February Half Term Week 2018

# Just before the half term week we had our Parent Teachers Meeting and for me will be the most memorable one so far.. Ni's teacher Miss Lotts began by saying that " Lovely Ni - why I can't have 30 of her in the class. Whatever work is given to her it is understood that she will finish it to the highest standard. She is the ideal child to have in class. Mathematics is her strong point. She is sociable and very much popular in class. She has the elements of showing depth in her studies which generally only 10% of the class can achieve.
# Aa's teacher Mrs Giddy said there is a considerable improvement in his handwriting and now he takes a lot of pride in his presentation of his work. He needs to raise his hand and say he does not understand any concept in Maths. He goes very well with Mrs Bains and they both have share a good bond.
# As and Aa left for India on Friday via Amsterdam. Unfortunately their luggage is misplaced and waiting for it to arrive. Luggage arrived finally on Sunday night.
# Saturday began with my Gym session of cardio and little bit of strength training ( chest and leg press). After that I went for a luxury facial for an hour and picked up Ni from her art class at Fairkytes centre. We were joined by Ja and her daughter at Wimpys Hornchurch for lunch. I had cheese and tomato toasties and black Americano and Ni had chicken nuggets with fries. We all four chatted and left after 2 hours from the restaurant.
# Other good news which happened this half term was that Ni was given an all clear for her vision. She no longer requires to wear glasses and her vision is perfect. She will be seen again in 9 months.
# Watched " Padmavat" at  Vue Cinema Romford with Uma. Glad I watched it finally!!
# Sunday morning I took appointment with Out of Hours GP for my rash and was prescribed a cream. This rash was causing me a lot of grief and glad that I found some relief after applying cream couple of times.
# We all went for " Paddington 2 " and enjoyed the movie. This was more funnier than the first one.
After the movie we went for lunch at Pizza Express with Ni's friend and her family.
# We all browsed few stores in The Brewery and bought a laundry basket / a rainbow slinky gifted by Ni's friend and then was dropped home by them.
# Did my Gym session of 1 hour 30 minutes.
# Monday - play date at my place / work from home / Ni's workshop / bought a brand new shiny rug / few potted indoor plants / made cabbage with peas.
# Tuesday - work from home / made Panchmel daal / bought two bright red cushions / Ni attended x 2 workshops in Explore Learning /
# Wednesday - Back to work / Ni and her friend attended the Explore Learning and then Ni spent the entire day with her / attended a soft launch party of my friend starting tea business.
# Thursday - work again / Ni's friend came over for couple of hours / Ni attended Phoenic Screener and Kip McGrath / came late from work / trip to Tesco /
# Friday - woke up at 5 am and logged in at work / Ni's 4 friends came over for play date/ 

The List - December 2013

This is the first time i am doing this list inspired by Nupur's Lists of One Hot Stove.I usually write everything in my diary and try to incorporate everyday events in it.

Reading - This month has been the best month in terms of reading books as i read 5 books which is truly amazing by my standards.
I read "Cocoa at Midnight" by Kathleen Clifford;" Apron and Sliver Spoons" by Mollie Brown. These two books were a easy read. They are real life accounts of domestic servants and their hardships in pre war era.
The next book was very romantic novel by Jojo Moyes "The last letter from your lover". The book was hopelessly romantic and spanned two time lines - one from 1960 and other from present day.
Other books were "No time to say Goodbye" by Linwood Barclay - a thriller with a twist.I was so engrossed in reading the book that wanted to finish it soon.
And ended the year with Penny Vincenzi's " Love in the Afternoon and other short stories". I have never read her books before and did not find the book very interesting. The short stories were very predictable and short of any twists.

 Watched " 12 Dates of Christmas " -  a romantic movie where the girl keeps reliving Christmas Eve 12 times and must break the cycle for her blind date.
Another one was " Cast Away" - A Tom Hanks movie - quite a depressing movie where he is stranded on an island for 4 years and comes back to find that her girlfriend is now married and has her own family.
This is the first time i bought Whats on TV - Holiday TV watching guide. I am so deprived of watching any Television or movies that this year i am quite keen to watch some good television.Top on my list to watch is " Downton Abbey" and "The Great British Bake Off."

Had a busy month in terms of Socialising.Attended Christmas Drinks with my ex - colleagues or golden oldies as they say. Also a Birthday Party of a 3 year old and ended the day with tea and some mince pies at a friends place.Christmas Day evening was spent with a family of four serving them  M&S Party food.Invited for lunch by a friend ( N and A ) at Langley.Just before the year ended i invited one of our friends for lunch who were visiting from Glasgow over holidays. I made Amritsari Chole , Delicate Korma with Apricots / Paneer Maalvani / Rice / Paneer and Pineapple Salad / served all with parathas and ended with tea and pistachio ice cream. New Year's Eve was spent with another set of friends and had such a pleasant time serving them Nachos with cheese / Mix Pakoras - Potato / Paneer / Cauliflower and Chillies/ Garlic Bread and Pizzas.

