One of the highlights of my recent San Fransisco trip was wine tasting at the much awarded Nicholson Ranch Napa owned by an old college friend Deepak Gulrajani. Deepak is the classic desi story of IIT and Silicon Valley but then there is always a twist in the tail -he became a vintner. Of course…
Category: Travel
Jardins La Granja, Segovia – Spain memories
Continuing from my last post on Segovia … Ten kms away from Segovia is the Palaciao Real de la Granja de San Il Defenso. The Royal Palace in short and La Granja for the locals. Six kilometres of beautiful gardens along the lines of Versailles in France, surrounded by mountains and a palace with equally…
Segovia memories
A relaxed day trip from Madrid, Segovia is a UNESCO World Heritage site just an hour’s drive from the capital. Most of the old city is an easy walk through letting you discover it at your own pace. I visited Spain a few years ago to write a piece on Madrid for Man’s World (on…
The 72 hour pause
The Swedes have given us Strindberg and Nordic noir ( Wallander and Lisbeth Sander for a start ) and Ikea but they have also given us fika (the little social break) and lagom (a balanced life) so this experiment with a 72-hour pause caught my attention . In 2107 Visit Sweden http://www.visitsweden.com invited seven people…
Madrid Food Memories
As Spain opens up and welcomes tourists again after a long lock down here is an article I wrote after a visit to Madrid in November. This appeared in Man’s World in February just as the Corona scare became very real . I was in Madrid on the invitation of Tourism Spain and the Madrid…
Shopper’s Stop : Madrid
Spain has much to offer the discerning traveller and Madrid’s new positioning as the “best shop in the world” can be put to test on your next visit .Check out Casa Loewe Spain’s iconic luxury brand at Calle Serrano, the street for luxury high end shopping in Madrid. Designed as a collector’s home where you…
Spain Diaries : The sweetness of Turron
If you are travelling to Spain don’t miss this delectable spun version of honey, egg white and almonds along with a slice of history and stories going back to origins in the medieval ages, possibly in Iraq. You will see versions of Turron /Nougat in Portugal, Italy, Iran, Morrocco, Turkey, and Austria but Spain seems…
Raza in Mumbai
Syed Haider Raza ( 1922-2016) was one of India’s most prolific artists and continues to be one of the most avidly collected. An exhibition at Mumbai’s Piramal Art museum highlights his journey, early influences and the evolution of his signature style and iconic third eye/Bindu iconography. Raza spent his life in France but remained strongly…
Lady of the Rivers : Maithili Kenneth
Mosaicist & Commercial Artist Maithili Kenneth can talk casually about the world’s most awesome rivers- their rapids, their technicals and their grades. She has gone white water rafting on nine of the most challenging rivers just for the adrenaline high and here’s her story. Get Inspired ! The first time- the magic of Zanskar…
Champakali, Old Goa
I spent only 24 hours at Champakali, a luxury boutique villa/hotel tucked away on a quiet hillside up the winding road from the Se cathedral in old Goa. There is still something called Goa time and you segue effortlessly into it so 24 hours stretched out lazily and gently, though Champakali may have had something…
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