Posted on by adusija

Transitioning back to normalcy

We’ve now been back to the Bay Area for a month and everyone asks us how it feels to be back to the real world. It’s honestly been wonderful to be back in the Bay Area – we’ve traveled all over the world to 20 countries during our journey, but the Bay Area holds its own in terms of beauty, weather (even though it’s been cold and rainy), food and drive. If anything, we appreciate it even more than we did before. It’s been nice to not have to rush back to work that was waiting for us, and slowly transition back to normalcy. Anjali did a fantastic job in taking the lead to make sure our transition was smooth by getting us a very nice, home-like serviced condo in Corte Madera on a creek overlooking Mt. Tamalpais. It feels like so much space even though it’s small, since we’ve either been in hotel rooms or at our parents’ place. We put the kids back in the same school as earlier in Sausalito, and they were excited to be reunited (Ariana never did go to school before our sabbatical but she went to drop off and pick up Ayaan that made her very familiar). We drove Ayaan through our old home and he burst out laughing as memories rushed to him. With the kids in school, Anjali and I got some “us time” to have a romantic lunch, hike the headlands or do an adult-trip to wine country. It’s been fantastic to reconnect with good friends who’ve helped us out by keeping our car or storing our stuff. For the kids, reconnecting with memories at the BADM museum and local parks has been amazing to watch.

Most importantly, Anjali was able to secure a job she feels extremely passionate about in SF at a company called Autocamp that focuses on outdoor luxury camping. With that we are super excited that we’ll be staying in the bay area and in fact ironically will land back in Sausalito at a similar home to the one he had earlier. I love Sausalito and couldn’t be happier than to spend another year in this amazing quaint town. Things are coming together well and I can now focus my search on finding something I feel passionate about.

Even though our international travels came to an end when we arrived in the bay, we’ve continued to sneak in short getaways to enjoy what Northern California has to offer. We spent MLK at the Westin in Napa on a rainy day as we visited our favorite Duckhorn and Paraduxx wineries with good friends and ate at my beloved Bottega. Honig was new for us but the kid friendliness made the experience fantastic. Since our travels were optimized so it was summer the entire time, we drove up to Tahoe for a night and stayed at the amazing Ritz Carlton to have the kids experience snow for the first time. They absolutely loved it making snowmen, snow angels, throwing snow balls, ice skating and taking the gondola (another unusual word added to Ariana’s vocabulary). The heated pool was very relaxing and even though we forgot their floats, the kids really enjoyed it and even made a new friend called Tessa. For Presidents’ Day, we drove up to Anderson Valley to our all-time favorite Goldeneye and enjoyed some indoor pool and hot tub time with the kids. California is just so fantastic!

Posted on by adusija

Tuscany

Tuscany was the only place in our entire trip that Gaurav and I had been to together, but had always wanted to return, and so we decided to repeat! A short drive from Florence, and we entered the beautiful town of San Gimignano. The heat was oppressive though, and the kids weren’t cooperating. Surprisingly and much to our dismay, Ayaan has developed somewhat of an aversion to pizza which made meal time challenging. And then, when we asked Ayaan to stop being on the phone once lunch was served, he uttered the dreaded bad word. And for that moment, the heat combined with the tantrum made me wonder whether coming to Tuscany (and the entire trip in general) was a good idea. We retreated to our agriturismo and after an unsuccessful attempt at getting the kids to nap, spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool overlooking the sprawling vineyards. The kids eventually had a late nap and Gaurav and I decided to leverage the opportunity to enjoy dinner without the kids at a beautiful restaurant back in the town of San Gimignano. We tried the pici – a simple spaghetti with garlic and the dessert Ive long craved since I left Italy – a chocolate panna cotta…that first bite, and it made me feel for that moment, that coming back to Tuscany (and the trip in general) was all worth it!

The next morning, we were off to a better start. We drove to Chianti for our appointment at Antinori, extremely excited to be visiting the ‘alma mater’ of one of our favorites – Tignanello. The winery was exceptionally stunning – founded back in the 14th century, it underwent a 100 million upgrade in 2012. From the wine making process and equipment to the tasting rooms and experience and of course, the wines itself, we were blown away! Following the tour and tasting, we enjoyed a fantastic lunch overlooking the vineyards and left several bottles of wine later.