My son had a busy time over the month as well. Started with Christmas Fayre in school where he met Father Christmas and got presents. Took part in Christmas Raffle.We attended his first ever Christmas Concert. I don't think he was really into singing and was just interested in waving us.
His most busiest day was when he had Christmas lunch at school / Christmas party in his class/ School Disco and Christmas Party in his drama class.He also came to my office on Christmas Eve and got Face painting done.

The biggest high this month was that my son learnt to write his name - it was an amazing feeling to know that he is growing up and a first step of sorts for future.

News Bites

• Organised a lavish lunch for our friends from Wolverhampton. Made Daal Makhani,Baked Matar Paneer,Mix Vegetable Bhopali Syle,Moong Daal Pakoris ,Imli Vaale Aloo,Paneer with Spring Onions,Gobhi Masala, Mix veg Rice and Raita.
• Made a trip to Great Yarmouth - the seaside town over the Easter Weekend.Had lunch in " Prezzo" at Beccles.
• Books read - " The Happiness Project " by Gretchen Rubin, " The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"
• Joined my local gym at the Hornchurch Sports Center.Attended Group exercise classes like Total Toning,Body Jive, Body Balance and Body Step. Also attended the Personal Training Session from a Personal Trainer for 35 mts.
• Aayush starts attending Georgie Porgy Preschool three days a week. He goes Monday afternoons and Thursday and Friday mornings. This alongside going to Creative Kids nursery Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
• Joined a local Reading Group at my Hornchurch Library.Atttended the first session but not the second one due to childcare issues.
• Nishka has completed all three of her Vaccinations and now atleast she is free for the next 8 months. Her next injections are due after her 1st Bday.
• Movies watched - "Life Express ","Dirty Picture ",Guzarish","Perfect Match","Everything Must Go " and "Ek Main Aur Ek Tu".

Back to Work

After almost one year of maternity leave i am officially back to work!!! Its been a week already and it doesn't feel too bad. I do get exhausted by evening but i have quite a support at home at the moment so it is all right to manage.Aayush has taken the change very nicely and enjoys his time with his grandparents. In the meantime these are some of the few things i did before starting my full time job:-

• A Visit to V&A Museum on a rainy Sunday.
• For the first time i had the chance to Vote and i did exactly just that.
• Bollywood Movies seen -"Rajneeti" and "Housefull".
• Attended a "Real Food Festival " at Earls Court and had lunch at "Masala Zone".We bought some very fresh Mozzarella Cheese;Real Mexican Salsa,Shahi Masala Mix and Kadai Masala Mix.
• Aayush had his Mundan Ceremony and also we conducted a Satya Narayan Katha.Food made was Pooris,Chola,Imli Aloo,Shahi Paneer,Aloo Gobhi,Jeera Pulao,Masala Bhindi and Kheer.
• I passed my Driver Licence Exam in the first attempt.... with only 6 minor mistakes.
• Joined two Baby and Toddler Groups in my local area.I think it was a good decision as Aayush loves the place and also this has become a good ground for Nursery as this gives him exposure to different kids.
• Made two friends out of these Baby Groups - Vaijenta and Jyoti.
• Met my colleague for lunch at O2 and Thai Lunch of Vegetable Spring Rolls /Thai Green Curry with Rice.
• Purchased an I-Phone for myself and downloaded apps such as Pedometer/Use your Handwriting.
• Books finished reading - "The Gift " by Cecilia Ahern;"Motherhood" by Judy Reith;"Love Over Coffee" by Amrit N Shetty;"The Vine of Desire" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.
• Saw "Merchants of Bollywood " at the Peacock Theatre.
• Tried loads of curries from Tarla Dalal "Desi Khana" - Ceylonese Curry;Cauliflower Curry;Mixed Vegetables-Patiala Style;Green Peas and Mushroom Curry;Tava Mushroom;Mughlai Aloo etc
• Also made Pineapple Cake from Manjula's Kitchen Blog;Kutchi Dabeli from Nupur's One Hot Stove;Spicy Chaat from Tarla Dalal's Desi Khana;Mexican Rice Casserole from Nupur's One Hot Stove;Black Eyed Peas Vadas from Mahanadi Blog;Singapore Noodles from Good Food Magazine;Mix Veg Risotto ;Vegetable Pasta Bake etc etc.
• Saw Shrek 3 D in my local Odeon Cinema and hated it.. The movie is too boring and doesn't capture my interest at all.
• Did some clothes shopping for myself --- a motivator before joining work..Bought Skirts/Tops and Formal Trousers from Marks and Spencer and John Lewis.

