Snowy Netherlands...

Ok Ok, i remember that i said break for a few days... but then thought why not to share some of the beautiful pictures of recent snow.... and i am going to schedual this post in a week i am away, on vacation :)

This one is captured in the morning, first day when it started snowing.... We slept and when we woke up everything was painted white ! Amazed were we !!

In front of my office.... it used to be green !!

A rose in our garden....
And then started snowy days....snow, snow and some more snow....
A view from our backyard, look at our poor chair !
A view from our backyard....
Our home front yard....poor garbage bins turned in snow stands....
Some foot prints in our home front yard....
Our lil snowman, resting on chair :)

And now is the time for me to rest and you take rest too.... have a nice time... Enjoy the New Year eve and wish you a very happy coming New Year !! :)... Have fun ! :)

Photos : Snow in Netherlands from 17th Dec to 21st Dec'09.

Vacation time...

Okay so I will be off blogging for 10 days while we go on Christmas vacation.

( Yeyyyy )

Ya, ya I know that's nothing when compared with frequency of my posts now a day, but deep inside a part of me is always crying to me, urging to me to be regular !

And so I have been trying sincerely to be regular and hence I do not want anyone to point at that gap, so precautions by informing you :o)

(Smart ;o))

So where are we going?

Our Itinerary is something like this...

24th Dec, Thursday early morning we are flying to Prague, Czech Republic.

We will spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Prague.

Last week was -15°C there, but now for coming three days forecast is showing Max +5°C to Min -3 °C So I am hopeful, I just wish it doesn't rain that much and we can enjoy one of the most beautiful cities.

Then from Prague we are flying to Rome on Saturday night.

We will be there in Rome for 4 nights exploring Rome and Pizzas ;)

Yeah and not to forget Vatican city :o)

On 30th December, we will take a train to Florence. I have heard so much about Florence and we have a hotel near the river. It has to be good as we are spending New Year there and it's also Ashu's birthday ! So with all the reasons I am very excited !

From Florence, on 2nd January, we are flying back from Pisa.

A few concern areas,

- This is the first time I have done all the bookings for trip, Normally I help in planning and booking remains Ashu's area but this time itinerary, planning, booking everything I have tried and so I am just crossing my fingers that there are no last minute surprises!

- I never knew Rome would be so expensive this time, Hotel rates in Christmas week are triple the normal rates. So for the first time we are going to try Bed & Breakfast at Rome ( at a cost of any 3 start/ 4 star hotels in normal days ) and I have my fingers crossed for that experience as well.

- We are taking train from Rome to Florence, and i have heard it's packed most of the time !

- No booking for from Florence to Pisa airport may be same way we will take train or taxi. We have kept it open for time being, need to take some risk at least.

Last but not the least Weather!!!

This past week has been full of snow, and coming week forecast says rains! I am hoping we have some nice weather at least a few days to enjoy our trip, and it doesn't snow or rain too much in those days. A little snow and rain is expected and accepted ;o)

OK so I am OFF packing now!!

See you soon... Merry Christmas to all of you...

Image Courtesy : Google Image

All pictures are from Internet, If any of them are copy righted let me know, i would be more than happy to provide due credit.

Time to keep words...

Okay so here goes the video as i had promised HERE, this much delay in posting it because it didn't turn out as good as we had expected, i was kind of avoiding to face it and so was waiting for your memories to vanish !!! hehehe I hoped that you forget that i was to post something, Aaaah but but but whom was i kidding !!! And anyway even if everyone forgets i was going to remember that I had promised right? So here it goes....

Now my work is done, and your work begins..... spot me in the video before you reach the end of the song ;o)

P.S. For those not from India, It is a song from Bollywood movie "Mission Kashmir"

P.S.S. If you face any problem watching this video, you can also watch it on youtube by clicking on this URL.

A book that made till morning !

I am talking about a book; my very best friend gave me as a good bye gift, when we visited India this year.

(How things changes... I used to call it a home and now I refer it as “we visited”, and what we used to call “visit” now we call “home”, yeaah life! )

“Can You Keep a Secret?” By Sophie Kinsella

I didn't get much time to start with this book and so it was lying on the shelf for more than 2 months. I finally picked that up to read in flight when I went to Paris last week.

This is the first book of Sophie Kinsella's that I have read and so I had no pre-notions to compare it with some of her earlier work.

To be honest when I started with it, I found the book okay in my first half an hour reading, didn't know that time it will make me change my opinion afterwards !

(Normally it takes hack out of me to change my opinion based on first impression, they don't say it without a reason that first impression is the last impression ! )

The story is narrated by and from the view point of main female character Emma Corrigan, after a run-of-the-mill business presentation, on which she was depending and dreaming to ask for a promotion as a Marketing Executive, runs amok, Emma finds herself on an unusually turbulent plane ride next to a handsome aloof stranger.

