Hi hi to everyone! I've been MIA forever almost now but I'm back with purpose (I hope!) Lots happening in life and some things slide out of vision into oblivion ...hate to admit blogging is one of those. For my faithful followers thanks for staying and waiting patiently. For everyone else hope you feel welcome to take a peek into my hectic life as it is today...I'll make a believer out of you all I'm sure when I'm done writing these reports of how my noggin works with and around the intricacies of this amazing life I've got.
First of all, for all of you who're unaware, we just got back from one of the best vacations I've had - a month long tour around the globe (yea I mean it..if travelling to Brussels, Paris, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Chennai isn't considered a world tour then I don't know what qualifies!). I've got some amazing clicks of these beautiful places we visited and enjoyed with family and friends. But the best part is the memories we made that'll stay for a lifetime. The kids loved it and went with all of it - it's amazing the way kids adapt to changes unlike us adults..we need some time to settle ..they don't. All they see are opportunities to have fun. This trip had nothing missing - the whole deal really - exotic places to sightsee, overload of connecting with family, a big wedding, a quick getaway to celebrate a wedding anniversary, loads of food (from belgian waffles and sausages to awesome home made Indian comfort food to hot idlis available 24/7 (I'm serious! Only in India!), warm temperatures, cyclone warnings with rain, lots of pollution, mind boggling crazy traffic, commuting through all modes of transportation (airplanes, train, cars, taxis, shuttle buses, autos, walking - did I leave anything out? Well maybe mules/camels :) we'll reserve that for when we visit Egypt (wishful thinking Alex says...). And oh did I mention the mosquitoes? My kids had bites all over their little torsoes from day one. But thanks to all the prayers and our (Alex and I) almost excessive attention to what the kids ate, drank or even showered in we had a couple of healthy kids that we brought back without a scratch - Hurrah! Yea its a miracle we weaved through all these cities through dangerous traffic and came back in one piece. Thank God for that! I don't care what anyone says..the best gift in travel to have is health and we did everything we could to achieve that and I'm proud of us.
So, here are a few pics of the highlights of our trip:
That's the European parliament in Brussels in the background (Sylvia can correct me if I'm wrong - but we're in the middle of the administrative section of Brussels..so its one of those buildings there)
This one's outside the museum in Brussels.
At Mini Europe..
The little troublemakers...
The Atomium.
On a tram in Belgium
Lights show at the city center
At the German christmas market eating waffles..
The Eiffel Tower.
At the top of the tower
Train travel in Paris
@ the Louvre ..the Mona Lisa in the background
The famed Champs Elysees!
A birthday celebration..
German market eats.
A wedding ceremony
Spicy yummy Indian food..
Beach resort getaway...
In Bangalore visiting friends
BFF
Train back from Coimbatore..
Now we're back to the grind here in frigid Illinois (from high 70F in India down to low 20s - that's around 10 to 15 below zero C for those of you who read in Centigrade). The routine is on and we're off to a great jet lagged start. Kids are adjusting well. Us not so much :( As you can see I've been up since 3AM (better than yesterday @ 1AM) and trying to not doze off during the day. But, time and 1tide wait for none and we'll push on. The key after a big vacation like this is to keep the motivation going - have something to look forward to..like another vacation, a milestone, a target ..you get the idea. I have one to look forward to around mid year - I'll hold off on telling you what it is right now (hey I need something to write about in my next post right?). But overall we're extremely thankful for the protection and health that God covered us with during this long epic trip of ours.
I think this is a good place to stop for now. Like I said earlier, I'll see if I can bring the purpose back into my blogging by being more frequent and you guys stay put. Happy New Year to you all. Later!
First of all, for all of you who're unaware, we just got back from one of the best vacations I've had - a month long tour around the globe (yea I mean it..if travelling to Brussels, Paris, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Chennai isn't considered a world tour then I don't know what qualifies!). I've got some amazing clicks of these beautiful places we visited and enjoyed with family and friends. But the best part is the memories we made that'll stay for a lifetime. The kids loved it and went with all of it - it's amazing the way kids adapt to changes unlike us adults..we need some time to settle ..they don't. All they see are opportunities to have fun. This trip had nothing missing - the whole deal really - exotic places to sightsee, overload of connecting with family, a big wedding, a quick getaway to celebrate a wedding anniversary, loads of food (from belgian waffles and sausages to awesome home made Indian comfort food to hot idlis available 24/7 (I'm serious! Only in India!), warm temperatures, cyclone warnings with rain, lots of pollution, mind boggling crazy traffic, commuting through all modes of transportation (airplanes, train, cars, taxis, shuttle buses, autos, walking - did I leave anything out? Well maybe mules/camels :) we'll reserve that for when we visit Egypt (wishful thinking Alex says...). And oh did I mention the mosquitoes? My kids had bites all over their little torsoes from day one. But thanks to all the prayers and our (Alex and I) almost excessive attention to what the kids ate, drank or even showered in we had a couple of healthy kids that we brought back without a scratch - Hurrah! Yea its a miracle we weaved through all these cities through dangerous traffic and came back in one piece. Thank God for that! I don't care what anyone says..the best gift in travel to have is health and we did everything we could to achieve that and I'm proud of us.
So, here are a few pics of the highlights of our trip:
Train back from Coimbatore..
With family
Is that a trip or what?? Can't for another one already :)
Now we're back to the grind here in frigid Illinois (from high 70F in India down to low 20s - that's around 10 to 15 below zero C for those of you who read in Centigrade). The routine is on and we're off to a great jet lagged start. Kids are adjusting well. Us not so much :( As you can see I've been up since 3AM (better than yesterday @ 1AM) and trying to not doze off during the day. But, time and 1tide wait for none and we'll push on. The key after a big vacation like this is to keep the motivation going - have something to look forward to..like another vacation, a milestone, a target ..you get the idea. I have one to look forward to around mid year - I'll hold off on telling you what it is right now (hey I need something to write about in my next post right?). But overall we're extremely thankful for the protection and health that God covered us with during this long epic trip of ours.
I think this is a good place to stop for now. Like I said earlier, I'll see if I can bring the purpose back into my blogging by being more frequent and you guys stay put. Happy New Year to you all. Later!
