freshgrub

Under the Yucatan Sun

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Sun and I went to Mexico to the Yucatan region, stopping at Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. We had an awesome holiday with fun parties in Cancun and Playa, the quiet, the beach in Tulum.

Things that you shouldn’t miss:

SEE:

Valladolid (pronounced - Bayadolid) is a small Maya town 2 hours north of Cancun.

Cenotes (pronounced SEE-Notes): Sinkholes with exposed rocks containing natural fresh water.

Chichen Itza - is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization

El Castillo is the center of Chichen Itza , a step pyramid with a square plan that has stairways on all four sides

Cozumel: A 45 minute ferry ride from Playa. Take a boat ride to the middle of the ocean to see amazing masses of School of Fishes straight out of Discovery Channel. (Sorry no photos of underwater this time)

Watching the sunset at Cozumel Pier

EAT:

Mayan cuisine: Pork Pibil, Chicken Pibil - Meat roasted in banana leaves

Tacos al Pastor - Most amazing!!

Habanero salsa - to burn your mouth

Sopa de lima - Chicken soup with lime

Lobsters, Shrimp, and all the fresh seafood

Tres Leches - Cake that has 3 milks - Recipe here.

PARTY:

Coco Bongo, Cancun- Biggest nightclub I have ever been to with performances lined up for the entire night mixed in with amazing local music. Before you get in, find out where the party is, as the clubs have an understanding of their BIG nights. While we were there, Sat was Coco Bongo.

Le Bodeguito del Medio, Cancun- A Cuban bar with live music and awesome mojitos, also its apparently a famous club in Havana.

Fireshow at Blue Parrot,Playa: Sip a cocktail by the swings in the bar.

Deseo Lounge, Playa - is a sister property of Basico, the place we stayed. It has an amazing rooftop pool lounge with trendy people and great music.

Diablito Cha Cha Cha, Playa is funky, retro and cool and is a great place to see and be seen.

RELAX:

Beaches are pristine and breathless.

Ocho Tulum: Take a Yoga class with Andrea, during sunset listening to the waves overlooking the sea. It was an experience that Sun & I wont forget!

Treat yourself to a Spa, and indulge! I recommend the Mayan Clay body wrap.

SLEEP:

Me Cancun is part of Me By Melia, a fashionable hotel with art, design and the whole hotel is like a lounge with music, darkness and sensuality. Was also home to the suite in MTV Real World Cancun 2009.

Maxim Beach Club

Ocean Front Room

Infinity Pool at Me, Cancun

Basico, Playa del Carmen: A concept boutique hotel, that is modeled after the Mexican Industrial Revolution of 1950s.

Suite ( but no ocean view)

Cool Lobby

Pool and Rooftop Lounge

Coqui Coqui, Tulum is a heavenly spa and guesthouse right on the pristine end of the Tulum Beach. Check out the HOT owners: The Selby

P.S: TO DO

Convert all your $$ to Mexican pesos.
Ask everyone to tell you the price in Pesos.
Drink bottled water ONLY.
Negotiate for the half of any vendor’s initial price.
Mexicans are such friendly people, when in doubt, seek help. Most of them understand English so even if they don’t speak it, they can help you with sign language.
Be floored with their hospitality!
Water that you use in Tulum is salty, I had to use bottled water for brushing my teeth.
The hotel zone of Tulum along the beaches, uses solar power to convert into electricity. Hence there is limited availability of electricity. Pack your hairdryers and chargers as you cannot use them.
Enjoy the remote nature.
Stargazing in Tulum is incredible, take a night out and sleep on the beach!

Kauai - its a dream!

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:43:00 -0400

Kauai is known as the Garden Island and encompasses roughly 550 miles of dramatic sea cliffs, waterfalls, canyons, plunging ravines, beaches and bays.

Really, how can one place have it all??

Kauai Tourism Website

My top 10 things to do in Kauai:

1. Stay in West Kauai or in the Northern Kauai to mingle more with the locals and experience the real slow pace life of Kauai’ans. We stayed in the Northeastern side, near Kilauea, in a beautiful beautiful Bed & Breakfast Inn called Palmwood Inn. The owner was a retired Investment Banker from L.A and her sense of style, the house and her hospitality was beyond our expectations. Reading some of her Japanese Architecture book collection, I started to admire the house even more and got to know that all her furniture was made using Palmwood - the most socially responsible decision - made by Pacific Green Furnitures

Eco-luxury at its best! The house was perched on a hill with 5 acres of lush garden setting with beautiful mountain views. Highlights of the house were the hot tub and the outdoor shower, tiki bar and the grill. And I wont forget the yummy breakfast Eddie made us in the morning. Palmwood was definitely the highlight of our trip.

2. Sail the NaPali Coast in a luxury catamaran!

Cannot tell you more about how much we loved the serene mountains and very blue waters, watch Dolphins swim by, snorkelling with the sea turtles and get drenched in the waterfalls. Our catamaran was so beautiful and we were sailing with young couples, all of them in their late 20s or early 30s, no kids or oldies!! FTW!

During the months of December through April, we could have enjoyed the sights of the Humpback whales but during this season they are off to Alaska. :(

The coast runs from North to West and the historians believe this rugged yet beautiful coastline was the first area of Kauai to be settled by the ancient Hawaiians. The Polihale beach is a must in this area. Access to this beach is through a dirt road and a 4 x 4 will get you there comfortably. Another beach thats literally the end of the road is the Ke’e beach. For more adventure, you can try camping in these beaches as they have restrooms and showers in the area.

