My itinerary - vacation trip

[jdXp610]

Very nice jumanji. How about a picture with you in it

A Guy

The closest I could get. ( All eight of us are there.)

View attachment 272765

Awww Ju quit monkeying around lol

great pictures btw

 

[whs]

I am sure that you will need a 'vacation' after those 2 weeks. Have a lot of fun.

 

[jumanji]

Filmsongs and Photos - Mauritius -2

Tamil - shot in Mauritius:



Telugu:



Hindi:





Drive through Port Louis:

The guide says that driving offences attract astronomical penalties with driving points reduced and hence no traffic problems whatsoever ever.







The Primeminister's Residence:

Guide says no terrorism - only a lone guard at his residence





Not shot by me

 

[jumanji]

My Itinerary 2015 - Base U.S.A. Highlight South Caribbean Cruise

Vacation Trip 2015:

The nominees are/were(since our last trip to Mauritius in 2013): Australia and New Zealand, Spain, a cruise on high seas

- And the winner is ....8 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida, U.S.A.

Ship: Carnival Valor Cruise Line: Carnival Cruises Departs: Port Canaveral, United States Returns: Port Canaveral, United States Sails: Saturday, Apr 4, 2015 Ends: Sunday, Apr 12, 2015.

Well, that was what was decided by the two grandie sons in U.S.A. and one grandie daughter here in India with us. And so it is.

Arrival Atlanta 02 April 2015 early morning. Departure from U.S.A 17 May 2015

Oh! The flight tickets and the cruise were booked by mid-January, the flight by the second daughter here - not a free flight anyway. We two oldies have paid for it - and the cruise by the first daughter there - and we - me and my wife - have to pay her USD 1360 for that though she won't demand it and may not accept it also.

The cruise will take us to Orangestad, Aruba ( 7th April for nine hours),Kralandijk, Bonaire (8th April eight hours) and Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos (10th April eight hours). So we will be on land only for about 25 hours in all during the seven days.



Before I started this thread in March 2012, we had visited U.S.A in 2011 and at that time we had a four or five day cruise to the Bahamas on Carnival Fascination. At that time we embarked at Jacksonville but this time we will be travelling further down to Orlando. We may visit Tampa Bay - a name familiar to me. I used to do speed test from Tampa Bay servers. - and St.Petersburg. Last time it was St.Augustine.







Oh! We had a nice ride in a Chauffeur-driven Limousine at Bahamas



Pack up time now. Hope I make it.

 

[jumanji]

Bye bye Atlanta

Botanical gardens:



Tallulah Gorge:



Stone Mountain Park:

 

[jumanji]

Nostalgia - a drive into memory lane

The destination:

Puducherry also known as Pondicherry - a former French colony ceded by France in 1954 to become part of the Indian Union



As we enter the Puducherry state - it enjoys special statehood alongwith other former French enclaves in two other states Kerala and AndhraPradesh



for a mile along the road is the huge campus , Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research - JIPMER.



Driving along it always brings back the memories of the past not only to me but to my wife too. This is where I started my career in the Electro-Physiology Laboratory in 1969 and this is where my wife spent five to six years till 1972 studying medicine. ( When I was there, she was in her third year but I didn't know her till we got engaged in 1972. I had left JIPMER in 1970 and had moved on to Defence R&D in Karnataka - from Ministry of Health to Ministry of Defence. But all my relatives still believe it was a love marriage and I hooked her when I was in JIPMER. It was an arranged marriage but they refuse to believe. )

This is where we stayed on 03/04 April 2015 - World Golf Village Renaissance St.Augustine Resort, Florida, U.S.A.





This is where we stayed on 03 to 05 June 2015 - Hotel Coramandal Heritage, Puducherry.





The celebrations:







No, it is not my birthday celebrations but the wedding of my cousin brother's grand-daughter that took us there.



And then we return on 05 June 2015 after a flying visit to my native village some 20 miles from Pondicherry after the wedding.



Entering into Karnataka from Tamil Nadu.



The picture below that was snapped in the Heritage hotel that takes us back to 1910, when none of us would have been even born.



The cruise to Aruba, Bonaire and Grand Turk to follow.

 

[A Guy]

Very nice, looks like a nice Birthday trip

A Guy

 

[jumanji]

"The cruise to Aruba, Bonaire and Grand Turk to follow." And so ended my post #26. Its almost a year now and I am still searching for the photos . Hope I would locate those in the next few days and before my next trip.

