27.04.2021

Dearest Ashu,

STOP PRESS. You turn SIXTEEN today! How in the world am I supposed to cope with this? I can’t even drown myself in alcohol since I don’t drink! But wait a minute, you can!!! You are legally allowed to drink wine and beer in this country from today and if that is nt a sobering thought! Sixteen is special in many cultures and the only Tamil culture that refers to this age is in the movies and most of the time, girls this age fall in love with a stupid boy, lie to their parents and elope with the said boy. So please refrain from doing any of them. You graduated from middle school and got into high school this year and its a big deal in the school system here. You chose the school you wanted to go and the subjects you wanted to take and made so many important decisions in your life. I am so proud of you. This fierce independence streak is something I admire in you. Please do ask for help when you need it though. There is no shame in it. Help is always given to those who ask for it. Not only in Hogwarts, but at our home too. Anytime. Anything, Anywhere. OK?

Our long lunches together have rapidly decreased ever since you started high school and I miss them dearly. Weekends and holidays are the only time we got to spend time together and have fun as you have lot of school work. You are complaining that you don’t have enough time to read for pleasure anymore and its heartbreaking. You are listening to lot more music though. You are keeping at it with Violin and Tennis and Table tennis and all the stress-baking, of course! Due to the pandemic, we have been traveling within the country for the holidays. Since Swiss has no dearth of exotic places, there were many hikes, many lakes, a week of skiing and snowboarding, day trips and what not! They were sometimes accompanied by sulking and complaining and tantrums and resistance. Its a task to get you out of the house. You drag your feet, steal my socks, tease your sister, try your fathers last ounce of patience. But you relent. You listen. And I am thankful for that. You do you. We will get by. 

I call you selfish a lot of times. "Its always I, me, myself with you", I say to you. But when I actually sit and think about it, you are far from it. I know for sure I did nt do even a fraction of what you do when I was your age. Its not just doing the laundry. Its also folding the clothes into neat little squares and taking them to each persons room and leaving them on their bed. Its not just making two cups of tea for me and your dad. Its the perfect ratio of ginger to milk to sugar. Its not just baking a cake for each one of us. Its the personalized touch in each one of them. Its just not setting the table for a special dinner. Its the napkin folded into flowers and the exquisite taste in decorating. Its not just recommending a secondary school for your sister. Its the research you do and the pros and cons you list. I can go on. I am sure you get the gist. If and when you do something, you give your 100%. I am the selfish one to want more. I am sorry to be so greedy.

The other day we were joking about something and JK Rowlings name was mentioned as it invariably does in our household and you said, “I don’t like her that much anymore”. It could be because of JKR’s Transphobic comments or something else, I am not sure now. But it was a huge moment for me. I told you how this “cancel culture” is very prevalent these days and quite toxic. One can say, "I like JKR but I don’t like some of the things she says”, instead of a blanket “I hate her” comment. No one is perfect. People would nt be people without flaws. This strive for perfection whether its the physical look or the mental strength or that amazingly shot insta photo or the perfect grade in a school test, its impossible to expect it from people including oneself. We make mistakes. We learn. We forgive. We are forgiven. Life would be so dull otherwise. So please overlook the flaws and find the goodness in everyone. And forgiveness is so underrated. We forgive not because the other person deserves it, but because we deserve peace. I wish you all the peace and happiness in life, Kannamma! Happy sweet Sixteen!

Love,

அம்மா.

27.04.2020

Dearest Ashu,

Yet another year gone by and you turn 15 today amidst interesting times. The last 6 weeks of being cooped up together in our house with the four of us with just a break here and there and we both have nt attempted to murder each other. As yet. I am so proud of both of us. Not just for these past weeks but the whole last year where I finally feel we have grown up in our tumultuous relationship. You are showing much maturity and I think Im inching towards being patient. A big phew and all that! That does nt mean you are nice or anything. You are the reputed snark queen in the house and sarcasm could be the lowest form of wit but its your choice of weapon to wield! Oh and how you wield it! I used to get so annoyed with your utter lack of respect and my oft repeated mantra "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything!" fell to deaf ears. But later I realized that a snarky, sarcastic Teen who is at least talking is better than one who keeps to herself and never shares anything! So bring it on, Girl! After all, you learnt from the best and I can give it back as good as I get it!  Challenge accepted! 

You are very creative and have such clever hands. Be it playing the violin or plaiting your hair or your sisters. Playing Table tennis and winning medals in school tournaments or baking and decorating delicious and stunning cakes. Solving rubic cubes or drawing and sketching. Setting up elaborate projects on domino effect or making and editing ultra cool videos. You are a true star! Your talent astounds me and the amount of hard work and dedication and creativity you show at this age makes me feel like I was a total Buffoon when I was your age. And if my ego would allow me to say it, I still feel like one! You still have nt met a book you did nt like and listen to music all the time! Billie Eilish is your current Queen and your devotion to her is up there with JK Rowling and that's saying something! Keep reading and keep yourself surrounded with music and do something creative every day of your life!

