can Chris & Bee get to A-dam?

[writing this once I have returned back to Strasbourg: We had every single thing that could go wrong happen, at several times either Chris, or I or both of us were pretty sure that we were just meant to be left somewhere mid way in the cold!]

its 0400 in the morning! ok, we rub the sleep out of our eyes and hope that soon we d be in a warm coach catching up on the sleep to be ready for the last night of the year. hmm, ready now, but wheres the taxi we booked the night before? No bell, no buzzer at the flat, so we venture downstairs, stand in the cold and stare at the snow: maybe he s late. Then walk up to the tram station, no one to be seen anywhere. If anyone has seen Strasbourg on a sunday, one knows how desolate the town can look - but this is worse!

ok, in my limited french, I frantically ring the taxi company head office several times, leaving answer messages on two occasions... I had no idea how the hell we could get there apart from waking my landlord at wee hours of the morning on the first day of their holiday - and I feel I would probably be looking for another house in the new year pretty soon! luckily a sleep person calls me on the phone - turns out to my our stupid taxi idiot and he says he is on his way and looking for no 92! so I tell him its 72 and he pulls up next to us at 0445!

Jesus!

So, we finally get to Lycee Cofingnal and 2 varied messages: coach delayed by 2 hrs or not going because of snow! [WHAT #$%^^!!!]. After almost getting on the wrong coach, we wait more and stop ourselves from freezing till the coach arrives, and finally are on our way!

The coach stops for lunch - we get off, the driver says 25 mins...thats great! and then takes off in the time we just managed a cup of tea - we catch him at the petrol station and are on again! We joke about this: you could make a mini-series on telly out of this! [I mean even big brother has viewership!]

11.30 hrs later (! yeh, its a long time!) we get to Amsterdam! phew! Check into our hotel and its a grand room - lovely view and everything. We get ready and wrap up real warm: So, wheres the party!?

gearing up and more snow!

Chris and I do a post-christmas opening pressies in the morning and head out to see Strasbourg in daylight and snow! Here are some more pictures of Christmassy Strasbourg - this time around better as from Chris' new camera!

So, silver metal decorations are in plenty at the posh-Christian bouloungerie,


typical alsacien christmas decoration stalls at the christmas markets

and the street leading up to the Cathedral - you can see the brightly lit Cathedral dimmed by the christmas lights on the street: bright and sparlking all around!

snow storms and the arrival!

O K !

snows getting thicker, and this place is getting colder... thats what I think until I take the ryanair shuttle to germany... and then, I KNOW that the snow is getting REALLY THICK and the place is getting REALLY COLD!

theres about 2 feet of snow in some places! So, I am on the shuttle, having chats with random people, this time around the crowd included a couple from Hong Kong, [who quizzed me a lot about what I was doing in Strasbourg all the way away from Gujarat! (but they were very sweet!)], a lady from England, who is appling to the same course that my mum is on at Bath spa(!) and a south african dude who went to school with Vismay!! gosh, small world indeed - talk of the seven degrees of separation!

anyhoo... major red alert now: Chris' plane is 1h20mins late... shuttle drivers like: No way am I staying in the snow here - you guys make your plans (she even leaves without giving me a refund- evil woman!)

after much thinking I have a couple of options: [presented here in a project considerations sort of way just so as to prove to myself that I do use project management somewhere!]
1) greet Chris and ask him very politely ask him
* is he fit to drive? [he, I thought would have utilized the time of plane delay in a pub, and as it turned out - yes, he had, good man!]
* has he got his driving license?
* is he willing to drive a 59 euro/night car?
* from Baden Airpark to Strasbourg in France?!
* in a snow-storm?
* without a map?
[I talk to the Europacar guy at the airport and have him arrange me a car on standby complete with winter tyres, fog lights, a spare tyre, anti-icing/freeze kit, a list of potential close german places we could return the car next day to and a first aid-kit!] at the back of my head im thinking, this has got to be one of the stupidest thing the guy has heard in a while!

2) I tear off a travel poster [courtesy: Thomas cook travels counter at Baden Airpark!] and borrow a large marker and advertize in proper hitch hiker style : "Anyone going to Strasbourg?" in English and French... dumb as the idea sounds, it worked! luckily, the third person I asked turned out to be a taxi driver who was waiting for only one person who was an Engineer for a firm near my university. Holding on to the hope that goodness still exists in this world, I keep all fingers and toes crossed till the plane arrives!

luckily, goodness does exist, Chris landed safely, and we were able to get back to Strasbourg, albeit at some ridiculous time in the night! We watch the snow collect outside on the balcony and the windows all night - its really cool! :-)

I cant get no sleep!

Butterflies in my tummy, when I wake up and see that the playground that my glass balcony wall faces is covered in snow: not tinsy-minsy-tiny bit of snow, but we are talking a good deal of snow which is hear to stay! wooo hooo...