Hopefully things will be fine for the coming weeks and i will be able to strike a good balance between my work and home...

Return Home

It has been a month exactly that i came back from India and it feels as if i never went away.Days are filled with eating, going out and finding out ways to keep an 8 month old baby occupied.

• Lunch at Pizza Express with my Sister in Law and Niece.I had Nostrana Salad which had New Potatoes,Avocados,Red Pepper,Green Beans, Mixed Leaves,Parsley and a free range Egg with house dressing.I substituted Chicken with Mushrooms.
• Made a trip to Coram Fields which was on my list ever since i was pregnant and i was waiting for the day when i can take my baby there since the entry to the park is restricted to only people who are accompanied by kids.
• Browsed Bloomsbury area and had coffee and cake in Carluccio's.
• Aayush was due for his second photo session locally and so i took him there. He behaved nicely in the session and some very gorgeous pictures have come out.
• Whenever i see Aayush is getting all cranky being at home i take him out in his buggy and go for long walks in my area.He loves looking out and grasping everything around him and i get some much needed exercise.Sometimes it happens twice a day which really tires me up in the evening.
• I have been doing a lot of cooking in this past month.I made a colourful Mexican Rice Casserole,Cheese and Vegetable Muffins,Semolina and Bottle Gourd Pancakes,Vegetable Fajitas, and Kutchi Dabeli.I also dared to make Strawberries dipped in Chocolate and Fruits with White Chocolate.They didn't turn out the way as i expected them to be.
• I also had our friends Gaurav and Mughda for dinner one Saturday and i made Chana Paalak,Tawa Paneer,Salad,Boondi Raita,Vegetable Pulao and Fruit Cream for dessert.
• Movies watched this past month were :- "Housefull","The Proposal";"35 Shots of Rum" ; "Julie and Julia"and"An Education" from Blockbuster Rental.
• I finished reading Shobha Narayan's "Monsoon Diary"and "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown and "The Immigrant"by Manju Kapoor.
• For the very first time in my life i cast my vote. I never knew that i can vote in UK. I was under the impression that voting is reserved only for citizens but i was wrong.
• On a rainy Sunday we decided to visit V&A Museum.I would like to go there again when the museum will be a bit empty as it was too crowded that day.
• Browsing magazines such as Time Out (London),Prima,Country Walking,Living Etc,BBC Good Food,Good Housekeeping,Cook Vegetarian,Weight Watchers etc.
• On one of the weeknights i went out for Dinner with my Office Colleagues to a French Restaurant "One Lombard Street".We had a 5 Course Dinner Menu of Grilled Marinated Provencal Vegetables Pesto,Tapenade and Saffron Veloute (Starter),Spinach Risotto with Garlic and Nutmeg Nut Brown Butter ( Mains) and Bitter Chocolate Marquise Raspberry Coulis and Creme Chantilly (Dessert).

Recent Notes

• Reading Biography on AR Rahman by Kamini Mathai.Extremely hard to believe the kind of person Rahman is.I wonder are there any people left in this world with billions in their bank accounts but live with no material desires.Also the kind of environment he works in its hard to imagine that how he survives it.
• Hosted a lavish lunch for our friends Nitin and Manu. I made Baked Matar Paneer/Sabz Paneer/Daal Makhani/Moong Daal Pakoris/Three Bean Salad/Fruit Salad/Mix Veg-Bhopali Style/Fruit Cream.It was a lunch for 6 adults/3 children and 2 babies.
• Visited my office to meet colleagues and to have a informal chat with my manager regarding my return to work and also to get some flexible working arrangement.
• Sorted all documentation and paper work for our residency in UK.It took us the whole of Sunday afternoon sorting bills and bank statements filing them in separate files.
• Made Brocolli and Bottle Gourd parathas for dinner on Friday evenings.
• Had a light hearted evening with Gaurav and Mughda on Valentines Day.Mughda prepared Rajma Curry and Paneer Sabzi along with Cucumber Raita.
• Made Paneer Kathi Roll and Thai Spiced Mushroom Soup inspired by Nupur 's One Hot Stove.
• Attended my first session of Physiotherapy at Holly house Hospital.I have been prescribed some pelvic floor muscles as usual to strengthen my lower stomach muscles which will ease my back pain.The physiotherapist said that my body is too mobile which is how my body is made up of. Due to my traumatic childbirth my pelvic muscles are weak and that needs to be strengthened.
• My subscription to Love Film came to end this week. I watched some very excellent movies which i wanted to watch from a long time.I watched Amelie(French)Maria Full of Grace(Spanish)Tokyo Sonata(Japanese).I also managed to watch Invictus and Its Complicated in cinema leaving baby with Ashish.
• Flipping through Rose Elliot 's cookbooks "Vegetarian Four Seasons" and Vegetarian Fast Food.Already tried Spicy Bean Chilli from the book so far.
• We have finalised for a new house to be completed in July/August this year. It is a 3 bedroom detached house .. all new built.I am not so excited for the house as i love living in my current home and just love this area.But maybe as Aayush is growing up we do need a bigger house than this and then it would all fit in.I am taking my time to warm up to new house so far. I am excited but cautious as this will also slightly longer commute and also now we have to also consider dropping and picking Aayush up before and after work.
• So despite the fact that i am not to keen to move - i am planning the new home already that how it will look and how i will decorate. We will have a modest garden to take care of and so i was thinking of planting some herbs and vegetables and definitely flowers.Off i went to my local library and issued myself some books to get a basic idea of how to start and maintain a garden.I am going through books like "First Time Gardener" By Jonathan Edwards ;"Vegetables for Small Garden" By Lynda Brown;"Harry Dodson's Practical Kitchen Garden"; and the best of all i liked "A Busy Person's Guide to the 20 Minute Garden" by Gill Page.I loved this book as this had step by step pictures on how to grow flowers and vegetables in a container.

