My Travel Diary: San Juan, Puerto Rico

I love to travel and when it comes to travelling to a place rich in history and art, the excitement is all the more. 

This summer, we took a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico and I must say, the place is a gem of a vacation destination. I did not know what to expect when I landed here. But... it had soooo much to offer.....

natural beauty, old colonial architecture, beautiful arts and crafts....what more can one ask for from a vacation spot. 

San Juan is the oldest city on US territory.  The city has a Spanish based culture mixed in with African traditions. 

The cobbled streets of old San Juan, lined with brightly colored Spanish townhouses with wrought iron doors and windows; centuries-old forts with  impressive architecture; spectacular 

views of the ocean; lots of galleries with local modern art....all of these made my travel experience truly unique and memorable. I hope I can go back there someday. 

Here are a few snapshots from my trip. 

Images: All mine

Ten Thousand Villages

It was on my recent trip to Philadelphia when I was roaming around the city, looking for some unusual gifts for a few of my friends who I was meeting after a long long time, that I happened to find this store.

As soon as I stepped in, I knew I had to share it with all of you here. As I browsed through the products, the lady at the counter walked up to me and told me all about them.

Sure enough, I was all the more fascinated and so glad that I found them.

Ten Thousand Villages is a Fair Trade International Crafts supplier. They source crafts and handmade products from all around the world, especially to create opportunities for artisans in developing countries.

Every product purchased through them helps provide fair income to artisans.

Not only that, each product comes along with an information card telling the story about the product and the artist who created it. Isn't that so unique?

I thought this was the perfect place to pick up special gifts for my friends.

A few things that I chose.....

An owl shaped candle holder from Nepal





A terracotta dragon from Bangladesh

 

A bird wind chime from Indonesia

  

To read more about ten thousand villages and to browse their collection,

visit their website here.

They have stores all over the U.S:)

Postcards from Paris

Hellllloooooo there! How are you?

I'm back from my break... and I feel so refreshed....only mentally though. Physically.... I am exhausted. We visited two cities....Paris and Barcelona...in a span of 10 days, and most of the exploring was on foot...so you can imagine:)

It was an awesome vacation.....so much to see, so much to take in and an unforgettable experience.......:)

The two cities are different and very unique.....rich in culture and architecture, both beautiful in their own way. I would do total injustice if I start describing them in my words only due to my limited literary skills-:).

But I'd like to mention some of the things that I thoroughly enjoyed on my trip......

the countless cappuccinos, endless pain au chocolat (chocolate filled croissants), gobs of goodies (read quiches, macaroons, pastries et al,...) from the slew of bakeries at every street corner; and then.....walking along the river Seine, view of the Eiffel Tower at different times of the day, wandering the fresh markets, ambling the labyrinth of narrow streets in Barri Gotic-Barcelona and of course shopping for unique finds.....



I have more than 2000 pictures from the trip and to sort through them seems quite a task. I managed to pick a few shots that I wanted to share with you...just to give you a glimpse.

PS: I have tonnes to write about my trip, but with Diwali right around the corner, I guess my trip related posts will have to wait till next month. For now, I'm going to take off the 'Traveller in me' hat and put on the 'Diwali obsessed Indian at heart' hat.  So come back here for some gorgeous Diwali inspiration:)

See you soon!

Linking to Show and tell Friday

Paris on my mind....

Via

Have a great weekend!!!

A weekend in the mountains

Hello folks!

How was your weekend....? The weekend is long gone....it's Wednesday today, halfway through the week!?....you may say, right? Well, you are right. But, for all of us in the US, it was a long weekend, Monday being a holiday. I normally need a day to get over the weekend if it was anything special.....and....it was. So here I am.... blogging about my weekend.

We, along with some friends, took a road trip to Blue Ridge in northern Georgia over the weekend. We rented a log cabin in the mountains. The place was nestled in the wilderness, surrounded by nature with a creek flowing in the backyard....! 


Our trip was filled with a number of interesting things......a trip to the apple picking farm, enjoying some delicious fresh apples, hike to a couple of waterfalls, roasting marshmallows in the crackling fire that we lit in the fire pit, sitting in the swing with feet in the creek water, and finally, collecting rocks to bring back home as memories of the trip.


Here are a few glimpses....

Trees loaded with apples at Mercier Orchards

Surrounded by trees on our way to the Fall branch falls

The waterfalls

the fire pit

roasting marshmallows...

The creek behind our cabin

Do you see the swing on the right?

