Yosemite National Park

A couple of years ago a friend of mine had sent me pictures of Yosemite...saw them,admired them & forgot about them...I recently visited Yosemite myself with Pranav and a bunch of friends.I got to mention that I was captivated by the natural beauty and the sheer vastness of this national park...

We started off with a hike from Happy Isles to Vernal falls and then finally to Nevada falls...there are a couple of routes to reach Nevada falls...we chose the one going alongside the Mist trail... Walking along the mist trail is awesome! It was approximately a 8 mile round trip...the hike was lot of fun but at the end of the day I was pretty much exhausted.

The next day we drove to Glacier point...this is the place which gives us a classic view of Yosemite falls, Vernal falls, Nevada falls, Half Dome, El Capitan and of the valley in general...The Half Dome especially looks absolutely stunning!!

I am already looking forward to the next trip that will happen next year for sure.

New York City & Niagara falls

New York city:

The Big Apple as it is popularly known is indeed a city that has myriad facets to it that only a good ol new yorker can understand.

So my description of this wondrous city would purely be from the perspective of a tourist.

We landed in New York past midnight and our hotel was right in the middle of Times Square...I think thats a perfect time to be at Times Square...

Wow!!what a place it is...full of dazzling lights...all the buildings in the area have humongous Billboards and Neon sign boards displaying advertisements... it felt great to see so many people walking down the streets,cars honking,people partying,taking pictures and basically just having fun!
Also the largest toy store in US-Toys R Us,Nasdaq, MTV's main office,Planet Hollywood and a lot other big names are located here...

I truly feel that New York is a place that cannot be captured in pictures...if you want to experience and explore this city walking on its streets is perhaps the best thing to do...m glad we did just that...

Weather was perfect the next day...we started off with Financial district followed by Ground Zero then the China Town, Little Italy, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller center and the Central Park.

The Financial district is home to the New York Stock exchange and its where the famous Wall Street is located.There are umpteen number of fancy skyscrapers...i mean you just got to raise your head every now and then to see how tall these structures are...



One of the aspects that struck me the most in any part of this city are the hawkers selling fruit juices. shakes, kebabs, hot dogs etc etc...infact in china town you can see people selling vegetables, fruits, clothes, decorative items and the likes right on the streets...Also,there are small shops and outlets unlike only the Big stores in other parts of US...all these creates a hustle and bustle that is such a significant part of the city...i cant help but compare it to Bombay...:)

On our way we even had a chance to see Sandra Bullock shooting for a movie titled 'The Proposal'...thats the first time i saw a Hollywood star...

We spent the second day visiting the major attractions - Empire state building,Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, Madame Tussuad's. We also went for a 2 hour cruise called 'The harbor Lights'.

The weather was torturous throughout the day...91 degrees...So the cruise in the evening down the Hudson river to the East river was quite refreshing...we got to see the city's famous landmarks right from the Manhattan skyline,statue of liberty, the trio - Brooklyn bridge, Manhattan bridge, Williamsburg Bridge (BMW),NY harbor...

I am particularly in awe of the Manhattan Skyline...its superb...From a distance it seems as if somebody has played a game of Lego or probably used a deck of cards to arrange these tall buildings...

Although we did not do any major shopping...New York is a fun place to shop b'coz you get all cool latest stuff at affordable prices in places like Manhattan mall and branded expensive stuff from places like Macy's.Macy's has the biggest store in NY - a 8-floor building...
We also passed by a street called the Canal street which is so similar to our very own Fashion street or Linking Road...

I loved every second I spent in New York!!

Niagara Falls:
During the weekend we went to the Niagara Falls...
Though the drive from New jersey to Buffalo,NY was a bit too long...but it was a very scenic drive!

When I first saw the Niagara falls...the one word that came to my mind is "Grand"...The sheer magnitude of the falls is absolutely over-whelming...

We went for the two rides - "Maid of the Mist" and "Cave of the winds"...
Maid of the mist is a boat ride that takes you till the Horseshoe falls...Cave of the winds trip will take you closer to the Bridal veil falls which is at the American side.

Both of them are simply mind-blowing...It was exhilarating when the waters of Niagara came right on my face...Extraordinaire!!

To sum it all...we had a blast...a perfect birthday gift from my dear husband!!

Disneyland,California adventure park and LA sight-seeing

We spent the weekend along with Rahul & Priya at Disneyland clubbing it with the California Adventure park and bit of LA sight-seeing.