Things that kept me going....

• I finally finished my pile of newspapers (London Evening Standard,City AM and Metro) which was pending for a very long time.I like to keep myself updated about what's happening in London therefore Ashish brings me these newspapers everyday.
• After almost 3 years i have started visiting my local library and got myself some cookbooks such as "Jamie's Ministry of Food","Rice and Noodles by Emma Lee","50 Great Sandwiches",and Women's Weekly Great Vegetarian Food".
• I make it a point to go out everyday with baby either to shop locally for grocery or library or for long walks.This helps me to get some fresh air and helps me to loose that extra weight.
• Been doing loads of cooking -Idly Sambhar for Sunday afternoon lunch,Vegan Aloo Dum ( Recipe taken from Nupur 's One Hot Stove),Chocolate Cake with Ganache,Pizzas with unusual toppings like Artichokes,Black olives with pesto sauce.
• Subscribed to Love Film and so watching movies almost everyday.. Seen so far "Mamma Mia","There will be Blood","Six Days Seven Nights","Guess Who's coming to Dinner","Miss Pettigrew Lives for a day".

Things done so far

• Life has been busy and not so busy for the past one month.I don't think so i will be able to write down each and every thing which i have done so far but will try..


• Weather has not been very helpful in London this month.. lots of snow with sub-zero temperatures.It was nice to see everything covered in snow for few days but when it stretched to more than a week it was frustrating to be sitting at home all day and night.So it was decided that as Ashish would come back from work i will be going out for a walk to get some fresh air and also to have some much needed me time.However since weather has improved i have started to take Aayush along with me for a walk around noon everyday.That helps me to get out of the house and do some serious walking for an hour.


• Since i was stuck at home for long periods of time i have done some serious cooking - tried recipes which were bookmarked for so long now.Tried Parsnip and Ginger soup for a very wintry evening .. It is the first time i bought Parsnip.. never tried this vegetable before.Ashish didn't like the soup very much but i think it was not too bad.Made use of Delia Smith book " Delia's how to cheat at cooking"by making two recipes from it. The book was bought long time ago ( maybe 2 yrs ago ) but never tried anything from it. I made Cracked potatoes with melting cheese and spring onions and Very garlicky chili pasta.Both the dishes came out fine and i will definitely try them again.


• This Christmas i bought a very simple and complete vegetarian cookbook by Vidhu Mittal " Pure and Simple -Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine"It is exactly the kind of cookbook i was looking for .. all vegetarian and recipes which you can actually try with ingredients available in my kitchen pantry.I made Mushroom Cheese Toast which Ashish loved,Sago Cutlets,Daal Tarka which was a combination of Chana Daal/ Moong Daal and Laal Masoor,Beans with Baby corn,Baby corn and Capsicum,Mixed vegetables with Cottage Cheese...Phew that is lot of cooking.


• Reading has also been on my agenda all this time however i am unable to do any serious reading. Ashish brings me "Metro", "City AM" and "London Evening Standard " which i aim to read almost everyday but i can still see a huge pile in one corner which i have to finish.I am also reading magazines like "Psychologies","Real Simple","Olive" and "Delicious".


• I have started weaning Aayush for which i bought all his Weaning Bowls/spoons/ Bibs and very special Chico High Chair.He has been given Cow and Gate Pure Baby Rice with his 11 am feed.I am following Gina Ford book of Weaning for him and so far it is working out for me.I am going to introduce him to a variety of fruits and vegetables in the coming days like peers,carrots, apples ,sweet potato,courgette and cauliflower.So far his response has been excellent with it and i am noticing that his reflux has improved.


• Television watched - Loads of Food Network/Good Food and Home channels. Catching up on Indian Winter Season with documentary on Mumbai Slum- Dharavi with Kevin Mc Cloud.Also seeing Gordon's Great Escape with some amazing authentic recipes.


