The old chocolate days!

I had a slice of a "Chocolate on Chocolate" cake today at Prolific Oven. Pretty delicious and ofcourse loaded with calories :-) . It reminds me of the exam days in Madison. I had Trader Joes , a block away from my apartment During the exams i used to eat huge portions of junk food. i used to walk down to the Trader Joes and buy a plethora of food items like veggie chips, my favorite pink lemonade soda, a big tub of salsa, veg cutlets, tandoori masala chips. One of my exam favorites were the chocolate cup cakes i used to buy at Trader Joes. Sitting whole day on the weekend in the apartment, i used to have a delicious feast with the cup cakes and other stuff..somehow eating used to get the exam stress off my mind..Those days were fun!

This one is for you - Dadi..

Solitude is sometimes a good means to reconnect to your past. I generally go for a short walk after finishing lunch at work. I headed again today alone for a short walk. The thoughts which crossed my mind were of my childhood when I was blessed to have my dadi (grandmother) around. She was the most magical person for me ever. I remembered how i used to trouble her after coming back from school and she used to take everything with a smile. She was my best friend, confidant, my candy supplier and what not. She used to pack lunch for me everyday for school and used to give me a slice of my favorite home made pickle made by her in my lunch box. My mom never knew about it as she didn't like me eating too much of pickles which would lead to coughing. And then the summer vacations which i loved to spend with her. I remember hazily as i was in nursery or the next grade probably that time. She used to make mango ice cream and i used to wait impatiently for it to freeze opening the freezer every 20 mins. She used to put me to sleep for a short nap after lunch and i used to wake up and run back to her. I remember pulling her hair when she used to comb and climbing all over her on the sofa. She used to buy me those small toys which the guy on the road used to sell passing by our house every afternoon. She used to go to her cupboard, pull out some coins from her old tin can and buy me those small goodies. I don't remember she scolding me for anything ever, and i still wonder why as i was such a troublesome kid , especially I used to deliberately trouble her a lot. She was calm, sweet and adorable. She was the best and her memories will always be in my heart...

Yummy Samosas

I believe that Delhi serves awesome chaat and samosas through its myriad restaurants, dhabaas and chaat corners. The samosas, chole bathure , pav bhaji and any other dishes used to be divine at most of the places i ate in Delhi. Especially Samosas used to be for evening snacks every other day and be present at every other party. The second part even applies to US. It was a pleasant shock for me when i saw samosas served at my first office party. Since then i have been expecting them at every office party and well that happens to be the case! But in terms of taste and closeness to the actual punjabi samosas i ate in Delhi, they were not too close. However this weekend i tried the punjabi samosas at Milan, a small restaurant on Abel Street in San Jose. This was the best i had in US so far. The taste was pretty close to Samosas i have had back home..So if you are looking for good samosas in San Jose, it might be a good try:
Milan Sweet Center:

296 S Abel St, Milpitas, CA

Music - Mood Booster

What do you do when your mood is not that great? You seem not to be interested in anything. Music! I think its a great mood booster. One reason i think is that music pulls you away from the world or the present and takes you into a different land. It works for me! For me my mind doesnt sway towards the worries or the general stress while listening to my favorite music. I find myself immersed in the lyrics and the melody. So try it next time you need to energize your mood. I bet it would work!

Schindler's List

Its midnight past and i was trying to sleep since 11:00. Finally gave up and switched on my laptop. Before trying to sleep, i just finished watching Schindler's List , what a movie..I have been pretty bad with World War history so this movie was a huge bank of knowledge for me. I got to know a lot of things which I didnt know. The movie is an enactment of the true history, with nothing altered. Quite disgusting that these incidents actually happened. The movie would leave an impact on anyone, so it forced me to find out some more about the incidents shown in the movie. On searching the web I discovered some shocking facts about 11 million jews being murdered under Nazi regime and their sufferings. Such horrendous acts committed by man which are not justifiable under any plausible explanation, make me think what goes inside the minds of those individuals who commit these crimes. Cheers to Schindler who showed courage and humanity in those times.