My second best moment of the past year would be our girls trip to Berlin back in October.  I had always wanted to go on a trip with just us three girls and decided it was high time for me to adult and we flew to Berlin for 4 days. To put it mildly, I was terrified! But we had such fun and you were so responsible and were so happy and had such a good time that we were planning another trip even before we landed back in Basel. Which has nt happened yet and seeing how the world is going right now, it might not happen again in a long, long time but we will always have Berlin, won't we? And in December, we 4 went to the Andalusian region of Spain and we had a fantastic 8 days in Seville, Malaga, Granada and Cordoba. You were in love with the choice of food there especially the churros and chocolate combo and wanted so badly to extend the trip. We walked close to 100 kms in those 8 days and had an amazing time sight seeing. Even if we are quarantined for eternity, I could look back at all our family vacations and be content knowing how we have such a wonderful travel history. Especially you at this young age.  Always remember that you have been gifted with this privilege and please pay it forward in any way you can.

Now onto my most favorite heart melting moment of you at Age 14! A little history first. So its a known fact that I love Harry Potter. And I have a love/hate relationship with a certain Mr. Snape. Both you and Antu cannot for the lives of you understand why I adore him one moment and call him a selfish B@$T@&D, the next second. And having watched the movies like 17 times with Alan Rickman portraying Snape as if he was born to do the role does not help my case one bit. And I am ALWAYS, ALWAYS (Get it?) attracted to these kind of grey roles. Good is boring. Bad is terrible. But the ones in between are just right and delicious to devour in fiction. I love to analzyse these characters to death. And there's one scene in the 7th movie which is my favorite scene in the entire HP franchise: the back profile of Snape against a huge window. I love that scene and the framing and keep telling you all that I would love to own a poster of this frame whenever we watch the movie.(which is a lot!) Its just such a melancholic and breathtaking scene even without a single dialogue. So what do I see when I open my birthday present from you this year? A handmade notebook with a cover of the above said scene. WHICH YOU HAND PAINTED! I cried. I ugly cried. I cannot begin to describe the emotions I went through when I saw your thoughtful gift. All I will say is, I love you Pattu. Have a wonderful 15th Birthday. Stay blessed. Always.

Love,

அம்மா. 

The gift.

27.04.2019

Dearest Ashu,
We celebrated your 1st birthday in India and now after all the years, we are here for your 14th birthday. From a Noddy themed birthday party where 100 people were invited to “I don’t want a party. I don’t want a cake. I don’t want any gifts, just get me a better phone. This one is dying”. May be you tried to say the same when you were 1 too and as usual I did nt listen! You are enjoying this trip and am glad I decided to come in this scorching heat because it’s so heart warming to see you so happy. When Thatha was driving the car from Kumbakonam to Chennai, you fought with me for the front seat and sat there and talked and laughed and enjoyed the trip with him. In contrast to Swiss where you put your headphones on and sit at the back and don’t say one word to me. You are so patient with both set of your grandparents and talk to them kindly and help them while you won’t even give the time of the day to your sister.  I guess I need these India trips to realize that the problem is not you, it’s me!

Your big wish came true this year. You always wanted to go to the USA on your own to your aunts house and I thought it won’t happen in the near future because why would nt Antu and I come too? But then the universe conspired and Antus passport did nt come back in time and we let you go first and we both joined a week later. My heart was in my mouth when I waited at the boarding gate and you walked to the plane. I came home and kept tracking the plane and thought I must be the worst mom in the world! You had a wonderful week and everyone had only good things to tell about you. We also went to Austria for the ski holidays, to the beautiful Croatia and then recently to Canary Islands which you loved! Mainly for the resort we stayed in. “ Will you promise we will come back here, Amma?”, you asked when we were checking out and I thought what spoilt kids I am raising and how hard adulting is going to be for you both! But then we sleep on a mattress on the floor in India and your grandmother drags you in an Auto to temples and you want to come back here too every year. So I guess all’s not lost. 

You have adjusted to Basel now and have made a few friends. You are very hard working in school and doing good. Come rain or snow, you cycle to school, do your laundry, leave the kitchen sparkling after your baking experiments, a little perfectionist in whatever you do and it makes me so proud. In school this year, the kids need to find a job for one week in May. And you sent out resumes to a dozen companies and none of them were doing this short internship programmes. You tried in book shops and libraries as it’s your dream come true job! Then desperately got in touch with our neighbor and went for an interview and got the job in their manufacturing department. What an amazing experience! I hope you enjoy and learn a lot! Good luck, Chellam! You also sneakily watch Netflix, listen to Ariana Grande all day long and read like your life depends on it. You are continuing to learn violin and play a little bit of tennis and table tennis. But would rather stay in your room than get out of the house. And these days I have to check with you before accepting dinner invites because “I have a test on Monday. I have to study for it. I can’t come out” excuses have begun!

Our fights have got more intense and more frequent much to my utter disgust but I don’t know what to do about it. There’s a thin line between letting you do whatever you want and making you do whatever I want and I seem to be struggling to find it. Please know that I am trying. I swear on your favorite Nutella that you are precious to me. It’s not easy to like you at this grumpy age but it does nt change my undying love for you. Please believe. In yourself and in your mother. Antus devotion to you and your fathers pride in you will never diminish. Not to mention the extended family which thinks the Sun rises and sets for you! So much so that my father plays the skip card to Antu but never to you in the Phase 10 card game much to all our protest! If that’s not love, I don’t know what is! Though you are not touchy feely and vocal about your feelings, your love for everyone shines through when you bake for them or when you make something for them.  I miss the cuddles and kisses and I love yous and I guess I have to grow up and accept that you are growing up. But please don’t feel shy to compliment, to love, to appreciate and to say a kind word, Ashu. Live life and live it well. Happy 14th Birthday, Chellamma! 