When I listened to and posted the Violin song from a 2013 Telugu film on "What are you listening to?" on 05 Feb 2016 ( Page 100, post# 1000 Ha! reads nice 100 and 1000. Is in't it?) I was just wondering where it could have been shot? No need to search. Here it is.





Hmm... I got the answer only a few days back when my daughter announced " Listen and get ready, I have booked our tickets to Spain,( Madrid and Barcelona) 31 May 2016 to 12 Jun 2016." So we were looking at Spain on TV/youtube and it at once became evident to me that the song was shot in Spain.

OK, Spain was on our radar even last year. This year also various other european countries were considered and there was a lot of discussions going on on Skype between my two daughters, before Spain was clinched. Promotional Air Fare by Qatar Airways got it. And so here is my itinerary for the year 2016.

Bangalore ( India ) >>>> Doha (Qatar) >>>> Madrid (Spain)

Dep: 0340hrs 31 May 2016 0510-0710 Stop-over Arr: 1345hrs 31 May 2016

Barcelona ( Spain ) >>>> Doha (Qatar) >>>> Bangalore ( India )

Dep: 2335hrs 10 Jun 2016 0710-1910hrs Stop-over Arr: 0150hrs 12 Jun2016

(Hope to see a bit of Doha too since we have a 12 hour stopover there on the return leg.)

Where all we will go in Spain, where we will stay etc., are still under research but one thing is sure: My 70th birthday will be in Spain.
"The cruise to Aruba, Bonaire and Grand Turk to follow." ( Hope to keep my word this time. )

 

[jumanji]

Aruba

Post #24 continued:

8 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida, U.S.A. 04 April 2015 - 12 April 2015:

Driving from Atlanta on 03 April 2016, we interned at the World Golf Village Renaissance St.Augustine Resort, Florida for the night. Since the resort does not offer complimentary breakfast, we had packed some Bagels and burgers on the way.

Day 1: On 04th morning we just loitered around the resort till 10 A.M. and then drove to Port Canaveral. We were on board Carnival Valor by 1 P.M. and then rushed for the sumptuous lunch.





On board:



Night on the deck:



Day 4:After two days at sea, we disembarked at Aruba on 07th April 1 P.M. We had 9 hours at our disposal till scheduled departure at 10 P.M.

Aruba: Titled as the emerging Destination of the Year 2015 that mid-year ( we were there even before it got titled so ) Aruba is famed for its sunny weather, turquoise waters and white beaches.

When we got out, we straightaway got into one of the many tourist buses awaiting to make business with the arriving tourists. Though Aruba has developed in many spheres, tourism remains the main stay of the economy and the arriving cruise liners is the main source of income for many.



Some Pictures in Aruba:

On the Caribari boulders at Arikok National Park



The Altovista Chapel



Giant Cacti



The California Lighthouse

 

[Layback Bear]

jumanji I have only had two vacations in my life. A very good friend gave me some advice and I will pass it on.

Lee said; Jack, don't let your vacation feel like work. Relax and let the fun happen.

 

[jumanji]

I remember you said it earlier too. I have to roll back and see .

 

[jumanji]

Kralendijk - Bonaire

8 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida, U.S.A. 04 April 2015 - 12 April 2015:

Day 5: It was an overnight sailing from Aruba. The cruise liner berthed at the Kralendijk harbour 08th April 2015 around 10.30 A.M. and we had time till 4 P.M. on land.

Bonaire is an island Municipality of the Netherlands and an acclaimed diving and snorkeling destination whose reef-lined coast is protected within the Bonaire National Marine Park.

As with most cruise tours, it is nothing but beaches and sea, especially on this tour. While other members of the family are always interested in the sea adventures, me and my wife always preferred to stay safe on the sands .

After disembarking we hired a van and straightaway drove to the Wind and Surf Beach. The van will vanish for the driver to do other trips to fill his pocket and return by 1 P.M to pick us and drop at the harbour.

Arrived



On to the beach



On the beach



Ha! the most interesting event for us . Don't remember what we ate but we sure made a mess at the mess.



Back onto the streets of Kralendijk after lunch at the cruise liner ( All included in the fare. So why miss it? )

A refreshing local beer. Usually I am never in the picture (since I am the shooter) but this time I made sure I am seen for posterity.



The street train and my daughter ready to hop into it ( as my wife looks on) - but didn't



The Grill house at the harbour we never ventured in - we have everything on the cruise liner. You name it and you have it. Most of the time we don't know the name - only me and my wife - so we just have it.



Another street scene - clean and dust free roads and pavements

 

[jumanji]

Grand Turk Island and John Glenn - who?