3. Sea-Kayak under the caves of NaPali

Kayak the most beautiful coastline under the 80 foot waterfall and zip through the sea caves.

4. Visit the Grand Canyon of the Pacific - Waimea Canyons

Also the best spot for stargazing is known to be above the Waimea Canyon.

5. Live like a local

Go to the Kilauea Fish Market and to the Healthy Hut grocery store to bring some fresh island fish and veggies for your evening meal.

Our dinner menu: Seared fresh Ahi and a filet mignon with some grilled vegetables.

6. Try the fruit stands and/or farmers market for fresh tropical fruits

List of Farmers Markets

7. Nap on a beach

Taking an afternoon nap on a shaded beach on the soft sands of Kauai is just pure divine. We kayaked the Hanalei Valley that joined the Hanalei Bay, which was perfect for napping since the shore is tree lined with enough shade.

8. Spouting Horn

The spouting horn blowhole in the south Kauai blows 60 feet high of water making it an absolute pretty photog.

9. Dine at BarAcuda or The Eastside

We went to BarAcuda, recommended by Palmwood, it was absolutely delish!!! They serve spanish tapas with Hawaiian influence. Their NorthShore Honey comb with Feta is to die for…

10. Wailua Falls

You can hike or kayak the Wailua river to end at the Wailua Falls. Wailua, also means “Spirit” and is said to be largest freshwater river in the islands.

Tip: All the tours are closed on Sundays to let the locals enjoy their island, so plan accordingly.

Bonus Tip: Rent a convertible to be with nature and to stargaze without interruptions.

Mahalo for reading.

Alohaaaaaa ~

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:02:00 -0400

Many asked me if the 12 hour flight from DC to Hawaii really worth it. Well I have to admit it was a pretty loong flight. And if you are going only to Oahu, then its not! But if you choose to hop on to another island like Maui or Kauai then I am pretty sure you will forget the strenous ride.

Why did we choose Kauai over Maui?

Actually no real reason other than I just fell in love with the videos and pictures I saw of NaPali coast and I hadnt seen anything that dramatic in my life. Also I found out Maui has gotten little more commercial in the past few years but Kauai is still rustic and free of tourists for the most part.

How many days should you go?

We are a bit of restless travelers and we like to see everything that the place offers. 7 days is good for 2 islands in my mind but then again its a very subjective decision. Also I think the length of the trip depends on what you want from your vacation. Decide whether you are going as explorers of new cultures and new experiences or to unwind and relax.

Top 10 things to do in Honolulu, Oahu :

1. North Shore Beaches

North Shore beaches are generally less crowded and the drive from Honolulu is a very pretty 1 hour drive with scenic mountains on your sides. Also these beaches are very popular during the winter season for surfing. The famous Pipeline Bonsai wave is in Pupukea Beach.

Turtle Beach: Great beach to snorkel with the turtles.

2. Matsomoto Shave Ice

Awesome place to get your shave ice concoctions in the North Shore. There is a crowd usually waiting in line, so plan for it if you are going on a weekend.

3. See a Polynesian show

We went to Paradise Cove but I think if we had an extra day, we would have gone to the Polynesian Cultural Center to check out the different polynesian villages and their Reve performance at night. Paradise Cove didnt disappoint us as for the show but they made us repeat Aloha & Mahalo 17 times and it got a bit weary.

4. Hike the Diamond Head Crater

You get a 360 panoramic view of Honolulu and its a easy hike of about 45 mins. Start your day early to beat the morning sun glaring on your pictures.

5. Eat breakfast at Liliha Bakery

Most yummiest breakfast, you get to avoid the tourists in Waikiki and eat the original cuisine of Honolulu. Coco Puffs is a must here!

6. Waikiki Beach

To watch the most crowded beach and the sexiest bikinis and to watch the surfers catch their big waves.The roads are lined up with luxury resorts and the Kalahua Avenue is glamorously filled with all the designer stores Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and so many more..

Might be the most cliche to drink a MaiTai, but hey, you need to check that off your list. MaiTai bar in Royal Hawaiian was a good setting to sip on a cocktail and enjoy the sunset on the beach.

7. Malasadas Malasadas Malasadas

This ranks pretty high on my list. Its Portugese Donuts, and the most yummiest kind wth cream filling inside. Leonards Bakery is the place !

8. Cage Diving with the Sharks in North Shore, Oahu

Hawaii Shark Adventures

Sun was very disappointed that we didn’t get to do this and we cursed the fact that we didnt book early.

9. Honolulu Chinatown

Every first Friday there is a gallery walk featuring local artists, performances and live music. Trendy bars, Pho, Dim Sum and produce markets make you feel like you are in Asia.

10. Eat at Alan Wongs Restaurant

Alan wong is a renowned chef, winner of many awards, serves up regional Hawaiian cuisine and supposedly one of the best restaurants in Honolulu.

Bonus Tip: If you are like me, choose a place to stay in a quiter area farther away from the Waikiki crowds, I chose the W Hotel at Diamond Head, its has absolutely the best views from their lanais of the Diamond Head and has the beautiful Bali furniture.

Part 2 of our Hawaii journal

Foodies in NYC

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:28:00 -0400

Have I mentioned I love eating, and taking pictures of food! Yes I do. Even though I get many looks when my take my D80 out in a restaurant.

I just like to say, I love to record what I enjoy.

