Category Archives: Travel

NYC recap: Picture loaded

I promise you I have not disappeared from the face of this earth, it has just take way too long for me to settle stuff at home and lab after my trip to NYC.

So here I have a long recap!

“Welcome” written in various languages from around the world at the entrance of Empire State. The line I am pointing at is my mother tongue i.e. Hindi!

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Similarly I welcome you on this NYC weekend trip recap:)

First let me begin by telling you that I have been in the US for almost five years now and I have been avoiding my trip to NYC ever since. For our yearly vacations in the past we have been to Orlando, Maui, Paris and back home to India in the past, but on this occassion due to a shortage of time, we decided for a quick trip to NYC! At first I was hesitant but my mind completely changed once I lived and explored the city. Being a big city girl at heart, living and traveling with huge crowds is not new to me. I was at first intimidated about the traveling part in this huge city, but the subways were so much fun. They were easy to follow and were not at all unsafe. I really went into the city with the idea of being robbed at least once, yeah I know I am crazy like that.

But my perception is changed now. I mean obviously it is not recommended to navigate around at night in the alleys or even the subway, but other then that it was a breeze and safe!

We stayed at a hotel called Club Quarters which was at a stone throw away distance from Ground Zero! It was sad to see nothing there :(

But Times Square will lighten up your moods in a jiff,

Just L-O-V-E-D this place. This place is electric!

 

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The FOREVER 21 mirror screen which was so fascinating!

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That’s us on the big screen

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Manhattan from the 86th floor observation deck.

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Macys from 86 floors above the ground:

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Liberty from the Empire state:

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I think this is Brooklyn bridge

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I am looking like so fluffed here. I guess the hotel shampoo really worked, my hair are never this voluminous!

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The husband found the site of two men cleaning a tall building very picturesque.

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Biking at the central park, I think this was one of the best decisions we took. It was heavy on the wallet, but there was no way we could have walked the entire central park in 1.5 hours with pictures and breaks!Moreover, we never get a chance to bike back home!

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perfect weather,

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perfect scenery,

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And perfect company,

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I am really tired here, just tackled an upslope and it was killer. Begging for some water at this point!

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The only thing that was free during the entire trip was the Staten Island ferry!

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Closer to liberty,

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I got really sick on the last day, still trying to put a happy face for the camera. The eggplant parmigiana from the Italian place the previous night did not agree with me. We were looking for a pharmacy.

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We then said good bye to New York. I think I left a part of me there. I get attached to things, places, people quite easily. It was hard to leave!

Good Bye NYC!

Q. Have you been to NYC?

Q. Do you enjoy the calm of a small town or the hustle and bustle of a big city? I have lived in a big and crowded city for 21 years of my life, coming to a calm town like Knoxville, I really enjoy it. It is so good to not deal with traffic and crowd. I am surprised how easy it is to get spoiled.

Recipe: Navratan Korma and Paris: part IV

Like the catchy title, well not all dishes in India are called Curries. This dish is called Navratan Korma and when broken down it translates to,

Navratan- Nine Jewels. Just like Seven treasure stirfry in Chinese cooking, this dish is made up of nine veggies and milk+ cream.

Korma- This basically means a gravy. The word Korma has Persian origin and was brought into the Indian culture by the Mughals. Don’t worry I am not giving you an Indian history class :) So moving on if you want to experience bliss try this dish. I served it with some Jeera rice which translates to Cumin flavored rice and we had a party for our eyes, nose and taste buds this evening. You had to be here to experience the aroma!!

P.S. – I have not used many veggies here but settled down with what ever I had in my kitchen. The same applies to you guys, just add what you have at home :)

Navratna Korma

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Ingredients:

1 Tbsp ghee/butter/ oil
1/4 cup raisins and cashews
4 garlic cloves finely minced
1 tbsp minced ginger

1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground chili powder (or cayenne)
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp garam masala

1 Medium onion, finely chopped
1 8oz can tomato sauce
3/4 Cup milk
3 Cups boiled vegetables (potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, peas, bell pepper, green beans)
Salt to taste

  • Start by heating up the ghee and allowing it to melt,add the raisins and cashews and allow them to cook for just 30 seconds. Then add the onion, ginger and garlic.
  • Let the onion and garlic cook till translucent, if they cook for too long and start changing color they start getting bitter
  • Next the tomato sauce. Once the tomato and oil start separating, add the spices and sauté for another minute
  • Add all the veggies and mix
  • Now add some water about 3 cups
  • Season and then finally add the milk. Now traditionally heavy cream is used to make this creamy, but my Mum always made the dish taste just like the real thing by subbing then with healthy ingredients. I would say go for milk but if you want to give it the traditional touch add heavy cream.
  • Cook for another two minutes and then garnish with tons of cilantro.

Dinner is served!!!

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Moving on to the last part of my Parisian vacation!

Galeries Lafayette

A high end French departmental store, which was very very very expensive. The clothes amazing, the price on the tag not so much. But the decorations and lights were super!

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The puppet and Mannequin displays caught the attention of all passersby, both young and the young at heart.

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and to end it all, I spread a lot of Operation beautiful messages across Europe :)

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If you see I tried and wrote these messages in German and French using the tool Google Translate! It was a fun thing to do!

I hope you like this Paris recap, I sure did and each time I publish a post, I wish to be there again. I truly believe that this place is one of the most beautiful and romantic city in the world!

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Lastly I apologize for being the worst blogger ever. Life as a graduate student is tough. This semester I have signed up for some really demanding classes which require a lot of preparation and writing. Well it is a good thing cuz one I will be done with classes this semester and second I have my PhD Qualifiers this fall and these classes are a great way to train myself.

Okay enough of that…I’ll see you tomorrow!

Good Night!