On the roads of New Orleans...

Most of our trips are on budget,one of them is our recent New Orleans summer trip.
We spent two whole days,walking through the historic streets of  New Orleans.
In order to save few extra bucks we always try to use the public city transportation,so weekdays are mainly preferred.
Big tourist cities have frequent bus services so did New Orleans and they have streetcar service too.
Day 1
Reached New Orleans 7am in the morning after having breakfast,we started our tour.
We traced out first streetcar stop with the help of a locale.It was St.Charles streetcar line perhaps the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world!
As we boarded,the mahogany seats, brass fittings and exposed ceiling light bulbs drew my attention.We took 1 day pass know as Jazzy Pass in New Orleans.It is always a good idea to buy day passes because they are inexpensive and makes traveling lot easier.
It was our first time so the bus routes were not very clear,we got down on Canal street.We traveled through the stingy streets of most famous French Quarter to reach our destination,Jackson Square.
It was 8:30 in the morning and there was absolute silence in the Quarter, the bars,nightclubs,pubs,restaurants were lacking their glamor under morning Sun as if they were being robbed off last night.
We had a long walk through the streets,when at last we reached Jackson Square.
It was really a nice place surrounded by magnificent St.Louis Church,State museums,Muriel's and other brick red building with hanging balcony planters.

 
The museums were still closed,we spent our time taking pictures of the large buildings with  amazing architecture.My husband tried to capture St.Louis church,the horse statue and the canyon in one shot.He did it!

St Louis Cathedreal

 

Cafe Du Monde

Live Statue

Tourists were ready to start their day with a cup of coffee and beignet in Cafe Du Monde on Decatur street.I would say it was a amazing place full of life,as time passed by the square gained its momentum. We saw people enjoying carriage tours,lovers walking hand in hand,admiring paintings of the local artists,sipping hot coffee,shopping ,taking photos even I saw people showing their palm to a palmist under a big red umbrella!

The museums started to open their gates for the visitors at 10am.
We went to The Presbytere,the museum displayed videos about hurricane Katrina,their survivors and victims. The tour was real informative package apart from that it also showcased carnival attire.


It was noon when we stared for our hotel,it was Parc Saint Charles hotel on the Charles avenue.
At 6pm in the evening we hopped in Charles streetcar and took a city tour. Swaying along St. Charles Avenue through a tunnel Live Oaks, the streetcar passes dozens of antebellum mansions, historic monuments, Loyola and Tulane universities, the sweeping grounds of the Audubon Zoological Gardens, shopping centers, fine restaurants and hotels.Now also i can feel the essence of that evening when the sky was half lit and the mansions on both sides of the street glittered like jewel.I would recommend St.Charles streetcar line tour to make the trip memorable and worthwhile.

Day2

It was a bright sunny morning when we left our hotel for Algiers free ferry ride.We witnessed  some of the best views of the original city of New Orleans via a Canal Street Ferry ride across the Mississippi River, and learned why New Orleans is called the Crescent City as the ferry traverses the river's natural crescent to historic Algiers Point on the West Bank.
We were dropped off at Algiers point where we saw the statue of Jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong.It was really hot at that time of the day so couldn't stroll the Jazz Walk of Fame along the levee but didn't missed the glance of Algiers Courthouse.
I read somewhere before taking the tour that Algiers point was once the site where the enslaved Africans were held, were rested, cleaned up, and ferried across the river to the French Quarter, where they would be sold into a lifetime of slavery either locally or up and down the length of the river to the new French landowners.
We took the ferry crossing the Mississippi river to the mainland.
After experiencing the mighty river we boarded Riverfront streetcar to Frenchmen market.
For over 200 years, the historic French Market has been an enduring symbol of pride and progress. While the Market has existed on the same site since 1791,with each new sunrise on Decatur Street, history repeats itself: always the same, yet impossible to predict.

Frenchman Market

It is the heaven for visitors to grab hold of a charming souvenir maybe a packet of creole spices,local artwork,postcards,mardi gras mask or just a key ring.