New York City, its probably the biggest small city in the world that has endless options of different cuisines and for most part a real gem in each too. I can definitely attest that for Indian food. Sun and I wanted to go to NYC and check out few places that was either famous for something or got rave reviews. Also we had one night in the city so knowing us, ofcourse we partied out.

I read about this lounge Merkato55, an African restaurant/lounge in the Meatpacking District and the most interesting thing about it was the party atmosphere starting at noon. Are you hungover?, head over here and cure it with a mojito! They even had a velvet rope at the entrance! Music was great and the house made huge glass jars of mojitos get you going throughout the afternoon is Fab-U-Lous-OOH!

Our hotel was a great find in the Tribeca area. I was particular I am not anywhere close to Times Square. Duane Street Hotel was amidst all the boutiques, design stores in Soho/Tribeca area.

Evening Menu:

7:00PM - Tailor, was another place I was dying to try. It has fancy cocktails, innovative concoctions and quirky ambiance. Owned by the mad food scientist and pastry Chef Sam Mason, he also owns Wd-50. Check out his interview with Food & Wine.

Image Copyright: Krieger

Check out the pictures, I assure you it was fabulous and brilliant. its a MUST GO!

Gummy Bear Absinthe

Beet Sangria

Tailor made shots: Biscotti Cognac, Garam Masala Rum, Pumpernickel Raisin Scotch

Solid Cocktails: Absinthe, White Russian Cereals, Bell Pepper Margarita

Seared Red Snapper, Watermelon, Olives and Ramps

9:00PM - Strolled to Little Italy, and Sun caved in for a roadside pizza from the stands, while I wanted to walk it off to be ready for our next place. Kush Lounge!

10:00PM - It was a Morrocan lounge and had a strong party environment. We were ready for some Bollywood cocktails. I wasnt too impressed since the bartender had shaked a martini with garam masala, its a no-no to mix dry spice, which by itself has a strong flavor. I had ordered another Plum Daiquiri which was just ok.

The place was very pretty and they had hookahs and yummy bites of masala crab cakes and beef sliders.

12:30AM - I think we have had enough food and drinx, very tired from all the walking. But then we had one more place in the agenda, to go to Wok to Walk, this was purely to relive our Amsterdam nights. Wok-to-Walk is a fast food chain from Holland, where we had wok all the time when we visited Ams, with the yummiest Indonesian hot sauce. What they have in University Place in Union Sq isnt quite like that but we had memories and didnt mind the taste so much.

ZZZ - Time to sleep!

Sunday -

Went for a birthday party for my adorable nephew Arya and spent the day with my cuz and had the whole spread of Indian food she cooked at home for lunch.

For sunday night dinner, we had plans to go to Anjappar, the most authentic South Indian restaurant in all of US. Atleast I love the place and its in New Brunswick, NJ. Mutton Briyani and King Fish fry is my favorite food of all and repeatedly they have proved they have the best fish.

Appetizer: Mutton Bone Soup

note: Stainless Steel is a typical serving dish in India and I think it adds to the taste!

Chicken Lollipop:

King Fish Fry

Mutton Briyani with Kushka and Yogurt Raita.

Heaven!

8 Simple Ways to Improve Typography In Your Designs

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:46:52 -0400

8 Simple Ways to Improve Typography In Your Designs

Gorgeous Illustrations!

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:38:00 -0400

I have been thinking about a project that I want to begin and looking every where for inspiring illustration styles. Below is a sampling of two of the greatest artists.

I lov/

Serge Seidlitz

Patswerk

who’s your favorite illustrator?

Lamb Shank recipe

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:06:00 -0400

It was Valentines day and I had planned to cook Sun a big meal. The Entree was Lamb Shank and I am going to blog the recipe for it.

Its so easy even an amateur cook can do it.

Things you need:

Olive oil
2 lamb shanks 400g a piece
2cups (500ml) dry red wine
2cups (500ml) beef stock
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
30g butter
1 brown onion chopped finely
3 celery sticks chopped finely
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 teaspoons of Parsley
2 teaspoons of Chives
1 tbls cornflour
Salt

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add lamb cook until browned all over. In a large baking dish pour a little oil and heat over medium heat add crushed garlic cook for about a min stirring constantly so garlic doesn’t burn.
Melt butter in a pan and cook onion and celery until soft.
Stir Red Wine and beef stock to the onion mix, bring to boil..
Add lamb shanks to the pan and let it simmer for sometime. Take the lamb shanks out, place it in a oven-safe pan and pour in rest of the cooked mixture.
Add all the herbs along with the lamb shanks.
For the cooking you can either heat the oven to slow 130-150 and cook for 2-21/2 hours turning meat twice during cooking, or you can cook over slow heat on the stove for the same time also turning during cooking.
Once lamb is cooked remove and wrap in foil to keep warm, strain liquid to discard herbs, fat and any bits that have come off lamb.
Strain the fat and the stock from the cooked lamb, return to pan and heat over stove. Mix cornflour with water to form a paste and add to liquid stir constantly until mixture starts to thicken and to finish it off just add a few gravy granules for extra flavour and to also thicken some more. Place lamb shanks in serving dish with celery, onion mix and pour sauce over the top.

Side:

Mash potatoes

For a slight variation, I had filled the ramekins with mash potatoes, filled with a layer of parmesan cheese and broiled in the oven until it melted and formed a crisp layer on top. Crunchy, golden russett mashed potatoes.