8 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida, U.S.A. 04 April 2015 - 12 April 2015:

Day 7: After cruising for full day since it sailed out of Bonaire, the cruise liner arrived at Grand Turk around 8 A.M. on 10th April 2015. We can have our feet on the land till 4 P.M.

Grand Turk is a British Overseas Territory and the capital of the Turks & Caicos Islands located 575 miles southeast of Miami, Florida and 30 miles south of the Bahamas. GrandTurk is one of 40 islands that form the Turks and Caicos archipelago. It has the state of the art luxury cruise ship center.

It is here that Christopher Columbus first made landfall on his initial voyage to the New World in 1492. Almost 500 years later, US astronaut John Glenn “discovered” Grand Turk himself, after he became the first American man to orbit the earth. We have that depicted at the exhibits at the cruise center.

After Columbus and John Glenn, we have set foot on Grand Turk . (But they hadn't seen this state of the art Cruise Center that became operational in 2006.)



[ EDIT: Talking of Colombus, this is the statue of Colombus at Genoa, Italy, the birth place of Christopher Columbus, which we visited on 4th April 2012



Back to Memories of John Glenn]

Memories of John Glenn ( Click on the Photos and then zoom to read the display)






The Freedom seven capsule in which John Glenn splashed into the sea near Grand Turk. Wait! this is only the replica. The real Friensdship 7, I believe, is on display in the Smithsonian Nationa lAir and Space Museum in Washington DC. Most visitors here believe that this is the real thing .









At the Beach





Shopping Square at the Cruise Center





Day 9: 12th April 2015 8 A.M. Back to Cape Canaveral.





From there we drove to Tampa to visit one of my wife's cousins ( more specifically for lunch ) and after lunch drove back to Atlanta.

And then ..... Bye bye Atlanta Post #25

 

[jumanji]

Vacation Trip 2016 - Spain

My daughter in U.S.A sent a three page travel plan which I cut down to half.

31stMay (Tue)
Arrive Madrid 8:15 am (from USA) and 1:40 pm (from India). Meet at Holiday InnPiramides.
Mustsee places are the Royal Palace, Prado Museum, Thyssen Museum, Reina SofiaMuseum, Sorolla Museum, Cerralbo Museum, Plaza Mayor, El Retiro Park, Basilica of San Francisco ElGrande

1stJune(Wed)
Take metro to Atocha (green to opera, red to sol, blue to atocha). Train to Toledo10:20 am. Return train from Toledo 3:25 pm.
Prado Museum - enter free between 6pm - 7:30pm

2ndJune (Thur)
Checkout.Use combinados cercanias code to take C1/C10 to Atocha (airport direction)Train to Cordoba 10 am.
The best sights in Cordoba:
1.Mezquita/Cathedral - The most important architectural feature of the Mezquitaare the double horseshoe arches, made of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite.There are 856 columns in the church and they seem to be a sea of arches and columnsto the visitor.
2.Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos - Has beautiful gardens.
3.Palacio de Viana - The palace has important artwork and there are 12 differentpatios, all beautiful.
Trainto Seville 8:52 pm. Arrive 9:35 pm and walk/taxi to hotel

3rdJune (Fri)
What to see in Seville:
1.Cathedral/Giralda Tower - The Cathedral is the third biggest church in Europe.
2.Alcazar - The palace rivals the Alhambra.
3.Plaza de España - The most beautiful plaza in Spain.
4.Casa de Pilatos - Beautiful palace with wonderful gardens. See the upstairsapartment.
5.Museo de Bellas Artes - One of the most important museums in Spain.
6.Church of El Salvador - One of the most beautiful Baroque churches.The ticket from the Cathedral allows one to see this church for free.
7.Museum-Palace of the Countess of Lebrija - Has some of the best Roman mosaics in Spain.See the upstairs apartment.
Agood flamenco place is Los Gallos (Plaza de Santa Cruz, 11). The main shoppingstreets are Calle Tetuan and Calle Sierpes.

4thJune (Sat) Checkout. Walk to train station. Train to Malaga 12:50 pm. Walk tohotel.

5thJune (Sun) Walk to train station. Train to Ronda 10:05 am. See book fordirections to town. Return train 4:50 pm.

6thJune (Mon) Walk to bus station Alsa bus to Granada 10 am. Cab to Alhambra.Collect tix with confirmation and credit card. 2 pm - 8 pm (Nasrid palace entry3-3:30 pm). Return bus to Malaga 9 pm
Downtown Granada is the Realejo Barrio. The Plaza Bib-Rambla has many restaurants.
Best sights besides the Alhambra:
1.Cathedral and Royal Chapel
2.La Cartuja Monastery
3.Alcaiceria (shopping)

7thJune (Tues) Checkout of Novotel, walk to station. Train to Barcelona 8:40 am.Arrive 2:25 pm. Sants to hotel - metro(blue, yellow to Llacuna, walk) or cab.