• On fitness front i am doing Wii Fit 30 mts a day almost 5 days a week.I am also trying to keep a tab on what i am eating .. I have a bowl of cereal for breakfast, soup for lunch and a proper Dinner of Chapati/Daal and vegetable along with it. I am trying to snack on raw veggies and fruits when i get those hunger pangs.But sometimes i do loose the motivation to do anything and just gorge on biscuits or namkeens.


• Above all i also managed to see 2 hindi movies past month.. Rocket Singh and 3 Idiots along with the baby.I was not prepared to watch movie with a baby but Ashish convinced me into it.. Aayush was angel in both the movies. I actually didn't feel at all that he was with us.I enjoyed both the movies and wish Hindi Cinema could make more of these substantial movies.

Week At a Glance

Saturday - I woke up at 5 am along with Baby A and gave him his first feed of the day. He went back to sleep and slept for at least 3 hrs. In the meantime i completed my Morning chores.I have always felt that if i wake up early i finish a lot of work early in the day.My mum cooked a delicious breakfast of Semolina Dhokla which was made from scratch.Ashish and my Mum went for a movie " London Dreams" and i had my friend come over for a chat.
Evening we did Grocery Shopping and had Moong Daal Pakoris for dinner.After dinner we settled for some Evening television.


Sunday-Went for a drive around the Ilford area and did a takeaway lunch of Idlis /Vadas and Dosas.Pottered around the house the whole day.

Monday- I started writing Baby A's Feeding and Nap time schedule again.I also visited my local library and took some books out for reading.


Tuesday-This is the day when we visit our Local Clinic for Baby A's weighing Sessions.We also attended Baby Bounce sessions which take place in our Local Library. Unfortunately he was quite unsettled during the session and so i had to bring him out of the session.


Wednesday-We did nothing but shopped locally for grocery.


Thursday-I took Baby A and my mum to Canary Wharf to have lunch with Ashish.We had lunch in Tiffin Bites and had Vegetarian Thalis comprising of Biryani/Kadai Paneer and Chole.

Friday- The weather was extremely bad and Ashish had Doctor's appointment so we accompanied him and came back home.

Notes from the Week

• I have recently started using Google Docs and i am loving it.Not sure why i was reluctant to use it but i think it is better than Google Notebook.I can organize my Contacts/Food Planning/Books by using the Templates provided.


• A bought Sony Vaio Personal Computer and Vaio Digital Frame


• Last Saturday i watched "Wake Up Sid" with my Mom in Cinema. Nice refreshing movie. A looked after the baby in the meantime.


• This Saturday was Diwali- My Baby's first one.My mom cooked a very lavish lunch for all of us.We had Moong Dal pakoris,Malai Paneer,Sweet Rice and Fruit Cream.In the evening we did Pooja and visited my Brother-in law's place. We had Vegetable Pulao for our evening dinner.


• I am maintaining a Baby Record Book (photo above) to record all milestones of our baby.It is not a very fancy book but a very simple book which we got when we registered our baby's birth.

New Life

• It has been a month since our life changed completely. I think we are doing fine as first time parents.There are moments when i feel flustered with the mundane activity of nappy changing/ feeding and burping but overall it has been fine.Little A is also having Reflux and therefore he is quite unsettled at times.He has been given Infant Gaviscon which has brought some relief to his tummy.He has been to hospital in the middle of the night where doctor said his intake of milk is more than what his tummy can handle.So from then he has been given 90 ml of milk.
• With Little A in our lives now - our schedule depend on his nap and feeding times. I still do housework/ surf net/read and watch television but everything is done in snatches of time.At present my mom is here and she takes care of lot of things like cooking which gives me time to do other stuff.Everything else is done in a rush so that when Little A wakes up - we can give all our time to him.
• Our baby has started to smile -mostly in his sleep but today he smiled at A while his nappy was being changed.He also sometimes smile when we touch his chin.He is most happy when my mom gives him massage in the mornings.Only once he has cried while having his massage but overall he has been good.
• Today Little A has been extremely unsettled throughout the day and so in the evening i bought a pacifier. A is not really happy to use a pacifier as he thinks he will get used to it and it will be difficult for us to get rid of.I am aware of this but sometimes it gets difficult to listen his cries all through the day. I have decided to use it only in extreme circumstances when i am losing my patience.I do get stressed with Little A 's cries.. sometimes i feel so helpless that there is nothing i can do to soothe him. The only reassuring thing is that he is feeding well and gaining weight with no symptoms of any illness.
• I saw Hindi movie "Dil Bole Hadippa" in cinema. I was resisting to go to cinema as i was not sure how will Little A take to this outing. But his dad insisted that we should go. Little A woke up as soon as the movie started and so A took him to the nearby mall so that i can watch the movie.
• We have been very lucky in one thing-we hardly faced any sleepless nights with our baby. He sleeps quite well in the night almost 4-5 hrs in one go.Touchwood.He sleeps well in the first half of the day which gives me enough time to complete chores.After lunch he becomes quite restless and becomes difficult to handle.