Sauce:

Warm Hollandaise for extra yummies.

XOXO

La buona vita

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:56:00 -0400

Second part of my Backpacking in Europe:

We were gonna visit 4 cities in Italy: Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre and Rome. God has been so partial towards this country, it has the best of everything: food, landscapes, history, art, architecture, beaches, canals, mountains.

We took an overnight train from Amsterdam to Venice, reached early in the morning, right about when we were to enter as we were seeing the window landscapes in our train, suddenly a city emerged amidst the sea, the transformation was so seamless. It was superb!!

Venice has no car traffic, no other modes of transport except water taxis, water buses or gondolas. But you can cover the entire city by foot. We took the waterbus to our residence, we chose to stay in an 18th century townhome, Ca Bonvicini, restored and renovated to look exactly the same. It was royal and palatial.

City can also be a very confusing maze with canals and bridges and short streets that lead you to the water or to another very short street. We got lost everytime, thanks to our home attendant, we would call her every night to find our way back.

Its almost like every road leads to the Rialto Bridge and St.Marks Sq. You have clear signs to them at every corner and all you have to do is follow the crowds. There are many roadside shops, masks and glass, are the most famous there to get as souvenirs. And for the fashionistas, it has all the amazing designer stores, jewelry shops and leather stores. I bought handbags there!

We took a 30 minute ride on the water bus and visited the nearby island Burano, its a very cute city with pastel colored houses and it has the best small restaurants with the island favorites. I had the most amazing Sardines and Sun had the freshly caught Sea Bream. Our host also recommended this dessert which he called it a Burano favorite, warm cookies to dip in the dessert wine, so goood, soon followed the home made limonocello. What can i say, life is just beautiful!

It’s definitely one of the most beautiful city you would have ever visited in your life and also considering the fact its sinking slowly, please do yourself a favor by going.

Next on our map is Florence, haven for Italy’s best food. City is bustling with traffic, even though its not a very big city, its the destination city for all the Tuscan regions so you see hoards of tourists.

Here we stayed in a very contemporary loft called Riva Lofts, designed by the architect Claudio Nardi, with all the works: garden, pool and a bicycle to ride in the city.

Big things here are the Florentine art, some of the best renaissance pieces are housed here. Brunelleschi’s dome, Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, Michelangelo’s David, do pay a visit to all of these, it helps if you take a audio tour to appreciate the brilliance.

No camera was allowed inside the Accademia Gallery, where the David is. Get your advance tickets to this one, as the lines could be really long and you have to waste a lot of time. The 17 ft marble statue is so real with such detailed expression, they had to protect it by moving the original here and keeping a replica in the open in Palazzo Vecchio.

Our evening dinner was at Ristorante Noue, supposed to be one of the newest nicest restaurant in town. And we went there in style, in our bike, Sun rode and I sat at the back, it was super funny and also bumpy considering all the streets are cobble stoned. Our dinner was absolutely fab, I had the most delicious pasta with rabbit sauce and kobe steak.

Next day, we rented a car (which was frikkin’ expensive as it was an automatic car) to take a tour of the Tuscany region, where all the good wines and olives hail from. Its just an hour away and you are onto the hills, where Chianti Classico vines are grown. Our first stop was at the Castello Vicchio Maggio, an exquisite Castle, a vineyard, a restaurant and also bed and breakfast.

Chianti wine and good lunch were had. Being on one of the highest point we took pictures of the beautiful landscape and walked around the vineyard. Next we wanted to go to Casaloste, a family owned business, Anthony Bourdain went there when he stayed in Florence. The owner’s wife gave us a complete tour of winemaking, her most famous wines and olives. And I absolutely loved how each of their wine had a personal story behind the name and the label. I was also so moved about one particular one, Inversus, it was named after their son, who has all his internal organs reversed right from his birth but thanfully he’s eight now and is healthy.

We drove another few kilometres to get to the city of San Gimignano, city of beautiful towers rich in history, surrounded by the splendid countryside.

And the night dinner is one of the oldest restaurants in town. Its an osteria ( means a local hangout with bench seating and less service ), named Vecchia Bettola. Had the most famous Pasta with vodka sauce and fried zucchini. Bestesttt!

Florence was an amazing experience, but now we are off to Cinque terre, rugged portion of coast of the Ligurian Riviera to the west of the city of La Spezia, comprising five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. All the towns are connected by trails which run alongside the ocean, also connected by trains which stop at all towns and also by boat. The sea was rough the day we were there so we took the trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola and the rest was done by trains. We stayed in Monterosso, in a boutique hotel, Albergo margerita.

Its breathtaking views cannot be explained, just see pics.

We had dinner at Belvedere, patio facing the seashore, it has some of the best seafood in town. Lobsters cooked in earthen pot and home made tiramisu. YUM!

Next on our itinerary is Rome, the city of all things ancient. City is huge, much like Paris, the vibe is great. We stayed in a townhome, Casa Montani, that was housed in one of the oldest buidlings, in Piazza del Poppolo. Location was great, we walked to Spanish Steps, Trevi fountain and the Pantheon. Its also amidst the fashion centre and some cool restaurants. The owner was a very sweet man and also very hip, Giuseppe Montani, he told us all the great spots to hang out. We had just 2 days and we didnt want to do everything, so we just chose a few and chillaxed in lounges as it was the last destination in our trip.

Went to TAD, a concept store of all things design conceived as a 1,000 sqm home, the store seduces the shopping psyche with fashion, food, fragrances and flowers.