Crazy imagination

Today while coming back from work, when i looked up at the sky it looks something like this:

The sky looks like a calm blue ocean. The clouds seem like ships sailing in the ocean, slowly and steadily around the world. The hills over which the clouds float look like rocks and ice bergs from a distance. The wind sails the ships of clouds through the sea of sky, and my thoughts.

Weekend Getaways and Activities in Bay Area

Although I haven't explored a lot of the gold country, here I list a few places I visited for weekend getaways and some adventure. I keep updating this list from time to time to add more places to it.

1. Yosemite National Park: This place also known as the crown jewel of California is definitely worth a visit atleast once every year. Summers, you can enjoy the waterfalls in the valley, camping and exploring the milky way in the night. The valley has some of the clearest and amazing views of the night sky.
2. Sequoia National Park: If you want to see giant trees ( you wont know how tall trees could be until you visit this place), this is the place. Beautiful and away from crowds, nice hiking trails and viewpoints. Has World's biggest trees. After returning from this place, i bet the typical trees we see everyday will appear as if plants compared to the giant Redwoods in Sequoia.
3. Big Sur Coastline: Just drive along the Highway 1 Big Sur coastline to see some of the vast romantic expanses of blue Pacific cuddled between small hills. Some of the most luxurious dining and living is available on this Coastline if you are upto it. Perfect for a drive on a clear day.
4. Big Basin: This state park is about redwood trees with nice hiking trails and picnic areas. Ideal for a day out. Stop for a coffee in the beautiful Saratoga downtown.
5. Los Altos downtown: Small and pretty, lots of local coffee shops. Good for spending the evening, window shopping and sipping some coffee other than starbucks.
6. If you want to see the snow: in winter on a rainy day just drive upto the hill of castle rock state park. If you are lucky you will get to see snow there.
7. Sausalito: A small and pretty meditteranean village on the other end of the golden gate bridge on 101N. Has some wonderful and rejuvenating views of the Bay.
8. Santa Cruz boardwalk: A getaway for evening, beach and a boardwalk if you want to play some games and do some stuff.
9. Clock Tower, San Francisco: You can go around the ferry building, or just around that area, or take a cruise from ferry building to Sausalito.
10. Half Moon Bay: You can see a beautiful sunset on this beach. Nestled in the hills, a nice getaway for a day. The downtown is also worth seeing by a casual walk.
11. Walk the Golden Gate: On a clear day you can walk or bike on the golden gate bridge for a nice exercise and some great views of the bay.
12.Mount Hamilton- Lick Observatory: If you are in a mood for some adventurous driving then a 12 mile winding road only 12-13 feet wide for both lanes leading to the summit of Mt Hamilton, where the world's largest refracting telescope is housed in an observatory might be a nice destination for you.
13.Palomarin Trail, Point Reyes- This Hiking trail has spectacular views of the ocean on one side and hills on the other. You can also see the Stinson beach in the distance.
14.Bike the Bay- This can be one of the most rewarding experiences. Rent a bike from Fisherman's Warf and bike along the Bay , Marine Drive, over Golden Gate into Sausalito. Its an over 10 mile bike with beautiful views of the bay. On the way back you can take a ferry back to Embarcadero.
15.Breakfast Sunday in the city (San Francisco): How about a nice lazy Sunday brunch in the city. A nice hash brown sandwich at the family run Art's Cafe or Mama's cafe can give your Sunday the right lazy start that we all need once in a while. The city is always buzzing with life, and there is nothing better than a Sunday brunch there.
16. Mt. Madonna, Hanuman Mandir: Want to do some yoga or meditation to elate your spiritual powers? Mt Madonna center is the ideal place, nestled in Gilroy hills away from noise, traffic and crowd.
17.Uvas Canyon Park: Beautiful state park, with lots of lady beetles, waterfalls, rolling green hills, creeks. Perfect for pikniking and some short hikes.