8thJune (Wed) Prab Munich Rest - Montserrat. red or green to Placa Espanya. Buy tix R5 towards Mauresa aeri mont for cable car. Train departs every hr :36,returns :45 (last 6:45 pm)

9thJune (Thur)
Downtown Barcelona is the Plaza de Catalunya. Eixample, the modern barrio of the citybuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries, with a square grid of streets. ThePasseig de Gracia is the most elegant avenue, with upscale stores. Good shopping streets downtown are Portal de l’Angel, Portaferrisa and Pelayo.
The most important sights are the Modernist sites, which are the Gaudi sites andthe Lluis Domenech sites

10thJune (Fri)
Take metro(airport single ride ticket)/cab to airport
Depart10:25 am (to USA) 23:35 pm (to India)

So basically it is going to be Madrid > Cordoba > Seville > Malaga > Barcelona

We don't even read any of this thing. She is the navigator on all our trips and we just follow her .

Funtime: Grrr....Attacked by Pirates on high seas on Carnival Valor



Well, it was a repeat of what happened on Carnival Fascination on our Bahamas Cruise and so we were prepared to act this time

 

[jumanji]

Spain - Teaser

Senorita (Spanish/Hindi) and Why this Kolaveri di (Punjabi), Flash mob at Madrid- 2012:





31 May 2016:

Ha! This is where it happened. I realised it only when I reran the video.

 

[jumanji]

Vacation trip to Bali

Depart Bengaluru – 02 Jun ‘17 2230hrs > Kula Lumpur > Arrive Bali 03 Jun ‘17 0615hrs

Stay @ InterContinentalBali Resort , Jalan Uluwatu 45, Jimbaran 80361, Indonesia

Business: Do nothing

Depart Bali – 08 Jun ’17 1200 Noon > Bangkok > Arrive Bengaluru 08 Jun ’17 2300hrs

 

[jumanji]

You are invited

You are invited

Birthday Dinner Party



Restaurant: Sarong, Jalan Petitenget No. 19x Bali 80361

(One of the signature restaurants by Chef Will Meyrick.Wide array of Asian dishes like the Sri Lankan Lamb Curry, Laotian Style Grilled Chicken and the many fresh seafood items)

Date & Time : June 4, 2017 9:00 pm

Répondez s'il vous plaît

 

[A Guy]

You on the road again jumanji?

A Guy

 

[jumanji]

^"on the road" ? literally???



hmmmm............... I would have done that ten years back - not now.( My wife and daughter do not allow me to drive my car - ever since I side-scraped my daughter's Honda City on a highway while passing another car, a year or two back. My car is just gathering dust in the garage. I still use my two-wheeler in the city - minimal. Had only one fall in the last one year .

Where was I last year on 04th June? Morning we took a train from Seville to Malaga (Spain). Night we had dinner in an ordinary restaurant - a quiet affair.



( Incidentally, z3r010 was also in Spain at that time , but not in mainland Spain but far away Canary Islands - an archipelago of Spain off Western Coast of Morocco, Africa.)

A view of Alcazaba at Malaga:

 

[jumanji]

US trip 2023: Me and my wife.

Onward Departure: Bengaluru 13 Apr 2023 03:55 AM Arrival: Atlanta,GA 13 Apr 2023 16:25 PM Camp: my eldest Daughter's residence in Atlanta GA

My second daughter from Bengaluru ( second in command at DELL, India) from Bengaluru will fly and join us at Atlanta on 06 May 2023 and return to Bengaluru with us on 22 May 2023 ( She has only three weeks leave of absence)

Main Agenda : My Grand Daughter's - Second daughter's daughter - Rutgers University, New Brunswick NJ Business School Convocation on Thursday, May 11,2023. She also did her Honors for which the convocation is on 02 May)

During our stay, we will also be travelling to Arcadia CA to visit my brother (90+) , Los Angeles CA, San Jose CA (if possible), New York NY, Boston MA (if possible) combined with New Brunswick NJ, Austin TX ( if possible and my daughter visits DELL HQ at Austin,TX)

Return: Departure Atlanta,GA 22 May 2023 19:30 PM Arrival: Bengaluru 24 May 2023 02:25 AM.

I understand that the new variant of Covid is prevalent still in USA. Hope everything goes on well and it doesn't cause any problem with our trip.