Lunch at Gusto, osteria, pizzeria, formageria, enoteca bar, ristorante and a cooking workshop/bookshop.

Drinks in a relaxed eclectic lounge Etabli, in the lively Piazza navona area.

We had roadside Pizzas and gelatos and ended day one in Rome.

Next day our plan was to hit the Colosseo, weather didn’t play nice and we had to buy those ugly ponchos on the street. Thank god for the Gladiator movie, I sorta knew all the history behind this one!

Lunch was had at AO Rome, evening relaxation at Re cafe.

We finished Rome by going to a Fashion Show, showcasing Romanian culture.

We didn’t get to the see the Sistine Chapel or the Vatican, but I absolutely loved the time we spent in all the cool spots and just relaxing in one of the great cities in the world.

Backpacking in Europe

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:08:00 -0400

Well, we are not really backpackers, I like my clothes and shoes, so I could say we are large rolling dufflers. Our itinerary was set atleast 2 months before our trip even though there were some last minute additions, I would definitely say its good to book your hotels, visas (yes, the unfortunate few have to get them, even for Europe) well in advance as most hotels have a 7-day cancellation policy, you do have flexibility if you want to change hotels.

We did have an aggressive schedule: Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam had to be covered in a week and the next one week in Italy. Few of the good decisions we made, definitely not my heavy luggage, were deciding to stay in places that had some significance and activating our iphones so we can leave our laptops behind.

First off Paris, we stayed in a boutique hotel called Le Bellechasse, designed by the fashion designer Christian Lacroix. Our room was one of the original room with a tub in the room and design textures all around.

Sightseeing started off with the Louvre Museum, checking out some of my favorite Neo Classical art and Renaissance art. Spent atleast 2 hours there, being as a tour guide to Sun shedding some of my art history knowledge. I was amazed by all the sizes of the canvas, even though I learnt that in my school days, until you see it, you dont really realise it. And then we saw the most hyped up Mona Lisa, for some reason I am not a big fan of her.

We walked around the city, taking in the beauty, crossing the Seine (pronounced Sen) and going into the most cultural buzzling area called St.Michel. here you can find all kinds of food, roadside food stalls, cheap eats and line of bars.

That night being my birthday eve, I followed Sun’s plans of taking me to a fancy dinner. Yay, I am up for that. We went to Les Ombres, famous chef Arno Busquet delighted us with some of his best culinary treats while we saw the Eiffel tower glittering. It was magical!

Next day we took a day trip to Brussels and had all the Belgian favorites, Mussels, waffles, chocolates, beer and frittes. A day was more than enough to cover all this and tour around the town hall/market square.

Back in Paris, although we tried to take the metro, it was kinda ridiculous to spend 3e each, instead we could go anywhere in taxi for less than 10e. So our lazy asses went on taxi everywhere, but we had more day to tour around.

I am gonna skip writing about the usual touristy spots such as Champs, Notre Dame, Eiffel and rather just show you pics. Its wonderful and you must go there but try to do a quickie as there is lot more city you will need to explore.

Few things you shouldn’t miss while you are there: Macarons from Laduree, Crepes from any roadside stand, Baguette Sandwich and roaming around St.Michel, (window) shopping in Champ!

Paris is every woman’s dream, so is mine. I know I will be back very soon.

We leave to Amsterdam next, by Eurail (we got a 8-day pass for unlimited travel). There we stayed in a houseboat in the Rembrandsplien area. It was as central as it could get; all the night clubs, coffee shops are in this area along with the Dam Sq and Red light district within a 15 min walking radius.

Houseboats usually have a 3 nt minimum, but we managed to get one for 2 nts for 500e, although for this price you could have got a more fancier ours had the view, and the location was simply superb.

Amsterdam is definitely one place you should go when you are young.. Enjoy the heart thumping music, drink till 7am and then have the energy to do afterparties till 12pm.. Insane. We did our part by going to Bulldog, Escape, WoktoWalk till 5am.

Went to one of the coolest interactive museum, House of Bols, to discover the world behind genever and liqueurs. Unmask the truth behind taste, aroma and smell in their Hall of taste. We also had some bartending flair lessons and a open bar to taste their flavors. I totally recommend anyone to go here!

Right across from here is the Van Gogh Museum. Although he is a crazy man, absolutely anyone will love his work done while going through some of his tough times.

Here in Holland, you dont have any problems with speaking in English, and you will find that the place is really multi cultural. There are plenty of Indonesian restaurants, as Indonesia was one of the Dutch East Indies. Also mediterranean food aplenty. Funky design stores are all over the place, just step right in and you can buy a small kitchen tool that may or maynot be very useful but will look so cool. Bicycles are the biggest means of transport so if you dont look either side you will be kissing the curb.

Three things you dont miss in Ams: Wok wok and wok.. fast food wok with Indonesian Lombok sauces so yum, works best for hangovers.

With this I conclude three out of four countries here, with a single underlying tourist principle, walk around, eat local specials, talk to strangers and just live the life of locals for a single day and see the city through their eyes. Forget the agenda, skip the lines to these museums, you are here to experience new cultures and keep that as your priority.

Type Brilliance

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:15:00 -0400

It reads GALLERY. What a brilliant use of light and shadow. I am just so amazed. Love it!

mareen: 56 Leonard St in 3beca NYC by Herzog & de...

