{Travel} India 2013

{Travel} 1 Week Until India

Ready.... Set...........Go!

In only seven short days I will be in the land of the Delhi belly aka India. I'm so so SO excited and am feeling so blessed to not only share this experience with Ces but also with 5 of my closest girlfriends. To top it all off we get to witness two of our favorite people {Nicole & Rahil} tie-the-knot.

This trip has taken months of saving & planning and many many hours of dancing and discussing outfits, hair styles, jewelry and shoes.

The list to date:

• Set itinerary
• Book flight
• Buy guide book
• Get vaccines 
• Apply for visa 
• Book hotels 
• Book internal flights 
• Badger Ces to get vaccines
• Badger Ces to get his Visa 
• Wedding wear inspiration (see below) 
• Buy Sari, Shalwar Kameez and Kurta 
• Convince Ces to wear a male Kurta for the wedding
• Pick up malaria meds and antibiotics 
• Interview and book a dog sitter for Chloe
• Pack 
• Print all itineraries and confirmations 
• Call banks 
• Learn Sangeet dance 
• Learn basic Hindi 
• Get ma hair did 
• Mani & Pedi 
• Jewlery, shoes and clutch

I'm ready! Bring it on! 

{Travel} 3 Weeks until India

Only three weeks until our big trip and still so much to do. The good news is that I went to India Sari Palace in Queens this weekend and picked up a gorgeous sari and a shalwar kameez that I am absolutely in love with. Cesar also picked up his outfit which coordinates nicely with mine. The reviews for India Sari Palace are spot on, the staff was very very patient and explained the different types of fabric and made sure the sari was elegant enough for a wedding in Udaipur.

I've also been debating getting a new purse for the trip, I definitely need a new bag in general but have also been a bit worried about being in tight crowds and the potential for pick-pocketing on bag slashing. After much research I decided to get the PacSafe Hobo Travel Bag, I went with this bag because of its large size and security features. The bag arrived today and while its not something I would use on a daily basis (not 100% my style) I think that it will work perfectly for this trip and for any subsequent travels.

Another Amazon purchase was Shantaram: A Novel a must read according to this blog. I figured since I've read the guidebook cover to cover already I still had time for a supplementary read. Boy was I surprised when this book arrived in a fat, heavy package. Turns out this novel is over 900 pages! Most definitely I will not finish it in 3 weeks and it is too heavy to carry around but we'll see how far into it I get.

So that's my all things India update, here is how the to-do list is faring as of today.

• Set itinerary
• Book flight
• Buy guide book
• Get vaccines 
• Apply for visa 
• Book hotels 
• Book internal flights 
• Badger Ces to get vaccines
• Badger Ces to get his Visa 
• Wedding wear inspiration (see below) 
• Buy Sari, Shalwar Kameez and Kurta 
• Convince Ces to wear a male Kurta for the wedding
• Pick up malaria meds and antibiotics 
• Interview and book a dog sitter for Chloe
• Pack 
• Print all itineraries and confirmations 
• Call banks 
• Learn Sangeet dance 
• Learn basic Hindi 
• Get ma hair did 
• Mani & Pedi 
• Jewlery, shoes and clutch

{Travel} 5 Weeks until India

As the calendar inches closer to February 27, I thought I would check in on the list and see how I'm doing...

• Set itinerary
• Book flight
• Buy guide book
• Get vaccines 
• Apply for visa 
• Book hotels 
• Book internal flights 
• Badger Ces to get vaccines
• Badger Ces to get his Visa 
• Wedding wear inspiration (see below) 
• Buy Sari, Shalwar Kameez and Kurta 
• Convince Ces to wear a male Kurta for the wedding
• Pick up malaria meds and antibiotics 
• Interview and book a dog sitter for Chloe
• Pack 
• Print all itineraries and confirmations 
• Call banks 
• Learn Sangeet dance 
• Learn basic Hindi 
• Get ma hair did 
• Mani & Pedi 

I've only been able to get two things crossed off in these last couple of weeks. Ces had his visa appointment yesterday and his visa will be ready for pick up in the next few days. I also booked a wonderful sitter for Chloe via Dog Vacay, a website that matches people who want to open their homes with dog owners that  need a sitter for their fur babies. Dog Vacay hosts are thoroughly vetted and booking through the site guarantees the sitter will be insured. 

I mean look at this face! She needs a special kind of love <3.

