Of pricey journeys and priceless memories

The beautiful city of Seville in Spain has much to offer to eager tourists looking for architectural marvels and historical wonders. World renowned Alcazar Castle complex, breathtaking Plaza de Espana, the largest manmade wooden structure in the world Metropol Parasol with its awe-inspiring mushroom roof, Seville Cathedral, the cobbled streets in the old Spanish medieval town of Barrio Santa Cruz and much more.   After the morning and afternoon well spent in roaming around the beautiful city, there can be no better way to close the day with an evening at a Flamenco dance show. That is exactly what we did, only to realize at the end of the show that our trip to Spain would have been incomplete without a visit to one of the ‘Tablaos’ that host the show. Flamenco dance shows are held nightly with numerous show options to choose from but with hordes of tourists thronging the city each year having reservations in advance would be ideal and tickets can be bought online too....

If you’re an Indian by birth, no matter which part of the globe you’re residing in, I am sure the name Switzerland would immediately transfer you to the make-believe world of music-dance and dream sequences straight out of a Yash Chopra movie with the beautiful scenic mountains in the backdrop.  Thanks to our ‘Bollywood fetish’, Switzerland is synonymous with romance and beauty where every couple in love has to customarily visit to profess their love to their beloved.  A trip to this stunningly beautiful country only reinforces this notion. There is no dearth of natural beauty in the world but the way Switzerland has harnessed that beauty to cater to every kind of tourist is amazing.  Every little nook and corner of this small country, be it mountains, lakes or valleys has a plethora of ‘touristy activities’ for its visitors, both young and old. No wonder one sees families with kids of all age groups in tow everywhere in Switzerland with rail passes that are valid on ...

If you’re a traveller at heart then like all fellow travellers you would surely have a check list of all the attractions in the world that you aspire to visit in your lifetime. My travel list had Paris on the top and rightly so, as a trip to the city can leave you yearning for more. The allure of Paris is hard to miss, the colourful graffiti in metro stations, chic shopping arcades, the intriguing cuisine that gradually grows on you, the vibrant corridors of Champs-Elysees, the sea of tourists that throng the city’s streets, the beautifully adorned facades on very old buildings that complement the new modern ones, old historical castles, French wine, gorgeous French women and Moulin Rouge, the famous cabaret in Paris. Cabaret shows come with a baggage, a certain kind of disdain for the art that is accompanied by hordes of bosom revealing women dancing and prancing around for the pleasure of the guests. But Moulin Rouge is much more than that. Its art in its lucid form with a dash...

A vacation to Spain can throw open a plethora of must-do-activities for you, visiting iconic monuments like Alhambra and the famous Roman-Catholic Church The La Sagrada Familia, experiencing the rich cultural heritage of the country, seeing the sun-kissed beaches, tasting the divine ‘Sangria’, making a trip to the football hubs of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, spending one full day at the crazily adventurous La Aventura amusement park, watching a show of the mesmerizing Flamenco dance and last but not the least going to the bullring in Madrid. While planning our vacation to Spain, this last bit about the bull fight was just one of the many attractions that featured in our itinerary. I was really excited about watching the flamenco show in Seville while my boys had set their hearts on going to the bullfight in Madrid. But the fact that I chose to write about this ‘sport’ over anything else should say something about the profound effect it had on me! We had designated a half da...

A narrow strip of land tucked away in one corner of the European mainland and a cluster of small islands littered along the Adriatic Sea is hardly likely to catch your attention on the World map but a trip to the beautiful country is sure to make you reminisce your trip with fondness forever. If you love the Sun and beach combo, then a trip to Croatia can be the vacation of your dreams. There are thousands of islands all over, each one more enchanting than the other. We went to Croatia all the way from India, changing flights from Frankfurt on a Croatian Airlines Boeing to Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia. Your vacation starts the moment you board this plane. One can get a beautiful birds eye view of the Dinaric Alps with their snow laden peaks.  Beauty of the Dinaric Alps all the way from the top! Where is everyone? The moment the plane lands in Zagreb, one can’ t help but notice that the airport barely looks like an airport from any other mainstream metr...