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:02:26 -0400

mareen:

56 Leonard St in 3beca NYC by Herzog & de Meuron.

omg I know exactly where.

See more images on designboom (recommended).

Login screens I see everyday

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:43:00 -0400

I tried to login tumblr today and I was noticing that they have increased their headers font sizes to ~40px, then I started to wonder how does the other social networking sites have their login info and I wanted to do a comparison.

Here are some of the sites I visit everyday.

Personally I like to bump up the font sizes but I think Tumblr has gone little overboard. This is way too big to makes me uncomfortable even and its probably suited for audiences under 8 yrs old.

Ning, uses a simple and straight forward login screen. Two things I would have done it differently, the word “Sign” is repeated for about 6 times in this single page. And the arrow art is used for both a button and as a tab thats not clickable.

Last FM, the site I used to love to return before the redesign. aaah, now its just another music site. Login fields are quietly present in a corner in the homepage, where I think a little more design or a nicer layout could be used. And I wonder why their buttons are so lifeless.

Vimeo, I love everthing the illustrations in this login page. I am sure every designer would too. We dont get to see such rich experiences in a public service site. But I also hope they dont change it out when they become huge and have “business asks”.

Threadless, now this is the kind of login screen I think should be used everywhere. Seamless logins. No getting out of the page, just a rollover on Login and you get the input fields. CLEAN!

JPG, is another service that has seamless login. It has the slick function of input fields appearing in the header when you click Log In. So its a part of the page at all times. WIN!

I think that summarizes my little study on logins today!

Ofcourse I have left out the giants like Yahoo/Google/AOL/Facebook as I wanted to compare only the newer & nicer social networks.

Obama wins the Creative crowd

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:58:00 -0400

I am not into politics. I dont vote. I am not a US citizen. I am actually a person of no-country. But for the first time I am trying to understand all this., because of OBAMA!

He has won overwhelming response from everyone, especially the creative crowd.

Most recent design campaign by the good folks at X!

Incorporate ‘Obama’ into your gear and get in for $5. All proceeds will go to the DC for Obama campaign, that will utilize the funds to purchase buses to go to Virginia and help get out the vote.

BuddyUpdates

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:06:00 -0400

I have been working on this project for a month or so with a very small 4 person team Alan Wilson/Dev, Frank Gruber/Product, and Sara Jacobs/PM.

It quietly launched last week and now with just word-of-mouth, it is getting some momentum, so I thought I will just blog about it. Or just follow it with Frank’s blog post from earlier today.

BuddyUpdates offers a simple way to see all your AIM buddies lifestream updates on the Web. The site is about 3 pages in total. I was responsible for the branding, UI and Visual Design. I went in for a very classic open feel to the project with just a little jazz in the header. And for the header: my inspirations are always from crests, illustrations and grunge, I love firing up illustrator and skectching some vectors of objects/things that I think the project is all about. Most of the time it ends up in my “support” folder where I never use it for anything real.

But this time, I am glad the vectors were actually converted into this header.

Bahamian Ting' - Part II

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:32:00 -0400

It was sweet to find out, people are actually reading my blog and is waiting for the remaining of our trip.

Day 3: We had booked a powerboat to take us to the Exuma Cays, one of the “out islands” of the Bahamas. Exuma is famous for their shark habitants, and they say “..the islands are so pristine and unspoiled that you feel as though you are half a world away”.

Its a full day trip and costs about 200$ per head. They picked us up from our hotel at 8am, reached the harbour and by the time we took off, it was about 9am.

We zooom zoooom for an hour and our first stop was at the Allan’s Cay - we paused to provide a tasty breakfast for the protected Allen’s Cay Rock Iguana, they call this the critically endangered species ‘the Bahamian Dragon’.

Took my 70-300 mm out and shot some more nature pictures.

We then zip through the waters, 40 nautical miles per hour, and arrive our destination - the Ship Channel Cay, a private island in the Exuma.

The beach has no words to describe its pristine waters.

We meet our hosts, who are actually from Germany, settled in the Bahamas after falling in love with it. Minus the heat I can actually understand that! We have an open bar and a lot of munchies. The waters are so clear if you walk along their deck, you can spot rays, colorful fishes, and little sharks.

Next up is sting ray feeding, I decided not to do it. Sun was the brave one! They give you instructions of how you cannot move an inch when its nearby and you have to just hold the fish in your hand, it swerves around and picks it up without any hassle. But if you move, it gets intimidated and god knows what it will do to you.

The thought of a free lunch soon attracts another kind of neighbour, and this time they may not be so friendly! The stingrays disperse at the arrival of the ocean’s main predators, the sharks…

Our guide, Stevie, born and brought up in Georgetown, Exuma, is a shark expert and its his time now to shine. He cuts a big enough bony fish and ties it to a rope and throws it in the water. The shark, happy to have got its prey, gets hold of it with its teeth stuck in the bones, then our Stevie tries to pull the shark to the shore just to make it more mad. Crazyyy.

Check the video to see his gimmicks.

After all this, we were invited by the hosts for the hot hot lunch. Whats on the menu: Fresh Catch of the day grilled, Steak with Mushrooms, Salad, Pasta, Hot Dogs, Fried Potatoes, Veggies, etc. I took two servings of the fish. so yumm.

We relaxed in the water for some time, shot some pictures of the piggies that were roaming around the ocean. Awwww they were so cute.

