Rain, Rain, Go Away

Uh-oh. It's raining.  And it's supposed to rain all weekend in most of northern California.  Just in time for our weekend at....the Beach!  Looks like I better come up with some indoor options for us - maybe some wine tasting?  Here's hoping all my outdoor plans don't get washed away...

slow week

I'm only working 2 days this week.  The idea of 3-days to myself has me too excited to even decide what to do with my time.  Hopefully, lots of gym time, some pampering (pedicure, massage, maybe a facial), and some good ol' fashioned sitting around reading.  aahh..perfect.

This weekend I'm surprising Amit with a little road trip for our pre-anniversary celebration.  Our 6 year wedding anniv is Nov 29.  Since that's Thanksgiving weekend this year and we'll be surrounded by family, we're trying to sneak in some Anniversary celebrations before then.  Yes, it seems a little early - 3 weeks too soon in fact, but can you believe the rest of our weekends in November are booked up already!  Super crazy...  

Oooh one super exciting thing is that we are going to Gary Danko (wooohooo!!) for dinner the week before our Anniv.  We got reservations for Nov 22 which was the earliest they could fit us in, but so perfectly timed right before our big day.  I have been trying to go to GD for the last 4 yrs or so, but never could get a reservation for the dates I wanted.

I can't believe how fast the last 6 yrs went by!  Thinking back on old times, here are a couple of pics from way back when....our honeymoon in Bali :)

Amit's New Friend

Amit's in Ireland again this week. This is his second trip in 2 months. This time...it's a little more interesting. Apparently his hotel didn't stop at providing free soap and shampoo in the bathroom...there's also a rubber duckie!

So Amit did what anyone would have done, he popped it into his computer bag and is now carrying it around town, taking it out when he wants some company (or least a couple of fun pictures).

Here's the rubber duckie checking out the view of downtown Belfast from the hotel room:

And here's the rubber duckie eyeing Amit's bagel at breakfast this morning:

I just got off the phone with Amit and apparently he and duckie went out tonight, too. He's going to send me a pic later :)

The Invasion

I hate ants.  No, I mean I *really* hate ants.  And this weekend, we were invaded by them.  A whole family..or colony..or whatever.  Ughh... 

It started on Satuday, about 15 minutes after our exterminator company closed for the day.  So after I spotted the first 2 or 3 ants, I promptly cleared off all the counters, washed any lingering dishes that were in the sink, and put out every possible home remedy I could think of.  Right now, just about every inch of counter space in our kitchen is covered with Cinnamon sticks, Cloves, Boric Acid, Black Pepper, Red Chili Powder, and Vinegar.  I squished every pesky little ant that had the bad luck of coming within my line of sight.  Needless to say, the kitchen is closed until further notice!

My severe ant phobia can be traced back to my childhood when I was ravaged not once, but twice by fierce, unrelenting Texas Fire Ants.  They are more commonly known as Red Imported Fire Ants, orginating in South America, and introduced into the US in the 1930's from a Cargo Ship that docked in Mobile, Alabama.  They are now most common in the southeastern states so I pretty much grew up knowing to beware fire ants.

Wikipedia accurately describes the most common way in which people are attacked - which, incidentally, is what happened to me *both* times:  a person accidentally steps into a mound, causing the ants to immediately attack by swarming up the person's legs.  It happens so fast that you don't even realize it.  

So it happened to me twice.  The first time, I went out into our front yard where my dad was mowing the lawn.  As I stood on the lawn, I suddenly felt my legs burning, only to look down and launch into an all out panic at the sight of hundreds, maybe even thousands of ants all over my legs.  They were all over - from my feet up to my thighs.  I screamed in pain while my dad ran to the water hose and sprayed them off.  But the damage was done - for nearly a week I had welts all over my legs.  Poor me - I was a mere 5 years old!

The second time these cursed critters attacked me was during a family outing to Galveston, TX (I think it was the same year!).  While we were all enjoying the beach, I had the misfortune of accidentally stepping into another mound of fireants.  Same story, different day.  I had itchy, painful welts for a week.  