Our next stop was Amorelli where a very friendly server talked us through a wine, olive oil and balsamic tasting paired with cheese, prosciutto and olives. We were surprised to learn that balsamic was the most expensive item on their menu (the best, and what Italians consider only real balsamic) is made only from grapes and aged for 10-36 years. Wow! That evening, in anticipation of Ariana’s second birthday, we went to a toy store to buy her gifts. We were pleased to find a wonderful kids play area above, complete with bouncy houses, water play, slides, ball houses and much more! The kids spent a fantastic hour there playing with each other and local kids. It’s fascinating to see that kids don’t really need to speak the same language to have a blast.

The next morning, Ariana opened her gifts and was thrilled with her new walking/talking (albeit in Italian) doggie and baby stroller. We then drove to Montalcino because we love Brunellos! We started at Altesino and then headed to Barbi for lunch where the kids enjoyed playing outdoors with their new toys. Our last stop was Banfi where I was excited to see the association with Cornell’s Hotel School #hotelieforlife. That evening, Gaurav had reserved a table at a wonderful terrace overlooking he vineyards to celebrate Ariana’s birthday. We started off by allowing her to open her bubbles and entertain herself until the food arrived. After a dinner of chicken and French fries, she devoured a panna cotta while we all sang to her. Later that evening, the kids enjoyed coconut gelato in the square before calling it a night. happy Birthday Ariana – we love you!

Being a part of Ariana’s exponential growth over the past six weeks has been particularly gratifying for us. Traveling with kids isn’t always easy but, for us, it’s been so worth it!

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Firenze (or Florence)

Our second stop in our favorite Italy was in the city of Florence. After a straightforward 4 hour drive, we arrived at the riverfront Westin Excelsior. At this point we’ve driven more then 5,000km on the journey and I am so proud of Ayaan and Ariana for being fantastic on the drives. It was my first time in Florence and it was quite different than what I had expected. It was quaint, sleepy, romantic and historic with an incredible skyline and amazing food (which I expected). The hotel was majestic and smelt really nice and most importantly the staff were super nice to the kids unlike in France or Switzerland.

After checking in, I first got a much needed haircut at a local barber. We then walked along the river passing the famous bridges until we came upon the Ponte Vecchio – initially we weren’t blown away by this bridge but only after looking at it for sometime did the beauty sink in – and the amazing architecture where they actually have houses and shops on a bridge! We then strolled to the nearby Piazza degli Uffizi, after getting some tiramisu gelato. We spent ample time in the Piazza della Signoria with the open air sculptures, the over arching Palazzo Vecchio and the buzzing square. Ariana loved her time saying Hi Horsey to the horse carriages and looking at the lion sculptures. We then walked to the Cathedral di Santa Maria with its tile outdoors. The kids had done enough sightseeing so we treated them to the carousel in one of the squares, before they were too tired and threw tantrums that required us to call it a night.

We woke up late the second morning and took a taxi to Piazza Michealangelo that offered sweeping views of Firenze and it’s skyline. We relaxed with a glass of Prosseco as Ayaan played with the stroller and Ariana was amused by the birdies. We then took a bus to Mercato San Lorenzo – a huge marketplace with the freshest ingredients and restaurants to devour. We had a simple Spagehtti Carbonara with our Brunello followed up with a Tiramisu. We were too tired from the food and heat, and we decided to nap back in our hotel.

When we woke up, we went to the rooftop bar of the hotel with amazing views of the main monuments. Anjali and I were excited since it was date night and we had a babysitter coming! After getting the kids set with some Indian food in the room, we walked over to a rooftop bar about 10 mins from the hotel. The weather got really nice in the evening and it was a perfect setting. We wrapped up the night with a delicious meal at Caffe dell’Oro. Starting with a tempura style fried vegetables along with a Brunello, followed by a yummy pasta and risotto, and ending with a local Tiramisu with hot coffee poured over it and a Moscato. Perfect end to a romantic couple of days in Firenze!