It was noon and I could feel the hunger urge ,when a restaurant menu ,pasted on its window for the passer by, drew my attention.The word was alligator,at first I couldn't believe my eyes where in this earth a alligator is being served.Earlier I had just read but in New Orleans,I witnessed.

After taking few hours of rest in the afternoon,we reached for Harrah's Casino in the evening.
It was our first time entering a casino,lot of people trying their luck,some just for fun others spending nice evening playing.We spend an hour trying to understand the mechanism,overall we had a different experience.

We ended our day we a nice spicy dinner at an Indian restaurant in New Orleans!

A Small tour of Texas

We came to a small city called College Station,Texas all the way from India. This drastic relocation is due to Texas A&M University where my husband is a doctoral student. Now it has been a year we are staying here so we thought to explore Texas this Spring being a part of Texas Tour Troop. Here goes my vivid description about the 4 days trip.

Cameron Park Zoo - It is a 52-acre (21ha) zoo located in the city of Waco, Texas United States next to the Brazos river. The Cameron Park Zoo features species from North and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe. Including a large reptile house, an African lion display, and Lemur Island, a large open lemur habitat. In 2005, a large new area was opened called the Brazos River Country, featuring a 50,000-US-gallon (190,000 l) saltwater reef aquarium, a large swampland habitat, and many other native Texas type habitats, featuring numerous species found within the state. The exhibit is so large, it nearly doubled the animal population, and overall size of the zoo. There were many animals whom I haven't met in our Kolkata's Alipore Zoo earlier like the American Bison which is also known as American buffalo but I couldn't find any resemblance with the Indian buffaloes.

Afterwards we had American style lunch which was also a new experience for me who is accustomed to daal,bhaat and maacher jhol though once in a while having whole wheat bread, thin turkey salami, peanut butter,mayonnaise and jelly is not bad. Our next stop was Mockingbird Station in Dallas for shopping in the evening.

Mockingbird Station in Dallas- As we reached the market, we experienced greenery in the atmosphere! It was not because of oak or pine trees, rather the Irish community were celebrating St.Patrick’s Day. The roads were excessively crowded with people wearing amazing attires all in green. Another eye-catching sight was the pipers in their traditional costume playing their bagpipes, the music added extra charm to the celebration. It was not the end after a lovely evening a gallant rodeo event in Mesquite was to be explored.

Bull riding Event at the Mesquite Rodeo- Many a time in the above lines I mentioned that “It was new experience for me”but really I am falling short of words in describing such a amazing and unique culture,tradition,location and cuisine of Texas. Texas has been famous for its cowboy culture and rodeo events worldwide. It has a long tradition and even today there are rodeo schools to keep it alive and professional. The arena was floodlighted and surrounded by a wire fence. As we had places in the front row, we were very close to the action - sometimes even were sprinkled with sand by the passing steers or horses and in fact felt involved in the breathtaking actions. The performance started with an Opening ceremony with horsemen, dressed in bright colours and carrying flags. All the competitors were announced by their names and places they came from and when they had finished, the audience was given the achieved results through the loud speaker . All the rodeo actions are timed beginning at the starting gate. The whole event was no less exciting than watching an action movie. After a gallant rodeo it was time for Texan style Bar-be-Que dinner,which indeed was mouth watering.

No more adventures for day one! I was too tired and a deep slumber was due! There was much more left for the next day.

It was Sunday 14th March 2010. Attending a Sunday morning service with other Church members, which was a divine experience.

Whether it's a glimpse into Texas history, viewing famous artwork, or capturing a child's imagination, Texas has a museum that fits the bill. Across the state, museums dedicated to art, history, nature, cultural history.

Kimbell Art Museum- The Kimbell Art Museum is situated in the Cultural District of Fort Worth, Texas, USA. It houses a small collection of European, Asian and Pre-Columbian works, as well as hosting travelling art exhibitions.
It has vast European collection, works by Michelangelo (including his first known work, The Torment of Saint Anthony), Picasso, Caravaggio, El Greco, Rembrandt, Monet, Gainsborough, Vigée-Lebrun, and Rubens are included among many others. There resides the only painting by Adam Elsheimer on public display outside Europe.