Love
அம்மா. 

Croatia.

It was Destination Croatia during the fall break earlier this month. I don’t think I have ever visited a country and then not rave about it! So Croatia was no different. In fact, it will easily be in one of the top spots. What a spectacular place! We had a fantastic week and came back glowing! We landed in Split and rented a car and drove straight to Plitvice National Park. On the way, we made an unplanned stop at Krka National Park and one look at the view, the walk and the waterfalls and I was in love. I was wondering how Plitvice could be any more beautiful than this! But I was so so wrong! The next morning, we left early for the Plitvice lakes. Parked our car, bought our tickets and ventured inside. It was quite chilly until the sun came out. It is a huge park with 16 lakes and hundreds of waterfalls. Theres a wooden boardwalk all around the park. Short hikes. Caves. Stunning views. Boat rides. We spent about 8 hours there, walked about 12 kms and with barely any lunch as the choice of food inside the park was not great for vegetarians. But we did nt mind. It was a magical place. A slice of heaven on Earth. I was telling HD “Lets go back home now. Nothing else we see in Croatia is gong to match this!” Famous last words!

The next day we drove back to Split stopping in Zadar for lunch. It was a quaint little port town. We found an amazing Italian place for lunch. Then we reached Split, chucked our luggage in the house we were staying and walked to the Diocletians Palace. We spent some time at the sea side, walking around and then called it a day. The next day, it rained in the morning. So we left late and drove to Trogir. Thankfully, the sun came up and we had a great time in Trogir. Its a small town by the Adriatic coast. The historic centre of the town is part of Unesco world heritage sites and it was pretty as a picture. Small alleys, cute shops, loads of restaurants,… We explored a bit and found a nice place for lunch. Then we drove back to Split and walked to the palace again, visited the city museum and hiked the Marjan hill before stumbling into a vegan restaurant for dinner.


Day 5 was the highlight of the trip. Giving stiff competition to Plitvice was Brac Island. We took a ferry from Split to Supetar and then drove to the Bol beach. I swear that that was the most beautiful beach and the most beautiful spot in the world. White pebble beach. Bluest of blue water. So calm like a pool with no waves. Absolutely no crowd. Water was warm enough to go for a swim. And the most interesting fact is that the beach is V shaped with the Adriatic Sea on both sides and I have never seen anything like this in my life. I was going round and round like a dog exploring the small stretch with pine trees on one side, beach on either side. We swam for a bit and then I sat and kept looking at the water in a trance. I never wanted to leave. Hd and Antu had to be dragged out of the water too. We had a blast. Ashu was happy that she found a crepe stand and was stuffing her face with a nutella crepe. Not wanting to miss the ferry back, we drove back with a small detour for a breathtaking view of the beach from a cliff! The ferry ride back to Split with the spectacular sunset would be etched in my memory forever.

Day 6 we drove to Dubrovnik and usually I am not impressed with hyped up places and I was like “bring it on”! But clearly I don’t learn a lesson. After a pizza lunch, we walked to the old city and it felt like we walked into a movie set or went back in time! I also realized why Plitvice and Brac Island were almost empty. Everyone was in Dubrovnik! It was mad crowd everywhere. We explored a bit and then walked back to our house. Though it was about 15 mins walk, we had to climb like a million stairs! Every side street is  a staircase, I tell you! Am glad we went when we went. I don’t think my knees would take this in my old age! Which is not very far!!! On the next day, Hd and I woke up early and walked to the old city to look at the sunrise. With no crowd, the place was even more beautiful. We came back after breakfast with the kids and visited the Fort Lovrijenak, Rectors Place, a few churches, went for a walking tour inside the city and had lunch at another nice Vegan place we found. We also bought tickets to walk the city walls and it was a stunning stunning view from the walls. By the end of the day, we had walked 16 kms and climbed 78 floors. Kudos to the girls!

Our last day, we drove back to Split from Dubrovnik. We decided to drive via Bosnia and make a quick stop in Mostar to see the pictueresque medieval old bridge. The drive was long in narrow roads with no village or town in sight. And hardly any cars. Finally we reached Mostar, grabbed some lunch and took a few pics and were on our way to Split. There were like a million Pomegranate trees lining the road and a kind man gave me two for free! They were yummy! Our flight was early next day and I don’t know how one week flew by. For the first time, we stayed with Airbnb for the entire trip. Usually I hate to make beds and fix our own meals in vacation because thats all I seem to do in my life and always prefer hotels. But this was a pleasant experience. Lots of friends have warned us about food in Croatia. So it worked out well that we managed lunch outside and fixed ourselves a simple dinner almost every night. There was more space and character and it was nice to talk to the local hosts. So thats that! Croatia - I will be back!

 

Solo Trip to Iceland.