So....I *really* hate ants.  And it doesn't help that we get this crazy ant invasion just about every year, right around this time of the season.  Gross.  

Tomorrow's exterminator visit can't come soon enough!

Amit runs the SF 1/2!!

He did it! After months of training and overcoming a couple of injuries, Amit successfully finished the San Francisco 1/2 Marathon!!

We went up to SF Saturday afternoon to pick up his bib and registration docs.  The tent was set up right across the street from my office, so we conveniently avoided the mayhem by parking at work :-)  I love working in SF.

Anyway, after that we went over to the Hilton where we were staying with Chethan/Sri, Appu, and their parents.  After an early dinner where the guys carbed up for their run (chethan was running the 1/2, appu was running the full), we went to bed early in anticipation of our 4:30AM wake up call.

Amit slept like a baby that night, I tossed and turned with all the noise outside our window (it was facing Naan'n'Curry where it seems like there's always an all-night rage going on).  We left the hotel at 5am to get Appu to the start line in time for his 5:45 start.  Leena and Dumma met us there and we cheered as Appu started, then Chethan and Amit started at 6:05.  Once the guys were off, we jumped in the car and drove to a couple of different points in the city to cheer them along their way.  

We made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge where we saw Naveen and Amar waiting to cheer for our guys.  We dropped off Dumma and his bike...he rode with Chethan and Amit from the bridge to the finish line.  Amit really appreciated the support; having Dumma and Chethan with him gave him the extra push to run the farthest he's ever gone before.  After they finished, we hurried over to the full marathon finish line to cheer for Appu who came.  All three of them did amazing - we were thrilled to share this experience with them.  Congratulations, Amit, Chethan, & Appu!!!

I'm back!

It's been exactly 2 months since I've updated here. I doubt anyone's on the edge of their seat in anticipation, but it's high time I updated anyway.

Let's see... after the France trip, it didn't take long for the relaxed feeling to go away. Amit's working hard at the new job, and I was swamped trying to catch up after 2 weeks off from work.

What's going on with us lately, you ask?

Well, in addition to both of us *still* being swamped at work, Amit is running the SF 1/2 Marathon next weekend. He's been busy training and even fought through some tendonitis in his ankle and shin splints. We are spending the night in SF the night before so we don't have to drive all the way up at the crack of dawn. We're really excited about the event!! Chethan is running the SF1/2, too, and Appu is running the full marathon. They'll all have lots of us there to cheer them on!

Also, it's been almost 2 weeks since we had Leena's baby shower. It was at Picchetti Winery. If you're planning to do an event there, think twice. The place was great in terms of ambiance, etc.., and once we got there, they were super friendly, but jeez....trying to get something planned with them is about as fun as sticking your finger in a light socket. I keep meaning to write them a review on Yelp...I think I'll take care of that right after this.

All went well on the actual day of the shower though. Somehow they actually had our reservation when I got to the winery...I was so relieved! The event was a blast!! The cake was super cute...made by a lady who used to work at Aki's and now runs her own business. The weather was beautiful, and the peacocks running around the property made it a beautiful setting. Here are a couple of pictures... The last one's my favorite. It has yet to be determined why Leena was stealthily chasing the peacock.

I'll post pictures from Amit's marathon in a couple of weeks.

How to Spend a Day in Dublin

We had one day in Dublin. Tired of sightseeing, we decided to spend the day shopping and doing our own pub crawl. Here's how we spent our day. And yes, Amit tried a different Irish Whiskey at each place!

A Day at Versailles

Musings by Amit:

Today, we started the day fairly early for us and made it out of the hotel by 930AM to tour Versailles. There was a huge crowd at the ticket booth and the entry line. All in all, there was a huge and messy crowd the whole day and it really took away from our enjoyment of the day and the art at the palais because of it. We felt like a herd of cattle being rush through shoulder to shoulder. If we had to do it again, we'd go later in the day to avoid the crowds.
The gardens at Chateau de Versailles are spectacular. The colors of the grass and the trees combined with the shadows provide spectacular photo opportunities. The architecture was fairly monotonous towards the end as it was all in the same style. In contrast, the Louvre, although much bigger, was much more enjoyable because of the variety in the types of art and the styles in the paintings. Also, it was much better organized so, we could take our time to enjoy the art!  