36 Weeks

• I am now officially on Maternity Leave from work.Well officially it starts from 17Th August and before that i am availing my 3 weeks of holidays.
• Have completed my Antenatal Classes at King George. I made some friends in the class and have been in touch with them since then. Quite a few of them are due around the same date as mine.
• I am down with severe cold this week and didn't sleep for two nights in a row.A had taken off from work and has been nursing me and doing all the cooking and house work.
• Reading the controversial book "How Opal Mehta got kissed,got wild and got a life"by Kaavya Viswanathan.
• Packed my Hospital bag and Baby Bag.. still some bits and pieces to be finished.
• Movies watched this week -Ice Age 3D and Love Aaj Kal.
• My parents are coming on 14Th August - so looking forward for it.
  

20 Weeks

• Started doing my Wii Yoga to get some flexibility back.
• Also taking stairs when possible in office and while on Tube
• I dont feel like eating outside food but only home cooked simple meals like daal, no fuss sabzis.
• Absolutely hate eating paneer and chocolates.
• Love eating those cheap Supermarket Brand Choc Ices/ M & S gala sweet apples.
• Visited Devon & Cornwall - Lynton/ Lynmouth/ St Ives during Easter Break with freinds.
• Saw " The Knowing" and absolutely hated it.
• Looking forward to our Holiday in Canada - Montreal/ Quebec/ Ottawa.

Canada Travelogue

Day 1- Woke up early as there was excitement and apprehension for the long haul flight!!.A was reading some very bad reviews about the flight so we were prepared for the worst ie flight delayed by 5-8 hrs or maybe 24 hrs.My brother in law M and his wife R dropped us to the Gatwick Airport.Check in and Security went in smoothly.Did some browsing around and shopped for Magazines and newspapers,cereal bars/ sandwiches and coke to pass time in the flight.

Our Flight was delayed by 1 Hr which was expected and so we were not disappointed and passed time by reading newspaper.Finally the flight took off successfully for Calgary. We had some very low expectations or should say no expectations from the flight so it came as a surprise when the crew turned out to be very helpful and caring.A watched 27 dresses in the flight and i finished reading my magazine and the book "O Canada " which are short essays on Cities of Canada. I completed reading about Edmonton / Vancouver/Banff( places i were visiting ).The flight recovered its journey time and landed only 20 mts late of its actual arrival time.

We were received by our cousins S and A along with their friend M.We headed towards an Indian Eating Place called as "Namskar".There we ordered Dal Tadka,Malai Kofta, Paneer Makhani and some bread.It was our first Indian Meal in Canada.and instantly we started comparing it with the food which we used to get in Houston which is not so impressive as compared to the Indian Food which we are used to eating in London.

Finally we started our journey towards Edmonton which was a 3 hour drive. I slept most of the way and reached home around 8 in the evening.
Had pleasantries exchanged followed by dinner with again some paneer,Aloo Gobhi and Rotis.Off to bed around 12 pm and could not sleep the whole night and kept tossing and turning to pass the night.

Day 2- Was up early and all ready for the day by 8 in the morning.A and i decided to go for a walk. As expected there is hardly any life on the roads.. very different to what we are used to in London where roads are full of walking people.
Then we headed towards our shopping and started with our very old favourite Walmart.There i bought my favourite brand of Cereals and A bought some Jeans.
Then we went to Winners where A bought Office shirts and i bought a skirt.



A favourite store is Tommy Hilfiger where he again shopped for some casuals and i did the same.



Thereafter we browsed London Drugs for a camera and laptop. I was not sure whether we should be buying a laptop but A insisted that we need a new one and he was eying for the new Sony Vaio laptop.



In the evening we dined in an Indian Restaurant "Haveli". The food was OK but not great.

Day 3- First half of the day was spent in watching the Body Worlds Exhibition in the TELUS World of Science. It was an amazing and one of a kind exhibition of 200 authentic human organs, systems and whole body displays.The process is called Plastination,through which bodily fluids and fat have been extracted from the specimens and replaced, through vacuum forced impregnation, with reactive resins and polymers. The result is thus we can see inside the human body, learn how it works and how it can be affected by disease and lifestyle choices.



Second half of the day was spent in West Edmonton Mall which is World's largest entertainment and shopping centre featuring over 800 stores and services,9 World class attractions and 100 eating establishments.We again shopped from GAP/Tommy Hilfiger and Banana Republic.

The picture below is of the glittering glass dome of Ice Palace- The Ice Rink




Santa Maria - is an exact replica of Columbus'ship.It was built in Vancouver and is hand carved and painted.