A solo trip before turning 40 has been in my bucket list for the last 5 years and finally it happened in the nick of time. Even though I have lived alone for a while during college and later for a couple of months when Hd was abroad, I have never traveled to a new place and stayed in a hotel all by myself. I was a bit scared and kept putting it off and there are not many options in winter and I decided to do a trip in spring or summer. But the trip was meant to be, I guess. The dear husband thought he can't miss this opportunity to get rid of his wife and surprised me with flight tickets to Reykjavik! One week in Iceland in February! Any more proof needed for his evil plan? I shopped for new hiking boots, new winter jacket, new cap and new gloves. I even practiced taking a good selfie! I was like a kid on first school day! I was also extremely nervous and the thought that I have to take decisions on my own without consulting another adult was petrifying. I never realized how dependent and spoilt I am! Not to mention, I can't use my kids as shields! Wont have parents or friends or sister as buffer. Who am I going to be on this trip?

I planned and planned and decided to do Reykjavik on my own for two days and a 5 days trip with a tour company. Booked hotels after double checking with the husband. Booked the tour after triple checking with him. Found out that I have forgotten to book hotel for one more night and did that after talking to him. Currency, R? Do I need to take the big suitcase, R? Should I buy a sim card there, R? Airport shuttle bus, R? Im sure Hd was extremely confused at this point on how his super independent, bossy wife has turned into this scaredy cat! I even tried to bribe the girls to come with me but they would nt fall for it. Oh yes, about the girls. A cousin of mine asked how were the girls reacting to my solo trip plan and thats when I realized there was no reaction! Hd and I kept talking about it and planning and the kids knew about it but did nt really say anything. Except that I saw Ashus eyes gleam with happiness whenever I mentioned how I am going to be away for a week! With a family like this, who needs enemies? 

9th February arrived and Hd dropped me at the airport at the crack of dawn and then I was on my own. I had this huge smile on my face during the flight sitting in my window seat without the girls on my either side. It felt like I was out of prison on parole! Reykjavik was fantastic. I could walk everywhere and see everything and the walking tour was the best way to explore and to get an idea of the city and what interests me. Had an early dinner and went to my hotel. The next day was the beginning of the 5 Day Tour with the Arctic Adventures travel company. I had a great time with the other people in the group and we all had dinner together every night and got to know each other. And this was so refreshing for me since we never do that when we travel as a family. And the whole point of going solo is to go through these new experiences. Day 1 of the tour was excellent. We visited the must see in the South coast including a lava tube and it was total winter wonderland and freezing cold!

A storm hit Iceland the next day and all plans were cancelled and we reached Reykjavik by noon and I spent the day watching 3 movies on TV and stepping out only for dinner. It was extremely windy and I could nt walk more than 5 minutes. The next day was was the beginning of the SNAEFELLSNES peninsula tour and a few new people joined the group and we also had a new driver/guide, Maria. She was amazing and I would strongly recommend this company to everyone. Thankfully the weather was nt crazy that day and we could do the Golden circle, black sand beach, see icelandic horses upclose and also two stunning waterfalls. I might have lost a few fingers and toes but it was totally worth it! Going from Swiss, I had completely under estimated how cold it would be in Iceland. Its never this windy in Swiss thanks to the mountains and since Iceland is completely open to the elements, it was crazy windy with snow flying everywhere and theres no way in hell a tourist could drive in such conditions. Renting a car in Island is perfectly safe and a great idea in summer but extremely dangerous in winter. 

The sun was out the next day too and it was the best of all days! I fell in love with the diamond beach and the glacier lagoon and the Glacier cave tour and the monster truck drive in the glacier. It was like being in a different planet. The black sand and the ice crystals shining like diamonds. The bluest of blue glaciers. The stunning views. I did nt want the day to end. It kind of did nt because two girls in the group and I stood out for 3 hours in the freezing cold that night to look for the northern lights as it was the first clear night sky since we got there and though we saw like a million stars, the aurora forecast was nt great for that day and we finally gave up around midnight. Every night before and after were cloudy or snowy and that was a little bit upsetting that I could nt see the northern lights in this trip since I was so looking forward to it and believed that I will get lucky at least once in an entire week. But Ms.Aurora had other plans. But I should nt complain. Iceland is amazing in winter and jaw-droppingly stunning!

Day 5 of the tour hit bad weather again and the roads were closed. We waited the storm out and started driving towards Reykjavik around 2 pm only and reached around 9.30 pm and I said good bye to the group with a heavy heart. The next day went in walking around Reykjavik and catching the sights I did not see the first day, shopping and ending the day relaxing in a thermal bath. The next day on 16th Feb, I had a morning flight back to Basel and when I got home at 4 pm, the girls opened the door for me with a huge bouquet of flowers and also yelling at each other for some random thing, so it was straight back to reality! I heard from Hd, my sis and my mom at different points of time that Antu was uncharacteristically quiet and that she missed me. At least, some one still needs me! And when I asked Ashu if she missed me at any point of time, she answered "only this morning, Amma. When I baked a cake for you and it got stuck in the tin!" My poor little darlings!

* Iceland is SO expensive. And thats saying something living in the Swiss! Everyday, I ate the complimentary breakfast and packed a fruit and 2 slices of toast for lunch. And carried some snacks. Dinner was the only meal I spent on and that too only because it was nice to meet new people and also I was really hungry!

* Reykjavik is the northern most capital city in the world and street art was quite big there. The streets were so pretty. People are extremely nice and kind.

* Except in Reykjavik, all the other hotels I stayed in were in totally remote places in the middle of nowhere and the views were fantastic. 

* Theres this one ring road which goes around the island for about 1300 kms and the only way to explore the country is by driving on our own or through one of the travel companies. Theres no public train system.