Time to go snorkeling now. We both were all geared up and followed our friend who said he’s a certified scuba diver. We snorkel around, saw some pretty fishies, colorful reef, often drank salt water and gasped for breath, and then bamm.. there was a shark underneath us. Right below. Like less than 10ft or so it seemed. Fakkk.. I turn around to tell Sun as I know he will be super thrilled, he was right by my side clicking pictures (with his $25 underwater camera). clik clik clik.. we both were so excited. Also no one who came with us saw it.. made us more special.

Two snorkel trips and some sea water drinking, I was done. Sun went for a third one to see more lemon sharks. My husband just loves the wild :)

I was chilling in the water, drinking more rum and taking in the scenery.

It was about 4pm and we were getting ready to say good-bye to the Exumas, Sun comes all burnt and red like a roasted chicken. We were sleepy as hell and the entire ride back we were falling on each other.

Like I said in the previous post, we went to Arawak Cay again, they had their Junkanoo summer festival. It was interesting to see the performances, food from different islands. We ofcourse could not resist the conchs and fish fries, and already felt sad to leave them behind.

BTW, Kalik is their Bahamian beer and its their slogan that I lifted - “Its a bahamian ting” . Sun liked it (everyone knows I dont drink beer), he thought it was like the Indian beer Kingfisher.

We then went to Shogun Revolver for our real dinner. Its an Asian-fusion lounge/restaurant, in the downtown with a view of the Atlantis. I couldn’t eat much and also they screwed up my dish, so I just had a Geisha’s Kiss martini. Sun had an amazing Chicken Noodle, which I shared quite a bit and was very satisfied.

Day 4: Since its our last day of the trip, we decided to be in our resort, enjoy the views and the quiet and ROOM SERVICE. Sat in our breezy balcony, ordered breakfast and just chatted.

Relaxed, slept, woke up to order more food and mojitos.

Ok time to go to the airport. end of our bahama episode.

Check out all the photos here.

now we are home, waiting to go on our next travel….

Bahamian Ting'

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:40:00 -0400

“Valli is not waking up to the sounds of the ocean anymore” - facebook

Thats one thing you suffer from when you get back from a beautiful country such as the Bahamas. Right from their logo, designed by Duffy and partners, which won an award from the AIGA in 2005, to the people, to the food, everything is very vibrant and full of spirit.

Sun and me decided to go for a 4 day vacation to the Bahamas. We both had gone through their website http://www.bahamas.com, a plenty number of times and knew what places interest us. We chose to stay at Compass Point, properties of the Island Outpost, a small boutique resort which has 12 colorful huts on the ocean. Perfectly suits our idea of vacation: private, luxury, peaceful and not to feel like a tourist.

Compass Point did not disappoint us one bit. Junkanoo colors on the outside and very chic on the inside with white linens and wicker furniture, flat screen TV, surround sound, balcony being the best part is right on the ocean. And the waters are so clear, we spotted a sting ray right from our balcony.

Day 1: We strolled around their downtown trying to get a feel of the city, lunched in the famous Italian restaurant Cafe Matisse. I had the Mahi Mahi paired with a Rum Punch (ofcourse) and Sun had Lamb Shank with Gumbe Smash. It was delish!

The place was right by a courthouse, where we saw a cop walking with a handcuffed-man like they were best of friends. Amusing. But thats exactly what we saw every where. People are very very laid back, friendly, they have a drink in their hand all day (even while driving) and everything was just fun. I like that!

Went to the straw market, bargained a bit, as I am very bad at it I ended up buying for the asking price anyway. Saw some good wood carvings and met some local craftsmen. All this is in a quick 30 minutes, because, Guys, its 98 degrees outside!! Went inside Senor Frogs, the popular Mexican chain of crazy drinking and tall margaritas. I was asked to join a drinking contest and standing on the table along with 2 other victims. Well, end of it he gave me a free drink of Rum and Tequila, which actually gave me a head ache. but hey we all know I ain’t gonna give up though.

3 drinks in, we both were tired from the heat and the walking, we decided to take a nap at our resort. Oh before that we have to rent our car from Budget. Car rental cost us $50/a day which isnt bad but the gas prices were $5.80 a gallon( July 2008).

Our resort is about 20 minutes from downtown, the ride is along the beaches so its a good drive. Its along the Cable beach, Sandyport and Caves Point. Remember to drive on the leftside though.

Its dinner time now, and we have made reservations at Mesa Grill, one of Bobby Flay’s restaurants. Cove, oh my god, is so beautiful. Everybody was taking photographs of everything. I felt it was like Vegas with tourists looking up and down and the rich dim yellow lighting is gleaming that made it tough for some hand held focusing.

We started with Margaritas ( they have a huge menu for that), I had the cactus pear margarita, which was good but not for all the twenty dollars. I got the Filet Mignon and Sun got Roasted Salmon and an appetizer of Bahamian Chicken Skewers, which was so spicy, it could barely touch the tongue. Steak and Salmon was perfect. I licked till the last bit of sauce in my dish.

Day 2: Had a lazy morning breakfast at the resort’s colorful restaurant. I had the grilled crusty French toast with bananas and strawberries. yumm.

We decided today was going to be all about good food, good drinks and good places. Started with Graycliff Inn, “…built in the 1700s by the privateer John Howard Graysmith, and established in 1844 as Nassau’s first inn, Graycliff brought the rich, the famous and the royal to Nassau and the Bahamas.”