After dropping off the car at Orly airport, we've checked into a hotel for our final night in France. That final night we wanted to eat at a particular restaurant, L'Arbuci (the same jazz restaurant and bar that we wanted to go to last time), but after finding it, we realized that it was closed for remodelling. So, we found another restaurant for dinner. After dinner, I dropped Anjali back at the hotel and made my way to an English pub to watch the end of the UEFA cup final between Manchester United and Chelsea. It was an exciting game, that went back and forth.

Watching the spectators at the bar was almost as interesting as watching the game itself. The game went to penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie at the end of overtime. I never realized how eciting PKs were, especially when there's so much at stake on every pressure filled kick. We're now sitting at Charles De Gaulle waiting for our flight. Our stay in France has been spectacular, but the Guiness and Jameson in Dublin is calling! 

Desperation has set in...

Things were looking bleak today.  

I really don't like crossaints. I'm tired of wine. Amit doesn't want any more ham and cheese sandwiches (a French staple for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner...).   This has left us in the middle of a food meltdown.  I was desperate for anything that had any flavor...Indian, Chinese, anything!!

We started the day with brunch...a ham & cheese sandwich, much to Amit's chagrin.  I couldn't bear to look at another boulangerie.  I needed some tandoori chicken...pronto!  

The entire day pretty much went in the drive from the Chateau to Versailles, just outside of Paris.  It was a really pretty drive - we really enjoyed the sights.  People are such friendly, respectful drivers out here!  We were pretty impressed.

As usual, Peter led us on a couple of wild goose chases in trying to find our hotel...But we finally made it.  And....what's more...right down the street from our hotel in Versailles, was an Indian restaurant.  We made a beeline for it and enjoyed some baingan and chicken...so good to eat some food with lots of spices.  Now we are recharged and ready to take on a couple of more days of ham & cheese sandwiches.

A Night of Medieval Magic

FROM AMIT'S VIEWPOINT

It was simply breathtaking. The entire chateau was composed of two towers connected with the entryway between them. The rest of the chateau was behind the wall. There were a total of only 12 or so rooms in the chateau, serviced by a handful of staff. The outside of the chateau had a couple of bicycles just waiting to be used, a pond and a swing. Our room happened to be in one of the towers, so it was round on the inside with a bath and a stand up shower. It was lavishly furnished with tables, a TV and a queen sized bed. We took a quick nap and went down for dinner. 

We had a glass of champagne in the sitting room and ordered dinner and a bottle of wine. After sitting and chatting for a bit, the waitress ( a delightful lady from the UK) informed us that our dinner was ready and asked if we were ready to be seated at the table. We both ordered a 4 course meal. Each course was an event and came out beautifully arranged on the plate. It contained several flavors in each bite. absouluotely amazing!

FROM ANJALI'S VIEWPOINT

We arrived at the Chateau in the early afternoon, after a beautiful drive through the countryside.  Upon arrival, we were greeted at the front desk by Holger, the manager.  He welcomed us by taking us on a tour of the grounds...the pool, gardens, living room, then showed us to our room in the tower.  It was decadent.  We relaxed in the room for a bit before venturing out into the gardens for a walk.  The gardens were lovely - a swing, a pond, trees, flowers...it was beautiful and so romantic.  After strolling around for a bit, we ventured over to the nearby town for a couple of beers.

That evening, we went down to the living room for some cocktails before dinner.  Since there were only 8 other guests in the chateau, it was a very personal experience.  When we sat down in the very posh but cozy living room, we were offered cocktails and handed our dinner menus right there.  We enjoyed a couple of glasses of champagne and let them know what we would be having for dinner.  About 15 minutes before our dinner was ready, we were shown to the dining area where we started with a bottle of wine and our first course.  Dinner was an event...really...we were down there in the living room, then the dining room, then coffee in the courtyard garden, for 3 hours.  We felt so pampered!