* I created an Instagram account finally before this trip to upload photos and keep in touch with folks. Heres the link -  https://www.instagram.com/mail2subha/ All the white, grey and black photos are taken in Iceland. A good friend who visited Iceland last summer refused to believe my photos were taken in the same places she went to!

* This trip was so liberating for me. I did nt wake up in the morning with the list of things to do. I was not charge of anyone but me. When I wanted to step out, it took 5 minutes from the the time I had the thought to actually get out. Every meal time was so peaceful and in the moment and every time I was looking at a spectacular view, I was nt worrying if the kids are enjoying it the way I want them to! Its very difficult to explain in words. I actually wanted to go for a 3 or 4 days trip and when Hd said one week, I was shocked. But it was a perfect week and I could nt have asked for more. Thank you my dear husband for the greatest birthday gift this stay at home mom could ever have, whatever your intentions may be! :)

Madras, Margazhi, Music & More.

Hope 2018 is going good for everyone. We were in India for two weeks for the christmas holidays. The day we landed, we attended the Ranjani-Gayatri concert at Narada Gana Sabha and nothing we did in the rest of the trip matched that high point. Antu and I had the privilege to sit in the very first row and completely drowned in the duos music. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks during "charnam charanam Raghu Rama". Something totally magical happened the entire 2 hours 45 minutes and I can't put it in words even if I tried. Just a heartfelt thanks to the Universe.

The kids had a blast though Ashu never wanted to leave the house even there! Was hooked to the star movies and HBO channel and she watched like 4 movies a day! I kept my mouth shut. We went to Kumbakonam for two days and the kids were so upset that we were nt staying longer. It was good to see my grandmother who is 101 years old now. Good and heart breaking at the same time. Antu sang a few songs to her and it was such a sweet moment. It was so strange to go home when my mom was nt there. (She's in Canada.) I felt grown up finally! Adulting is hard.

Otherwise, the entire trip was one Food Marathon. Hd came with us on an India trip after like 5 years so we made the most of it and ate our weights worth! We also went for morning walks in the beach to balance it out a bit. New years eve dinner at Rain Tree was fantastic. Nothing like Indian hospitality. We were waited on hand and foot and the staff were so thoughtful and nice and surprised the kids with a gift, it was a memorable dinner! Hd and I left the kids and managed a dinner at Hamsa, which was out of the world! The decor, the plating, the staff,.. everything was extraordinary. The food was heavenly! But I don't understand the appetizer portion sizes in India. They are huge! Hd and I got greedy and ordered three starters and we could nt even finish them between ourselves and went straight to dessert after that. I think I have to go again next time to try their main course. But the Raw banana and pomegranate tikki and the apple jalebi (again 4 huge pieces which we could nt finish!) were sublime! Its best if we are at least a group of 4 people to go to any restaurant in Chennai. However do lone diners manage?

Wishing everyone a belated Pongal and hope 2018 brings all things wonderful!

London.

Hd and I lived in the UK for a few years long before the kids came along. It was my first "foreign trip" and first foreign home so it has always been extra special. That was 14 years back. In the last 10 years of living in Swiss, we have always wanted to visit London. Especially, to take the kids there but the visa was painful to get and so expensive. Not to mention, there were so many Schengen countries to visit so London had to wait. Finally it happened earlier this month. I was so excited to visit London and thrilled to take the girls. The spoilt brats were of course whining why we had to go anywhere at all not knowing that I had a huge surprise for them. I realized quite late that the Harry potter Studio tickets need to be purchased in advance and scrambled just a week before our trip and there were tickets only on one day, the first day of our one week trip. Managed to buy them in nick of time and kept telling the kids that theres a huge surprise. I had also booked tickets for Matilda musical which was supposed to be a decoy surprise. Yes, I take surprises very seriously! :)

We landed on Sunday afternoon, met an old friend for dinner and the next day, proceeded to Watford. The kids were dying to know where we were going and the excitement was building! When they saw the shuttle bus at the train station, their faces completely lit up! We had a great time at the studio. I don't know who was more excited, them or me! We 3 had good fun making fun of Hd who was the weakest Potterhead in the family. Wands were bought, butter beer was drank, props and costumes were seen, the sets were enjoyed,... It was truly a magical time. Then we rushed to a very special friends house who I met though this very blog! It was only the second time we were meeting face to face and the first time was when her family came to Zurich 4 years back. We had a scrumptious dinner at her place. Thanks, Rads. I finally made it! :)

I realized it was a bad idea for having planned the HP tour on day 1 because the girls did nt want to get out of the hotel room the rest of the week! All they wanted to do was stay in and read! It was a huge pain to get them out of the room every morning. Anyhow, we managed to see the touristy sights, the must see museums and my long list of restaurants. Matilda was excellent. Kids were thrilled to visit Hamleys and Harrods and were quite excited to see the bookshops because all the books are in English! Simple pleasures. But that meant, books were bought and were finished even before the train ride ended. Reminded me of the good old days when I would nag my dad to buy me a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys from the Higginbothams or one of the platform shops before our overnight train trips. A trip to Windsor and a visit to one of our oldest friends concluded the trip and the next day, we flew back to Basel. 