Disneyland is an interesting place to go to...a happy place!!...very well created keeping in mind the minutest of details...its actually a different world once you enter inside...

One of the most creative places I have been to...There is a very beautiful castle they have created called the 'Sleeping Beauty castle'...

They have this special rides with huge sets created based on movies like Indiana Jones,Pirates of the Caribbean...3 -D animations titled Honey...I shrunk the audience,rides that have special effects like Space mountain,Soaring over California and the thrilling ones like California screaming and many more...

Then in the evening there is a parade called the Parade of Dreams on the Main Street where we have chance to see all of the characters of Disney and the disney stories like Alice in Wonderland,The Little Mermaid etc...They also have a night show on the banks of the river called Fantasmic which is based on Mickey Mouse's imagination...full of special effects...They even have Fireworks...although we missed it as the weather was not good.

I feel everything in Disneyland is larger than life...Illimitable imagination at work!

All in all it was great fun...suppose to be a theme park for kids...nonetheless all of us had loads of fun!!

Los Angeles

We took a stroll around visiting the Kodak theater,Chinese theater at the Hollywood Boulevard. We can view the Hollywood sign standing in the mall complex in which the Kodak theater is situated.Kodak theater is the place where Oscars and other big events like Emmy are held every year.The Hollywood walk of fame is right beneath your feet when you walk at the Hollywood Boulevard.The path is embedded with stars having names of celebrities.

We also drove around Beverly Hills(the world famous address),Rodeo drive and the Santa Monica promenade.

Mystery Spot and Santacurz Beach Boardwalk

Mystery Spot
This is one of the most intriguing places i have ever visited.The name itself suggest that there is some kind of mystery attached to this place that defies the laws of physics as well...







Santacruz beach boardwalk
There is small amusement park located right at the beach. We sat in a couple of rides...took a walk on the beach and had lots of garlic fries :)...

San Francisco

We have been to this place a couple of times and I dont mind going over again.

Like all great cities, even this city has a character of its own...One of the distinctive feature of San Francisco are the steep rolling hills...there are beautiful mansion like houses built on the hills...it is so much fun to drive there.

The city is a blend of the new world and old world charms...

Surrounded by the Pacific ocean on one side and the Bay on the other side...San Francisco city has plenty of interesting places to explore.

One of the places that deserves a special mention is the Golden Gate Bridge.
The second longest bridge in US...its indeed a splendid structure...You got to see it to truly admire this incredible piece of architecture...The color red was particularly chosen as it went well with its natural surroundings and also increased visibility when the weather was foggy...(I got this bit of info from the travel channel)...

The Coit tower - Standing atop on the tower I had a chance to view the entire city at a glance

Alcatraz Islands - is famously known for its prison not operational anymore.Standing on the Golden gate bridge we can have a view of this small island.

Crooked street - is this one way down street...has quite a few sharp turns...its quite exciting to drive down those sharp turns...i bet this street is one of a kind....

Union Square - the first time i went to San Francisco was for seeing the Christmas tree at Union square...it lies in the heart of the city surrounded by this huge high end stores like Neiman Marcus,Macy's,Bloomingdale's etc as well as some of the big brand stores...

Also,a few minutes of walk leads you to the Financial district,it is also close to downtown San Francisco that is home to various restaurants,coffee shops,grand hotels,theaters etc...

Like I said I dont mind going to SF again as I am sure I will discover more and more about this amazing city!!

Washington DC

Pranav & his friends meet up every year on New Yrs...so this time it was Washington...its the capital of USA and home to numerous landmarks that have powerful historical significance...

White House,Washington monument,The Capitol,Lincoln Memorial...

There are also a whole variety of museums though we visited only the Air & Space museum

We also took a long walk around the Potomac river.

Lakswadeep Islands

Nov 27th - Nov 30th

Now this has to be the most special holiday...it was our honeymoon...we chose a perfect honeymoon destination...isolated,secluded,exotic,picture perfect...

Gosh!! I can just go on adding adjectives...I think we had the time our lives...

Our room was right on the beach...we did a couple of water activities like snorkeling,kayaking and then just lazing around,taking long walks on the beach...

I saw the most astounding sunset till date...and got to see different shades of water at the same time...Truly magnificent!!

Snorkeling was fun...there is a different world existing under the sea...colorful fishes,,turtles passing by,live corals...one miraculous work of Mother Nature.They say corals are in danger of dying down...I hope they dont.

All in all I can confidently say that it was a perfect holiday filled with memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life!!