Linking to Weekly story at Patty's

Snapshots from CA

A few shots from my trip to Santana row....

Santana row is an upscale shopping and eating complex in San Jose. I love the European feel of this place with its bistro kind of eating joints and some of my favorite stores to browse. While I was there, I went in to the Anthropologie store....the window display was very impressive...unfortunately, I missed taking a picture to share with you all. 

With the pleasant California weather, lunch at one of its outdoor seating restaurants is such a pleasing experience. 

Seating nooks on the side walk

Lovely architecture

Summer blooms everywhere....

 Outside Cocola Bakery....where we had our lunch....

...and then bubble tea at Fantasia!

Huge mosaic planters on the side walk

kids enjoyed playing at this fountain

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Linking to show & tell Friday

Happy times in the bay area

It's my last day here in the SF bay area. ...the last few days were so much fun and I almost don' t feel like going back home. But then again....I'm starting to miss my home.

With my sister and so many of my cousins living here,  I visit bay area for a few days almost every summer. It's one of my favorite places in the US.  As I've been visiting every year, sight seeing is not really a priority. I like to spend most my time with family and doing activities together. We did some of my favorite things during my stay here .....like going for a trip to San Francisco city, a stroll and lunch at Santana row, shopping at Stanford mall, having bubble tea at Castro street....( more detailed posts to follow) and then..... unending chit chat sessions....absolutely enjoyable!

Here are a few snapshots from my sister, Shruti's home....

PS: I wrote this post yesterday, but could not post it. I'm back home now. Stay tuned as I have lots to share....see you soon!


Linking to Good life Wednesday, Weekend wrap up

Summer time is.....

.....vacation time. Ever since my childhood days, summer is synonymous with vacation. In northern India, where I spent most of my childhood, summers are scorching hot. I remember...., our summers mostly included a visit to a hill station, going away to visit our grand parents or my cousins coming and staying with us. Those were the days....of no worries....of fun and play.

Even now in the US ....it's a time to be outdoors, a time to be with family and friends.

I'm going away to visit my sister and cousins to SF bay area for two weeks. I am looking forward to having a good time, filled with fun and laughter.....

Via Tumblr

I will check in whenever I can. In the mean time, be good and enjoy your summer in which ever part of the world you are.....See you soon !

Treasures from Mexico

Hello Peeps! I promised you some more pictures from Mexico, so here I am....( for those of you who've had enough of my posts about Mexico; I promise you, this is my last one until I make another trip there:)).

Mexican handicrafts include a variety of things ranging from pottery, handmade baskets and hats, woven blankets, wooden toys and masks, beads and gems, silver jewelery...the list goes on. What really left me salivating though,was the bold and bright colored pottery with intricate detailing. I just couldn't get enough of it. If it wasn't for the airline baggage policy, and then my budget constraints, my bags would be full of it.

I loved shopping at Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue), the local market in Playa del Carmen near Cancun. The street itself looked so vibrant and colorful.

Plates and bowls

Close up of a wall plate- loved the intricate design!

Mirrors with Mexican tile borders

Colorful Suns

Platters and Trays

Gorgeous Sinks!... wish I could get one of these....

Magnets

Now, about the treasures that I brought back home....

A man sitting with his head hidden behind his hat.....he sits on my side table now.

A wooden mask....

A handwoven, colorful straw bag....

I'm using it as a basket to store my stash of handmade paper!

There are a few other things that are yet to find a good place in my home, one of them is the colorful sun- I always thought that I HAVE to get a 'Sun' whenever I go to Mexico, and so I did:)

For some more pictures from Mexico, visit Sharkara's blog...yes, we went there together.

Linking in to Good life Wednesdays, Show and Tell Friday

Few things that caught my eye....

When I go on vacation to a new place, I always like to capture the unusual, the characteristic things that I come across. Mexico is all about bright colors and vibrant decor. There were many such places where I did not have my camera handy and I miss having a picture of them....but here are some shots that I took. 

Lanterns

Hand blown glass lanterns in the Italian restaurant where we dined .....

The star shaped lights hung from the straw ceiling of the lobby of our hotel...

And this was definitely the best....large shells hung as lanterns at the pool side restaurant. I missed taking a picture of these at night when they were all lit.

A carriage turned Plant holder

.....Ain't this a pretty sight?

A mosaic on the floor


The mosaic sun was on the floor of the pottery shop where I picked up a few pieces...Gorgeous, isn't it? Notice my feet at the base:).

Linking in to Good Life Wednesday.