In other news, dance practice starts this Sunday and I'm aiming to go on an outfit shopping extravaganza by next weekend. 

Hopefully in two weeks time the only thing I will be working on will be perfecting my head nod/shake and learning how to say "where is the bathroom" in Hindi. 

{Travel} 7 Weeks until India

The official countdown has started, on February 27, Ces and I along with 5 of my closest girlfriends will be taking off to India to watch a lovely couple, Nicole and Rahil tie-the-knot. As with any big trip, SO much planning has to take place and with this trip especially, since we are throwing a fabulous 2 day wedding and a very aggressive itinerary into the mix.

One of the biggest challenges Ces and I faced was how to make the most out of our trip to India and make this trip our own while not losing touch with the group of friends we will be travelling with. After many many hours of conversations, emails, frantic texts and Google-ing we have locked down our itinerary.

New York to New Delhi to Udaipur to Jaipur to Agra to Goa to Mumbai to New York 

Did I mention we are going for just 12 days? I think we will need a vacation from our vacation!

If you know me, you know I am a big fan of making lists so alas here is my to do list for India 2013:

• Set itinerary
• Book flight
• Buy guide book
• Get vaccines 
• Apply for visa 
• Book hotels 
• Book internal flights 
• Badger Ces to get vaccines
• Badger Ces to get his Visa 
• Wedding wear inspiration (see below) 
• Buy Sari, Shalwar Kameez and Kurta 
• Convince Ces to wear a male Kurta for the wedding
• Pick up malaria meds and antibiotics 
• Interview and book a dog sitter for Chloe
• Pack 
• Print all itineraries and confirmations 
• Call banks 
• Learn Sangeet dance 
• Learn basic Hindi 

Without a doubt this list will be ever growing and changing. Luckily there are a lot of "fun chores" still left such as shopping and dancing! 

Here is my wedding attire inspiration, I'm really loving greens and blues with gold accents. 

Mendhi - I've been advised to wear a comfy kurta with leggings as we will be sitting down for long periods of time. 

Sangeet - The Sangeet is all about dancing and having a good time, in fact we (the bride's party) will be performing a dance during the Sangeet to Lal Ghagra and Sadi Gali. With that in mind, the Sangeet attire needs to be comfortable enough to dance the night away in but also festive and elegant. 

Wedding Ceremony and Reception - Calls for the most formal and festive attire so a Sari will be in order. 

Men's Wear - Men should wear a western suit or a traditional kurta pajama for all of the wedding festivities. I'm lobbying Ces to wear a kurta pajama for the reason's that a western suit is not practical for packing and lugging around the country and will probably be too hot. Plus, how fun would it be to coordinate outfits and both be in traditional Indian attire? 

What are your thoughts on our big trip to India? Any recommendations on attire, things to see or stuff to be aware of? 

Foodie: Bordelais Style

I enjoyed my trip to Bordeaux a few weeks back so much that I still have a couple more Bordeaux posts left in me. This time, I want to share with you my brother's culinary skills, streets snacks encountered along the way and the great meals we had in his town.

Fed spent two week's worth of  his grocery budget on
cheese, olives and spreads

He made these white wine mussels with pomme frites
for our first dinner 

Midday snack: prosciutto wrapped melon

Traditional Bordeaux dessert, a sort of mini bundt cake 

Razor clams @ Le Petit Commerce

The first time either of us had tried them, loved!

Tuna steak

Don't remember what Fed ordered 

A not so healthy breakfast  

Olive tasting! 

Hogar: A Bordelais Flat

I recently took a trip to Bordeaux, France to visit my little brother (at 26 he's not so little anymore).  After having visited him at multiple abodes during his college days in Portland, Oregon (hello 12 people living communal style in a 4 bedroom house) I thought I was prepared for what to expect. I was very pleasantly surprised by his sunny, modernly decorated, clean, historic flat smack in the center of the city.

I give you maison du Fed in Bordeaux:

Travel: Bordeaux

A couple of weeks ago while in London for business, I made a quick 2.5 day trip to see my brother who lives Bordeaux, France. I had been to France a couple of times before namely Paris and the Alsace region so I was very excited to be able to see a completely new part of this charming country. Fede showed me the sights, cooked some amazing food and also took me antique shopping. Best brother ever!

Here are my favorite pictures from the trip:

Hmm maybe I should make a Bordeaux photobook?