I rush out, make a tiny snowman before I find I cant feel my hands at all, ran inside and get warm again - have to save my batteries for when Chris arrives!! (yay!) I go off to see Anindya in the hospital - he can move more today and is quizzing us about all the different details in his room. Bless him, he never had the chance to observe it the first time! We tell him lots about the snow and he watches the ski championships on 'pub' channel.

I go around clicking a few pictures of tinsel town! attached here: place de Kleber,

the large Strasbourg Sapin de Noel,

some street decorations (I have so many of these pictures! - every street is decorated extensively!)

...and the Strasbourg city's advent calendar : every morning by the church we stop by on the way to university/work and gather around here to watch either the mayor or priest (or sometimes the youngest kid in the crowd) opening the window to another day! - its really cool...

I finally manage to get hold of the damn coach tickets to A-dam! (more yay!) and after much hassle, Chris manages to get us a large room in hotel Arena (louder yays). So, I cant wait to go and get Chris, I cant fall asleep at nite - I am so excited.

One thought crosses my mind as I lay awake in bed - I think of Phyllis and hope she is doing well.

its a wonderful life!

a happy christmas is here! I got lots of chocolate (!), a magic scarf and a tin tin [on the surface of Moon] comic! what did you get?

a 4kg turkey is cooked and oh is yummo! I had christmas lunch with Arpeeta [Anindya's wife], Matt and Matt's sister [I know her name, but call her 'Matt's sister']. Had a long chat with mum and teju and also talked to Dad, my aunt, Chris & family and Shorty & family!

:-)

went to visit my landlord and spent the rest of the evening flicking channels on the french satellite tv until I found films and shows [watched kylie manogue at earl's court to keep in line with cheezy entertainment generally on tv!] and finally found my favourite christmas movies of all times: It s a wonderful life! [the story of George Bailey]... heres a picture (thats George on the right and 'Clarence' his guardian angel on the left)
for those who dont know of it, if you want a brief story-line, write to me ;-)

love and peace!
beexxx

my 2 p worth on celebrity chefs

unless they cook for a hungry african town or a 6 course meal for a ship crew going on an aid mission, I dont really see the point of celebrity chef:

give anyone a place equipped with fine, spotless stainless steel utensils and the liberty to use as many ingredients they want, a little bit of creativity [if you are talking of art on plate], a few days to practice and a bit of imagination and bob's your uncle [or gordon ramsay in this case!]

its a bit like 'wine tasting promoter'
so, do you sell wine? No...
are you a wine producer? No...
a wine artist? [yeh, around this part of France, they exist] No...
Do you conduct wine tastings? No...
Sorry, dont get it, what do you do? I specialize in promoting wine tastings at french wine festivals...

still unclear if there is a market for such things ...I mean if you go to wine festivals, do you still need to persuade people there should be a wine tasting there!? from my experience of french wine festivals, you wont! but there you go...

might as well be 'appreciating curry'...anyone with tastebuds can do that!

ok ok, rant over for the festive season! I promise I shall stop although more examples come to mind.

oh, merry christmas to all those celebrity chefs, wine tasting promoters and curry appreciators too!

almost forgot...

One day I am going to write a book titled: How to do 1000 things with a chip pan?
I dont mean to say I am any expert in the matter, but I am certainly finding great uses for it!

I made tiramisu, cranberry sauce, made 2 litres of filter coffee, salad, a baked fish today... all in my chip pan. yippee!

But my happiness may not last that long: I have a feeling that very heavy slightly oddly shaped present might be an oven-plate.

finally christmas is onto us!

Managed to talk to many loved ones and hear their voices over the last couple of days... Christmas eve: the world wraps up pressies, buys pressies if you forgot them, travels to see loved ones, goes to church, wishes everyone well and chooses to have a huge meal and fall asleep in front of the tv!

:-)
finally went and got half of the supermarket to fit in my 'ikea' xlarge handbag! my christmas tree is up adorned with ornaments - most of which are bobbles made out of choclate : a really cool present I received from my secret santa! *thankyou who-so-ever you are! I love them and needless to say, in a minute or two would be gobbling on them!*

more cooking to do: preparing for tomorrow...
oh, I have a huuuuuuuuuuge list of things to do!

To all those who I am in regular contact with [if you have received one email from me since the start of the year, than even thats regular contact as work keeps me insanely busy], I am about to write to you for christmas, send you a little essay on whats happening and send you pictures of me having vin chaud (hot wine)... but the post office closes on 23rd here, opens for half a day on 27th... even the tram stoped working at 7pm!