Loved this trip a little bit extra because it was nt a new place and I did nt have this obsession to see everything and it was wonderful to show the sights to the kids and enjoy it with them. Lots of andha kaalathula*... dialogues were used much to my chagrin. How I stumbled upon my first harry potter book in WH Smith while waiting for Hd and how we both waited in a long line to watch the first HP movie, how I used to pretty much live in the British Museum and National gallery, the shop where I bought my first winter jacket, that our first Swiss trip was from London, etc... etc... Ashu could nt roll her eyes any faster and Antu could nt ask questions any quicker! When their aunt asked them how London was, "its like India. Very dirty", was the reply! Sigh. Irony just died. Well, I will always love you, London! God save the Queen. Cant wait for Season 2 of The Crown! :)

* In those days...

Summer Vacation & another School Year.

Four glorious weeks were spent in sunny california and this trip coming after two years was a lot different. Girls are older, sis and bil have moved to a bigger house, parents were also there and it was nothing but fun. As always, we had a big jingbang group of 18 people flying from different parts of the US for an Alaska Cruise for 7 nights. Hd flew directly from Zurich to Anchorage, Alaska (where the cruise began) and flew back from Vancouver, Canada (where the cruise ended) If California was fun, this was mega fun! Kids had a blast. They did nt want to jump ship at any of the ports and wished the cruise was longer when it ended. Except for the trip in a Sea Plane, God knows why I chose to get in knowing my motion sickness, I had a fabulous time! The whale watching tour was the best part of the cruise for me. We saw a pod of humpback whales bubble netting and a humongous one breaching twice and it will be etched in my memory forever! Bil took a fantastic photo so I can see it in my old age to remind myself! Theres something to be said about animals in the wild! Sigh. I could spend the rest of my life whale watching, I tell you! Even the sight of a tiny bit of tail fin or the blow hole sent me into a frenzy and screaming "Whale Whale" on top of my lungs. Which will invariably matched by a even louder "Vetri Vel" from my annoying sister and an "Arogara" from the hubby! Idiots!

The other three weeks went in shopping, eating, more shopping and more eating. Kids were totally heartbroken to leave the two sets of doting people and came back on the plane with grumpy faces as if Im taking them as prisoners! Anyway, while still trying to beat jet lag for the past 3 days, kids began school today and Ashu is in 6th Grade, the oldest class in the school campus much to my shock! When and how did that happen? Antu moved to 2nd and suddenly I felt that she has grown up too much while she was standing next to the fresh off the boat first graders this morning! :( Another year of madness begins. And in this circus, I fell like I am the prisoner!

Budapest.

It was our 16th wedding anniversary on 5th June and we went to Budapest to celebrate it. A dear friend has lived in Budapest before moving to Zurich and she said 3 days will be perfect for the city trip and off we went. I know I am easy to please when it comes to places. Give me a museum, a cathedral, a park bench with a view and I am sold. But still I can't describe how beautiful Budapest is. I was not prepared at all and I fell head over heels in love with the city. As always, I had this unbelievable look in my face and wondering why we did nt plan a trip ages ago! Sigh. How is one to see all these beautiful places in one life time?

We reached our hotel in Buda on Saturday afternoon. Freshened up and got out to take a boat trip. We had a wonderful two hours taking in the sights. Found a cute vegan restaurant very near our hotel and ate an early dinner. And called it a day. Day 2, we would have walked about 10 kms and covered the castle hill with the Mathias church, fisherman's bastion and the castle. At the castle, during the changing of guards exactly at noon, one of the guards got on his knees and proposed to his girl friend with a ring and she said yes! A collective awwww from the huge audience. Of course, being our anniversary on that day, I got all romantic and locked eyes with the husband only to be getting a blank look back and he asks, "Whats happening? What is he doing? Who is that girl?" Sigh. 

Then we took the funicular down and walked on the historic chain bridge to go to the Pest side and visited the St. Stephens Basilica and climbed up for a spectacular view of the city. We had lunch at an Italian restaurant nearby with amazing food and the food was much much cheaper than the uber expensive Swiss! It rained a bit on that day but thankfully not much. We walked around some more and got back to our hotel. Ate a late dinner at a pancake place nearby and paid less than 10 euros after stuffing ourselves! Another reason to love the city, I tell you.

Day 3 was bright and sunny. We finally decided to try the public transport and bought a 24 hour family ticket and took the metro to Heroes Square. It was beautiful with a huge park nearby with so many statues, play areas, restaurants, etc... Then we took a metro to the Pest side and did a guided tour of the Jewish Synagogue which is one of the largest in the world. It was an interesting tour even for the kids. Then we had a late lunch at a Hungarian restaurant nearby and tried the famous Langos. The classic langos is fried dough with cheese and sour cream. Here, they served it with vegetables too. It was yum like bhatura. Only the chola was missing! :) 

After the heavy lunch, we decided to walk it off and walked to the Parliament. My god, what a beautiful building! It was even more breathtaking up close and after a million photos, we walked to the Margaret bridge and to the Margaret Island. It is a quiet hideaway from the city with a huge garden, a big fountain, lots of trees, cafes and lots of entertainment. There was a bubble making guy there and Antu had a blast catching bubbles. Ashu was busy eating ice cream cones one after the other as if there was a contest going on! We ate the classic Langos at one of the restaurants there and the kids loved it. Then we walked back to our hotel as it was getting dark and my God, what a magical view once the lights comes on! I had to be dragged to the hotel. I could have just stood at the Margaret bridge and looked at the spectacular view all night long!