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Bordeaux

We spent our first day in France, our 3rd country of the trip and new to both kids, in the city of Bordeaux, kicking it off with Croque Monsieurs and a local red blend at a cafe. Next the kids enjoyed sitting on the carousel. We walked to the main square where the kids had a blast splashing in the water at the city’s ‘mirror wall’. It was adorable watching the kids run around in their underwear and diaper in the water in front of the river and Bordeaux architecture.

We then checked in to Domaine de Mercade, a chateau converted into a BnB, and enjoyed some time playing in their large yard with their lovely dog, Dayton. We went to a nearby pizzeria for dinner and retreated for the night while Gaurav watched Croatia beat England in he semi finals. The next morning, we went to the Saint Emilion region, and started off with a tour and tasting at La Gaffelierre, a premier grand cru chateau dating back to the 11th century. We enjoyed Merlot and Cabernet Franc blends while kids munched on the breadsticks. We enjoyed steak tartare, poached eggs with foie gras and sea bream with chorizo at a restaurant called Lord et Bouchon. The town of Saint Emilion is charming and very quaint with lots of wine stores and restaurants. Our next appointment was in Chateau Tournfeuille in Pomerol. Pomerol and Saint Emilion are known for their Merlot and Cabernet Franc blends. We had dinner at a small creperie in a nearby village before retreating back to our chateau.

We drove to the Medoc region (“the middle land”) on our last day that is well known for its Cabernet Souvignon blends. We started in the beautiful property of Chateau Dauzak in the town of Margaux. The kids enjoyed the sprawling gardens, fountains, sheep and automatic lawn mowers. After our wine tasting (with a self guided walk) we stopped at the La Garre Gourmand (or the gourmet station) for lunch. It was a cute little outdoor restaurant right next to the train tracks and with two 5 month old bunnies. We had our final tasting at Chateau Ferreire before hearing back to our chateau where we sat in the garden, played with Dayton, drank a bottle of wine while the kids played on the trampoline. We didn’t have a great dinner experience since the host was being too snooty with the kids. Overall we loved our experience at the chateau, but from a wine perspective realized we are too spoilt by the amazing Napa and Sonoma wines and the relaxing tasting experiences there. Onto Lyon, our second and last stop in France.

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First stop: Porto

Portugal is our first stop on our journey! It’s Ayaan’s 14th country and Ariana’s 10th; it’s also the first time for us. We made it here via EWR and two tiring flights and as expected it was where we got over our jet lag – luckily no more of that for 2.5 months. No better way to spend Father’s Day but to kick of our trip with the two little wanderers.

After checking in to the Sheraton Porto and a nice long siesta, we spent the evening on the Port wine side of the Duoro river. Nothing better than some Tawny and Ruby with some grilled octopus and spaghetti carbonara after a long day. A further treat was watching Brazil play in the square (The Portuguese are big fans since Brazil was a colony).

Our 2nd day started at 2pm (thank you jet lag) with a walk in the art district and the historical part of town including many churches and Ayaan’s favorite spot – the train station that has amazing tile murals. In fact the architecture is stunning in Porto with tile covered edifices and the 6 bridges across the river. Our favorite stop of the day was a truffle and port cave experience that we stumbled upon in a little alley in the historic district called Chocolataria Equador .

We spent the evening taking a boat ride, hanging out in the square watching musicians, walking over the famous bridge and drinking some port wine while the kids had a late nap. We met a lovely couple from the States who’d now made Burma their home and enjoyed sharing our life and travel experiences. Our last stop for the night was a children’s park with the most fantastic view that was extremely crowded for 10pm!

On Tuesday, June 18th we leased a white Peugeot 308 – the leasing experience was fantastic and I drove away with a brand new car with all coverage for the next 55 days. Our first trip in the car was a day trip to Duoro Valley – our first wine region of this trip. We visited one winery called Quinto do Vallado and it included a short tour of the Portuguese barrels where Port wine is stored and an elaborate tasting in a cave including white, red and port wines. Our final stop was at the stunning Six Senses where we enjoyed a lunch of Portuguese rice with chicken while appreciating the magnificent view. We finished our Porto experience with a stroll on the beach and grilled octopus and prawns with rice paired with a Tawny port at 5 Oceanos. Onto Lisbon tomorrow and looking forward to reuniting with Anjali’s family! – Gaurav