Folks over there talk to us about their place, their history, cigar factory, etc amidst all that we also learnt that all of them were Obama supporters and the one guy was for McCain (not sure why!). We had couple of drinks here and off we go to the next place.

ooh.. I forgot to mention that we stopped at a ruin site to click some photos.

Next on line was the One & Only Ocean Club, where only the Rich & Famous go. Its also on the cabbage beach, one of 10 world’s best beaches. Place was very beautiful with lush trees and scenic driveways that take you in. Loved the interiors of O&O. I have a thing for ‘all white’ decor. Great for people watching!

Such beautiful waters every where. I am falling in love with Bahamas! For some reason I went with no expectation and I am being blown away at each stop of our trip…

ok now we are done with all the pretentious crowd, fendi swim wear and chanel beach towels. lets get down to business and eat some local food with local people.

Heading down to Arawak Cay. Two streets lined with authentic restaurants, menu ranging from $3 to $8. Stopped at Twin Brothers, where all the crowds seemed to go. Bartenders attending the Daiquiri machines were so busy, that we had to wait for a long time. The daiquiris were so strong but since its their thing we had to have it. Then came the Conch Fritters and Fish Fry. I almost cried, it was thaaaaat good.

It was so good we went again the next day to Twin Brothers and had the same thing.

This is getting too long a post now. How about a sequel to this one, as Day 3 is the highlight of our trip!

Wait up!

peterbaker: Muxtape+Fluid+Coverflow = Awesome.

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:07:37 -0400

peterbaker:

Muxtape+Fluid+Coverflow = Awesome.

Weekend in the Smokies

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:48:00 -0400

I was talking to my friend Cara about my long weekend travel to Tennessee and she was telling me that I should start writing travel journals and it might help others to know the area better.

So here we go:

Its an 8 hour drive from Wash DC to the Smoky Mountains and we were staying in The Preserve, a resort cabin in Sevierville. We started early in the morning and reached Johnson City, TN by 1pm, and thus our lunch spot, quickly searched what’s best in there, and landed in Firehouse Restaurant, for 25 years it has been famous for serving the region’s best authentic hickory smoked bar-b-que specialties, homemade side items and desserts. I had the pulled pork sandwich which was recommended by the waiter, and Sundar has Baby Back ribs. Both of us were very satisfied.

We reached the cabin around 3pm, checked in, was happy to see the resort and our cabin was exactly like how it was in their site. We would have liked little more privacy, but the wonderful views all around made up for it.

Decided to go for a short drive to the mountains, on the way we saw Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, was very surprised to see how commercial the cities have become with all the Ripleys, speed tracks, mini golf, etc and the wedding chapels like 4 in one mile stretch. Lots and lots of pancake houses, made us figure it must be famous for it. But out of the three cities I think I was ok with Gatlinburg’s stretch of entertainment..

And once you enter the Mountains, you get what you came for. The peace and the quiet.

We stopped to hike the Laurel Falls, it was a 2.6 mile roundtrip hike. Falls was just ok, not too big. But the biggest highlight of this hike ? We saw a bear and a cub. Boy.. were we thrilled. Infact me and sundar were planning our wiidlife viewing hike early next day and I said “If we are determined to see one, we will” and right the next second, we spot one. HAHAHA. One sad thing was I couldn’t get a clear enough picture as it was little far from us and it was covered by so many small plants, made it tuff. Nevertheless our experience was just wonderful.

Next day, we went for an early morning drive to the Cades Cove Loop, spotted Elks, many many White Tailed Deer, Wild Turkey.

Had our lunch in Alamo Steakhouse, I had the Filet Mignon with side serving of their famous Alamo Potatoes. It was incredibly delicious. Sundar had the Filet Mignon sandwich and he didnt like it so much.

Drove to Cherokee, NC to visit the Oconaluftee Indian Village. Learnt a lot about the Cherokee Indians and how they lived in the 1700s, their customs, rituals and interestingly how the number 7 had a great meaning to them and their counsels were head by the women. Was also fun to see how the artisans perform their unique inherited talents such as, basket-weaving, bead-making, canoe making, blowgun, masks etc.

Day 3 of our trip, we decided to go Zorbing, its a sport of rolling down a hill inside a giant inflatable ball and it was invented in New Zealand. We did the Zydro - means they filled the ball with some water so its like you are getting a nice wash while you are rolling down the hill. My pants had zipper in them, so I was asked to buy the appropriate wear from their store. I looked like a Zorb product, and we were chatting with all the adrenaline fun seekers, I have to say TN is one of the most friendliest state I have ever been to.

Then we went to Knoxville to meet up with some of my friends. Chatted the night away in a place called SideStreet Tavern: outdoor benches, some Vodkas and Minty shots, railway track right beside the place, so occasional blow horning, it was just amazing.

Day 4, had our breakfast in LogCabin Pancake House, I had the butterscotch pancake and it was so delicious.

We left around 9am fanatically checking the Wimbledon Mens Final scores on our iphones, I was supporting Rafa and Sundar was my foe then. Finally Rafa won, we reached and I was happy! :)

Beautiful eco-villas, being constructed in Bangalore. Windmills...

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:10:00 -0400

Beautiful eco-villas, being constructed in Bangalore. Windmills of your mind

Studiospooky Pencil Drawings

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:00:00 -0400

Studiospooky Pencil Drawings:

Studiospooky does some of the best illustrations they have illustrated a number of children’s fiction titles that have garnered award winning success in the industry as well as on the retail shelf.

Featured here are some of his best pencil drawings. Check it out.