This is the World's largest Indoor Wave Pool door with tropical temperature, more than 20different water activities , miles of water slides,bungee jumping etc.


Day 4 -We started for Banff around 11 am. It rained heavily during the journey. Stopped for lunch at Earls where i had wok fried noodles and seared vegetables tossed with spicy ginger soy sauce topped with peanuts.Reached Canmore around 3 pm. Checked in at our apartment and then headed towards Banff National Park.We walked along the High Street and browsed shops for souvenirs.

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We booked our table for dinner at "Masala"and then proceeded towards Sulphur Mountains which can be reached only through Gondola ride.An 8 minute Gondola ride gave us a 360 panoramic view of the Bow Valley and Rocky Mountains. There is a unique complex of gift shops, restaurants and a spectacular roof top observations at the summit.There is a 1 km long elevated board walk that leads to a Cosmic Ray Station and the historic Sanson's Peak Meteorological Station.The views experienced were breathtaking and cannot be captured on a camera.









After the walk we were so famished that we rushed towards Banff Town Center for our dinner at Masala.After a very lavish dinner of Paneer Tikka Sizzler/Daal Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala/ Biryani / Garlic Naan we decided to watch "Get Smart".



Day 5-The plan of the day was to visit Lake Louise.Unfortunately it started raining halfway to our journey and never stopped.We hardly spent any time in Lake Louise and took only 3-4 pictures and rushed to be in the car.Thereafter we decided that as there is nothing much to do in Lake Louise we should start our journey back home.








We stopped at Calgary to watch "Jaane Tu Jaane Na" as this was one movie i wanted to watch in London and could not due to time constraints.Reached Edmonton in the evening
at 7 pm.


Day 6- Today was the last day in Edmonton and we were frantically trying to finish our last minute shopping and checking baggage weight as i was worried that we have gone overboard with shopping.A took notes about Vancouver and Victoria for must places to visit.Took driving directions as we were taking a car rental in Vancouver.

Day 7- Reached Vancouver around 12 pm and headed straight to see Capilano Suspension Bridge.Got stuck in a traffic jam which seemed like ages.As soon as we reached Capilano we had quick bite to eat of sandwiches and chips. Suspension Bridge was beautiful. At first i was a bit skeptical to walk but soon started to enjoy the wobbly bridge.We did a quick walkaround the area and did Treetop walk as well. Soon we both got bored of it and decided to go to Stanley Park.





Stanley park was quite similar to Hyde Park in London. It overlooks Downtown Vancouver, famous for its half a million trees and 200 km of trails and roads in the park.It was so bright and sunny that we had to gobble up two bars of Haigen Daz and a bottle of coke.After the walk in the park we decided to check in at Hotel Vancouver.







Hotel Vancouver took 11 years to build because construction was stopped for five years during the Great Depression.It was started by the Canadian National Railway but was finally completed jointly with the Canadian Pacific Railway.It was opened in 1939 in time for the Royal visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.





Rested for a while and then decided to explore downtown by foot.We had a Crepe filled with spinach and feta cheese and A had with mushrooms and cheese.We again shopped at Sears / HMV and our old favourite Tommy Hilfiger.The street was so lively and buzzing with activity even at 11 at night that it was hard to imagine that it was actually going to be midnight pretty soon.We had dinner in one of the cafes which is open for 24 hrs. It had a mix of everything from Mediterrean salads to indian samosas to chinese spring rolls and variety of pizzas/pastas and indian curries with rice.
I had a bowl of chickpea salad with mushroom panini. In the end i had to leave the panini sandwich for the next day.We retired to our room around midnight and slept late till 8 the next morning.

Day 8 -Today was the day to visit Victoria for which we took BC Ferries.It was a one and half hour journey which was quite scenic as there were little islands which came by as we were approaching Victoria.



As soon as we landed in Victoria we drove towards Butchart Gardens.These gardens are 55 acres of amazing floral display which change according to the seasons.We throughly enjoyed the walk and took a lot of pics but i think digital pictures cannot do justice as to what your eyes have seen.





After that we parked our car in the downtown of Victoria and walked along the sea. There we decided to do a Sea Plane ride which will be for 30 mts and would take us around the city. It was a good experience except that the ride was a bit bumpy in the landing but rest was great.



After this we had a quick bite in one of the shopping malls and rushed to catch our ferry to Vancouver which we missed and had to wait an hour to catch the next one.




Day 9 -The day finally came to head back to London.We had to return to Calgary and from there had to fly to London.As suspected our flight was late by 2 hrs so we killed our time by watching "Dev" starring Amitabh Bachaan, Kareena Kapoor and Fardeen Khan on our brand new laptop.
Landed at London Gatwick by 2 pm and reached our sweet home by 6 pm and that brings to an end to our very interesting and nice vacation to an end.