Day 4 dawned and we took the metro to the parliament to see if we could visit inside but they were fully booked so we just walked around, went to the cathedral again to do some souvenir shopping and walked back to to the hotel to get our luggage and got to the airport and were back in Zurich for dinner. One more anniversary done and dusted. Blank looks not withstanding, I would travel to the end of the world and back if its with you, R. Heres to many more! :)

Solden.

Kids get two weeks off every February and people usually go skiing for a week and lots of them go to Austria. Hd and I have been planning to go the last 4 years but it was nt happening thanks to my injury, then his and then it did nt make sense to go if we both were nt going to ski. Ashu took to snowboarding this year and she was very keen on a trip. Finally we bit the bullet and Hd and I decided to put our fears aside and begin skiing again this year. (Not before my passionate and intense speech to Hd on how I'm just 37 years old and I can't get retired hurt at such an young age!) Poor man was so worried about me more than himself thanks to my history of accidents! Anyway, we were in Solden, Austria from 14th to 20th February and we had a fantastic time. The kids were in group lessons and Hd and I took private lessons to refresh our memory but thankfully the body remembered what to do and it was nt so bad. I still ski painfully slow thanks to my fear and I can also see that my right knee is not as strong as my left now. Well, a knee replacement is certainly there in my future, I guess!

Antu loved her group and her teacher and did nt want to come back. Icing on the cake was that she came third in the ski race at the end of the week and got a certificate and a medal. She was thrilled to bits! But Little Miss Princess was very disapproving that they gave just french fries for lunch some days! "Just because I am a vegetarian, Amma! Really? Fries for lunch? Can you believe it?" And it seems, her teacher was a Vegan and ate only salad much to her horror. I can see her switching to fish and chicken in her future! 

Ashu is the Rockstar in the family. After skiing for 7 years(!), she wanted to learn snowboarding this year and in spite of us discouraging her, she was very determined to do it. Its amazing how fearless kids are and how fast they learn skills. Sigh, here I am in my ripe old age struggling in the beginner slopes. She wears her shoes on her own, carries her snowboard and walks like a gangster! On the ski slopes, with the ski suit, ski mask, helmet, etc... I sometimes mistake her for some young woman and my eyes search for the little girl in her pink snow suit! :( Since there were no kids her age in the intermideate snowboard group, she was put in an adults group. She had loads of fun the last day when her group went right upto the summit (3250m) and snowboarded where Spectre was filmed! Wish I had given my phone to her to take some photos. She said it was spectacular. And was very disappointed that we said no when she asked if she could go alone again! Sigh. Im sure in the near future,  she would just snowboard right through our roof!

Anyway, I am just glad we all got back in one piece. It was an interesting week doing nothing but eating and skiing and sitting in the sauna in the late evenings. Bliss.

Majorca.

It was our 15th wedding anniversary last week. Fifteen! Feels like yesterday when I insisted I wanted pineapple rasam in my wedding menu. As usual, Hd and I started planning our anniversary trip months in advance. After exploring several options, including the Moon and the Mars, we got practical and decided on 4 days in Majorca. Except for Barcelona, we have nt been to Spain at all and it seemed like a good idea. And it was indeed a fantastic trip. The kids had a blast too. Ashu and I went Parasailing and it was amazing. We were total beach bums for a couple of days. Drove to Cap de Formentor one day and enjoyed the breathtaking views. 

Hd also gave me a huge surprise by giving me a little blue box! I almost fainted at the sight of the box tied up with the satin ribbon. Forget whats inside, just the box thrilled me to bits. Sigh! This is how labels and marketing affect the vulnerable, I guess. And I am not even a jewelry person. But then its Tiffanys, so there! :) 

Thank you, Hd. Love you loads. Heres to many more. And I don't mean just the anniversaries! ;)

Breakfast in France, Lunch in Italy and Dinner in Switzerland.

Last year when it looked like we might move out of Zurich, we started writing lists of things to do before we move. Hd and I had a long list of places to see, Ashu wanted to go to a theme park with her BFF and Antu, of course, did not want to move and refused to make lists. Smart one she is because she's the only one who got what she wanted! :) Anyway, one of the things we wanted to do was this day trip where we drive around and see three countries on the same day. We have technically done this before while driving back from Austria or Germany or France. (Even 4 countries at times if we include Liechtenstein!) But we also wanted to sightsee and relax and enjoy the trip. When a friend suggested we go to Geneva region and go to France and Italy, we thought it was a great idea.  The kids had never seen the Chillion Castle in Montreux so we decided to make a weekend trip. 

We drove to Montreux from Zurich on a Saturday, visited the castle, ate a packed dinner there and then drove on to Chamonix in France and stayed in a most charming B&B with a view of the Mont Blanc. When we got up the next day, the weather was awful and it rained non stop and we could nt even see the mountain because of the fog. The couple who ran the B&B cooked us a scrumptious French breakfast and we ate home made breads, cereals and crepes. We read and played board games and lingered there for a bit before driving on through the Mont Blacn Tunnel. (11 kms long and a bloody 41 Euros one way to pass through it!) 