I ll be there first in line, to post your cards! [I am so sorry for the slackness, but I am still unpacking my bags from Canada! craziness!]

xxxxxxxxxx
Merry christmas everyone!
may you be able to hear the rumbling in your chimney in the dark of the nite and find that carrot bitten by rudolf! Have a happy happy christmas!

oh, Paul from my class made this lovely greeting from all 10 of us who were in Vancouver together and are in strasbourg now, please check it out http://astropaul.com/noelssp.html

Joyeux Noel!!!

the best thing ever!

IT IS SOOOOOO COOL!

Went to the hospital before heading out anywhere else: Anindya was concious! he had opened his eyes!! It was amazing- I swear, if I wasn't responsible enought to remember that his room is meant to be a no-foreign body zone, I could have held his hand and wept out of joy!

everyone who came to visit him was estatic..!

unforunately, I cant go today: have developed a cold... damn the 1 degree temperature outside.

it finally feels like prayers come true...

its a huge step in the right direction, and we are all very grateful for that, but its also a beginning of an intense struggle, he is soon realising he has lay for 10 weeks now - his legs are not strong enough for him to be able to move, he s wanting water as he gets the strength to move his facial muscles, wants to communicate but still giving him a spray of water is a huge challenge for the doctors let alone food!

'one step at a time, my friend' is what we keep telling him... and praying and waiting for him to be able to come to school!

freedom, and the chance to view daylight!

wow,

if all exams allowed you to be so creative!

Q. you are the director of a national space agency (choose country), and you are to formulate its space plans for the next (choose how many) years - what do you think of US plans?

oh, I chose India and went completely overboard by writing 25 pages [as my Russian director would put: totally unnecessarily long]...but was a cool exam to write (and draw : I drew a woman [me!!] on the Moon)...kind of the stuff I used to do as a kid! tee hee hee

theres no growing up, eh?
yeh...night before the first exam it snowed and I found myself doing the same that a 12 year old Bart Simpson would do: kneel in front of my bed and prayed that it gets snowed in so that I cant get to school!

way to go bee!

anyhoo, maybe I should stop writing: needless to say, the school staff threw a surprise celebration to mark the end of exams and I am writing this after some multiple glasses of Reisling and Muscat and dozens of labenchruken!

oh, i think sleep can wait, I m off to check out the 10 christmas markets Strasbourg has!

work work work...

my god, this pile of paper does not end at all....

and tea s started to make me feel quite ill!

but thats exam time for you!

writing my blog is a wonderful idea of procrastinating during revision. but then so is Pierre-Yyes's idea of calling me to discuss the word 'procrastinating'! lol

Astronauts!

Woo hoo

Such a cool day!
Met Steven Smith (5 time Shuttle flyer NASA Astronaut: the guy known for having serviced the hubble telescope!), Pedro Duque (only Spanish man to go in space) and Chiaki Mukai (only Japanese woman to be in space).

Chiaki is my tutor at uni as well, she is really good fun! I might be doing my personal assignment for her next term)..

Got them all to sign on the space shuttle on my Northern Irish fiver! Steve was so puzzled where I was from! lol

but more impressed with PY!

A crown cake and a bottle of wine later

Think it could have been the delice pizza and the magic markers- but something got Anna and me! We designed a space habitat called 'habitant' based on rover which resembled ants today!! seriously fun!

AND!...although we deemed it to not be feasible, we WON the competition! woo hoo.
love the way designers work!

Apartly our idea is to be send away to NASA - gladly, thats one place an idea can sit in a box for quite a few years, atleast by then, we would have all finished our placements around the US!

lol...

oh yeh, and the prizes were a crown cake (a typical christmas thing in Alsace!) and bottles of locally produced absolutely amazing Gerwurztraminer Wine! *yyyummmo*

Gladyis

Yo!
Everyone,

Meet Gladyis.... Gladyis, this is everyone who reads my blog!

[Gladyis is my other housemate: She and Nobby keep me company!]

pictures a plenty!

Alright, alright... now here we go:
for all those who wonder how my den looks, here are a few pictures of my pad!

Thats me bedroom (in the winter, the coldest room in the house as it has the balcony, but nice and breezy otherwise)

Thats the kitchen [this one is an old pic - went to ikea, and it now has a more modern gear on] and living room: with a BIG tele (the room is quite large - looks smaller in the picture)

Nice and bright as you can see. That sofa converts into a double bed in case any one needs assurance of a place to sleep on when they visit!

:-)
oh, and this is something I thought was quite cute (out in Strasbourg, there is a central mall which is hosting reasons to wait for winter: and has a teddy bear ski lift!! [you guys wont love me just as you do if I wasnt so embarrasing!]

Guess whos back?

Back again...!

I have a lot to say to anyone who has been checking my blog!...but I dont know where to start.

I have been running around like a headless chicken lately, so I shall post this random yet slightly appropriate picture!image credit: http://www.savagechickens.com/

happy daddy day!

Happy Birthday dad!

Hope the foots healing quick...:-)

love my daddy!