Weekend Doings

Sunday- started with Badminton session in our local Leisure Center.Afternoon was spent walking in High Beech and Connaught Water with orange lollies in hand.The weather was lovely and we enjoyed the walk around the lake.



Evening was a more noisier affair as we had our friends N&M and their two kids came down for dinner at my brother in law's place.We had Rajma/Mattar Paneer/Aloo Chole/Dum Aloo/ Puris/Rice finished by Rasgullas and Ice cream.Unfortunately i could not take any pics.

Saturday- Morning A had to give our car for servicing and i stayed at home doing cleaning/cooked dry vegetable made up of Bell Pepper and potatoes/ bought fruits and vegetables from East Ham and played with my 4 yr old niece.
In the evening we decided to venture into the city .. so we started walking from Bank of England passed St Paul's Cathedral/ Blackfriars Bridge/ South Bank/ Royal Festival Hall. There we came across these handmade crochets which replicates the forms of natural coral.They were so bright and colourful that i could not help myself but take a few pics.


Then came London Eye followed by London Aquarium.Since the weather was so good, the place was full with people enjoying the sun set.





We continued towards Houses of Parliament / Downing Street/ and reached Trafalgar Square.There we browsed some of the restaurants like The Texas Embassy,A Local pub,Maple Leaf-Canadian Restaurant,some Greek eating places and number of Thai eateries but finally ended up eating in a very chic place called Bangalore Express.

A had complete Indian Thali served with spiced yogurt curry, roasted aubergines,tempura salad,rice,cucumber raita and naan served with paneer and vegetables.



I had an Indian style Pizza stuffed with spiced paneer, mushrooms and peppers served with cucumber raita and onion tomato salad.



Friday- we started our weekend "Gone Baby Gone".After a very tough day at work i was not in a mood to watch such a heavy movie with lots of twists and turns.I think i would have enjoyed the movie on any other day but Friday. We reached home late and didn't bother to cook but ate precooked Garlic Herb and Cheese bread.

Random Notes

• This week we watched Happy Go Lucky which was a sweet movie & Tashan which was a disappointment as it turned out to be a movie where you should leave your brains at home.Akshay Kumar seems to be the saving grace of the movie.Anil Kapoor overacted.Kareena plays a bimbo and Saif is an underdog in the movie.
• Friday evening we celebrated my BIL 33rd B'day at Wagamama where i had vegetable dumplings filled with cabbage,carrots,water chestnuts,onion,celery and Chinese leaf for starters and Yasai Itame which was a bowl of noodles with fried tofu,red and spring onions , red peppers, portobello mushrooms and beansprouts in a spicy coconut and green chili soup. We ended our evening by having Pineapple cake for dessert. Thereafter we rushed to watch Three and Out in West India Quay and laughed to our heart's content.

• This Saturday it was such a lovely weather .. bright and sunny with no sign of clouds i decided to take a walk on my street and came across these beautiful Tulips that i couldn't resist taking a picture.In the evening we attended Zee Cine Awards at Excel Exhibition Center.Even after shelling out $100 for tickets i was still disappointed with the seating arrangement.I think it also made the difference as we have once watched IIFA live and kept comparing between the two.
  
  
  
• From this Sunday i started playing Badminton at my local gym in Wanstead.This year i decided that i will be involving myself in more physical activities like taking up some sports..and so Badminton twice a week.In the afternoon we visited Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge built for Henry VIII in 1543.It was built so he could watch and participate in deer hunting however it is unclear as to he ever ventured in the forest.After that we drove towards High Beech which looks out over the Lea Valley to London beyond.We had a light lunch of Jacket Potatoes/ Nachos with Dips and Chips at Kings Oak Pub.
  
  
  
  
  
  

The Week Gone By

We watched 21 and enjoyed the true story of MIT Blackjack Team.
Attended Piano and Organ recital at St Lawrence Jewry.

Friday started with a trip to Museum of London and browsed through London's Burning and Weather Permitting exhibitions and ended with U Me Aur Hum.

The Weekend

My weekend started with a lavish dinner at London Durbar in Ilford.We had Vegetable Seekh Kababs / Paneer tikka for starters and Dal Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala/ Kadai Paneer and assorted breads for mains.It was a fun-filled evening with cousins and siblings and kids.After dinner we decided to watch Krazzy 4 which was a disappointment but was manageable.


Saturday started with a trip to Heathrow to drop off our cousins and then started the worst ever traffic jam i have ever seen in my whole life!!Almost all our afternoon was spent sitting in the car and thinking when we will be able to reach our home.

Sunday was just lazing and pottering around the house.We saw Munich- based on the book Vengeance :The True story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas.

We did some grocery shopping for the week and ended the day by watching TV and some soup and bread for dinner.