimes you just don’t feel like posting and instead of forcing myself I just gave into my complacency. I took these pictures a while back on a bright sunny day when there was a parade in the city. NYC has the most parades, they get monotonous sometimes and of-course wreck havoc with the traffic. Forget about going cross town in a cab when there is a parade blocking all of 5th Avenue. There are actually over 50 parades a year in NYC click here for a list of them.

The first picture is of a mini Turkish festival that had a sufi dancer "wowing" the audience

This second picture is one of my favorites; every parade must have a band marching down the street……

In and around central park

Last weekend was beautiful .. I took my camera and walked around Central Park. So nice to see everyone out and about. The best part was that all the trees were green and lush - one would expect that after 5 days of rain. I captured a few moments. My favorite of the set below is the one of the horse - I love the composition of the shot - three modes of transport - horse, bus and taxi - all viable options in New York !

   

A PORTRAIT

I love this picture portrait. I see a romantic hero of the 70's when I look at it. He has droopy eyes that any girl can melt in. He looks rebellious in this shot - that he gives a damn about the world; and in his world time moves slowly and leisurely as he takes in all the frivolous going-ons around him. His name is Adnaan and he is my little innocent younger brother (or so I would like to think).