As she contemplates the business meeting having few vodka drinks at air-port she fears will end her career and the plane ride she fears will end her life, she aimlessly blutters her deepest secrets to the man by her side. Within a matter of minutes she divulges everything about herself, she hasn’t shared with anyone, not even with her conscious self.

Is this possible in real life? Why not if you are afraid to ride in a plane, if you like to be on ground and not in the sky and if you had a really bad day, and you are going through depressing feeling that nothing is going right in your life, and you have messed up badly ! Anything is possible, isn’t it?

Then I got busy and during my return flight I picked up that book again thinking it is not possible that my friend would give me a book with recommendation if that is not interesting, and also I have to find out who is that guy to whom Emma spills all the beans.

More I read more I liked the character of Jack Harper, a stranger turning to not so stranger as the story developed. I would not go on writing about what happens next and who he was as for that one needs to read real book! Hehe (No, I am not getting paid for marketing the book!! Ohh Gosh I wish they would be!! )

Then I was home. It was Friday night and so not having to go to office next morning I decided to read for a while, and I kept on reading. The plot is a bit predictable but still I didn't feel bored. It is not one of the most romantic books, and it is not even romantic novel, but still what I loved in the book was "romance”!

One could really relate to the main character Emma at one or other point and pretty much all the situations on the book looks realistic making you feel this can happen, you never know!

And then I realized it was 7.00 am, it was already morning! Yes I didn’t even realize that I read whole night and I didn’t even feel tired reading, even with the fact I was tired due to travelling! I don’t remember when was the last I did the same, may be back in university days! (Of course never for studies)

Thanks Dhara, for the wonderful gift, I thoroughly enjoyed it. (And by the way Belated Happy Birthday to you Dhara ! J )

One thing for sure is, after reading CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? You will filter while talking to your seatmate on airplanes, trains or other mass transit!

I actually quite tried to imagine who the person sitting next to me might be !

Good thing, I was so busy figuring it out, I didn’t try to talk; good for me to avoid Emma situation in real and other thing until now I haven’t seen him around making me realizing a Stanger not so stranger!

Never Mess with a Rabbit in Helmet !

I have seen this cartoon previously and have heard it couple of times as a joke, but still today when i saw it in my inbox, couldn't stop myself from posting it here !

Whatever brings smile, is worth it :o)

Twilight - New Moon... arrrr No Moon !

Being in the Paris on my own and not having to cook or not having to worry about any household things is giving me more time to ponder upon things which i wouldn't otherwise. Given time, this post would have been up two weeks back, but yeah life, It can be busy sometimes !

(What if all what kept you busy was reading a book or watching movies !! They are enough to keep you busy, right? So I can call myself busy !!)

I wanted to watch Twilight the day it got released, but then Ashu was not here so i waited until Saturday but surprise !!!!.... He got that same book for me on the way back (knowing how crazy i am about books) and then i was no more that eager, as i wanted to watch the movie now after

reading the book!

So i finished reading the book in 3 days with late nights and sleeping in office schedule.

Ohh boy, ask me ... was he happy?

At first yes, as i started reading book soon as he gave me, so may be a happy feeling knowing i liked what he got me but then as i read all the time, a bit annoyed at times with more of those.... will you sleep now? please sleep. Please put book aside for a moment.... I am sorry Ashu, for all those things, but i would't have slept at ease even if would have , You know how reading can take you at times!

So as soon as i was finished reading the book and even though it was a weekday and we had office next day we ran to watch the movie.... Aaah and what a disappointment ! One who has not read book won't get what is going on and will be confused what's going on. ( Or may be it's a tectic to get people read the book ! You never know marketing gimmicks hehehe)

Ok so back to the movie, It was confusing as there are many chances that you even might have forgotten what was in first part, trying to make you remember and link it with what was going on to understand. Just in 5 mins i knew this is going to be a difficult one.

I was looking at Ashu's confused face and smiling, i tried to explain what was going on but how much you can without disturbing others?

And most disturbing part was, while reading the book at some moment you feel sad, at some part you feel the intensity of feelings /pain each character holds. But unfortunately in the movie it was opposite, when those parts played on screen whole audience laughed, ya even including me whose heart had ached while reading it ! What a contrast, isn't it?

I understand they have to wrap up a story detailed in hundreds of pages in a few mins picturisation..... something which took me to read more than 14 hours in 2 hours ! I understand that is difficult but .... I never imagined this was outcome.... A total disappointment to me !

Anyway, whatever...that is not going to stop me from reading next books in the Twilight series and even from watching subsequent parts of movies whenever it comes !

P.S. With courtsey internet and google god i found out what is New Moon, Apparantly it has nothing to do with the movie, New Moon is a name given by fans to new sensation with his perfect biceps and six-packs " Taylor Lautner " aka Werewolf !