Once out of the tunnel, we were in Italy and the sun was shining and all was well with the world! :) We continued to Aosta, parked our car there and roamed around the charming town centre full of Roman ruins. We window shopped, people watched, walked in to churches and of course found a great Pizza place to fulfill our "Lunch in Italy" plan. After a fantastic pizza and bruschetta, we found a shop which was selling "Gelato in a Stick" in all kinds of flavors and colors. Slurping on it, we got back to our car and started driving towards Zurich, wisely skipping the tunnel and taking the longer, scenic route instead.

While we were debating whether to go home and eat a home cooked meal for dinner or stop at a restaurant, the girls voted for a Mexican restaurant and we planned to stop in Bern and have dinner there. Around 7.30 pm, we reached Bern and parked our car near the city centre and were walking towards the Mexican restaurant, when we crossed a restaurant serving Swiss food! The universe had to conspire even for a silly whim of ours, huh? We high fived each other and entered the restaurant with our cameras ready! :) Fondue was out of the question since it was not yet winter but we lucked out with a fantastic selection of Rosti! They had a special Rosti menu with 12 kinds of Rosti and half of them were even vegetarian! (Thank you, Universe!) 

Thus a trip we decided on the last minute without much planning turned out to be one of the most interesting weekend trip we have ever had! I strongly recommend.

Sri Lanka.

This December we were in Srilanka for 8 days. It was an amazing trip and what a beautiful country! It was also a family/friends reunion with my parents, sister, brother in law, my In laws, sister's In laws, A's family and her parents. We were 18 people and had a blast! Hd,Sis and Bil had work in India and all of them flew to Colombo from Chennai while the girls and I flew directly from Zurich and came back with Hd. Organizing the whole trip was a nightmare with loads of ifs and buts and I still can't believe we did it. Adding to the confusion was to keep A's trip as a surprise to my sis! A's girls and Ashu and Antu were the perfect company for each other and it was heart warming to see them bond and give us parents a well deserved break! Ashu and Antu were like kids in a candy shop with all the attention from grand parents, uncles, aunts and friends! Not to mention feeding milk to baby elephants, touching a 2 weeks old baby crocodile and petting  2 days old baby turtles! That and the beach - they could nt ask for more!

Sis, A and I with our respective husbands went white water rafting and it was my first time and I loved it! It was an awesome experience and the highlight of my trip. It rained non stop the first few days and it was a total bummer! But that could nt stop us from visiting the Pinnawala elephant orphanage or climbing the Sigiriya Rock or going to the Golden Buddha Temple. Thankfully it stopped raining and we could enjoy the beaches later. Nuwara Eliya was so beautiful too with its scenic tea plantations and water falls. The hotels we stayed were lovely and the breakfast and dinner spread were unbelievable! Sometimes it felt that all we were doing were eating breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday and seeing things in between! We had a van for ourselves with a driver and a guide and on the long road trips, we did what else but eat more! Whether it was Rajaram kadalai mittai or Karachi bakery biscuits or Swiss chocolates - everything vanished in an alarming speed!

Sis was turning 40 on 18th January but we decided to surprise her on New years eve with cake and gifts and the hotel we stayed had a great party with music, dancing and fireworks. We brought 2015 in with loads of fanfare. Everyone but the four of us left for Chennai on 1st morning and the kids did nt take it well. "Its so unfair" they declared! End of holidays does that to everyone, I guess. Our flight to Zurich was late in the night and we just chilled the rest of the day. We reached on 2nd. From Tropical island to Winter Wonderland in just 24 hours. Sigh! Anyway, it was a great trip with great company. All I remember about the trip is the laughs. God, we laughed a lot! Here is to fun and laughter and wishing you loads of that in this New Year!

Heidi Trail.

Last Friday was a holiday as it was Swiss National day and even though the weather was a bit iffy, we decided to get out of the house anyway and headed to Bad Ragaz to explore the Heidi Trail. We parked our car at the cable car station and took the cable car up to Pardiel. It started to rain a bit but soon the sun came out and all was well. At the ticket office, the girls got a Heidi passport and they have to find Peter's goats at each of the 12 stations and get a stamp on their paper and all the 12 stamps make a word (which I won't tell since it would ruin the surprise of future adventure seekers who might be reading this! ) Then they can post this on the Heidi post box and wait to see if they win any prizes! So the girls were thrilled with the whole thing. And instead of us motivating them to walk, it was them who were dragging us all the way! It takes around 2 to 3 hours to finish the whole trail since there are play areas on the way, fake goats to milk, hammocks to laze on, zip lines and swings with views to kill, water falls, bird houses, Heidi story boards and last but not least, so many photo oppurtunites! :) 

The trail was a bit uphill for about 10 minutes which the kids did nt mind but my knees sure did! The views were so amazing that the kids got very impatient with me that I was standing and staring. At one point, they went ahead of us, found the next goat, got the stamp and ran back to us because they just could nt wait! It all started as Team Antu and Team Ashu with me in Antus team and Hd in Ashus. But towards the end, it was the kids against us! :) I had packed some sandwiches to eat on the way. And then after the hike, we went to the restaurant near the cable car station and treated ourselves to ice cream and a fantastic apricot cake with fresh fruits and cream. Yum! The kids played in the play area nearby and around 5 pm, took the cable car back, posted the passports at the Heidi post box and headed home. A great alpine experience for the kids!