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (widely referred to as The Modern) was first granted a Charter from the State of Texas in 1892 as the "Fort Worth Public Library and Art Gallery", evolving through several name changes and different facilities in Fort Worth. The mission of the museum is "collecting, presenting and interpreting international developments in post-World War II art in all media."
The Permanent Collection includes more than 3,000 works including pieces by Pablo Picasso, Anselm Kiefer, Robert Motherwell, Susan Rothenberg, Jackson Pollock, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman, and Andy Warhol.

Forth Worth Stockyards - We heard of famous Texas longhorn and cowboy culture but we had to believe our eyes when we reached Forth Worth Stockyards. It is difficult to draw a picture of that retro style national historic district. We were there to view the Cattle Drive that travels through the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards on E. Exchange Avenue in front of the Fort Worth Livestock Exchange Building. It was not only the Texas Longhorns but the Texas cow boy tradition, 10-gallon hat, boots,antique style motor bikes gained my attention.

It was a nice Opera performance in Bass Performance Hall which made the night more enchanted.

Bass Performance Hall - Live Opera is not something very juvenile for we Indians rather a modernized form of Jatra, these days western operas are being shown in Hindi movies too. It was Dil Chahta Hai where I saw for the first time on the screen and second time enjoyed live “Fiddler on the Roof” in Ball Hall !

Next morning started with a informative trip to US Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Fort Worth. It is a 45 minute free tour where we can actually see billions of dollars being printed as we walk along an enclosed elevated walkway suspended over the production floor! The tour experience also includes a high-definition theater film, the Money factory Gift Shop, and a vending and rest area. Other than Fort Worth, it is Washington where the currency is engraved and printed.

Visit to Six flags over Texas, Arlington was a real treat for the child within all of us. Six Flags Over Texas is a major amusement park located in Arlington, east of Fort Worth and about 15 miles (24 km) west of Dallas. The name of the park has interesting story attached to it which says,The park's name "Six Flags Over Texas" refers to the flags of the six different nations that have governed Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America. The original park was (and still is) split into separate regions, such as the Spain and Mexico section which featured Spanish-themed rides, attractions and buildings.

The park has many breath taking rides like Titan, Texas Giant, Batman, Shock wave, Big Bend and many more but it was Six flags railroad which attracted me the most. The Six Flags Railroad is the only attraction still operating from the inaugural 1961 season of Six Flags Over Texas. Within the park there are many shopping centres as well dinning places, we concluded our trip with Granny’s Sugary Fennel Cakes.

Next day was the last last day of our Texas tour but there were still many things awaited on the way to College Station.

On the way we stopped to see Texas ranch in Stephenville, I couldn't remember the name of the person who owned the ranch but it was a family owned farm manufacture home made cheese and mainly Cheddar cheese. We had short informal demo of the the equipments and technique required to make fresh home made cheese.

After tasting samples of sharp Cheddar cheese it was the time to have some sweets. Our next stop was Hico, a small city located in Hamilton County in Northern Central Texas. We were in Hico to explore Wiseman’s House of Chocolates. It was really awesome to see so many chocolates being made, wrapped and laid around you! It was generous of Wiseman to spend some time with us and yes offering those fine hand made chocolates to us. Our troop agreed with Wiseman that “Chocolate is proof that God is good... Very good”!

Trip to God's homeland-Pokhara

The enchanted Valley(pokhara)

Yes it would not be wrong to say that I saw heaven with my eyes wide open - a perfect triangular mountain, capped by snow and buffeted by the icy winds of the Himalaya. A millpond calm lake, perfectly reflecting the snowy peaks and a village situated on the lakeshore with resonating sound of singing bowl and Buddhist chants 'om mani padme hum' coming out from monasteries. That's Pokhara in Nepal.

Pokhara is situated in the northwestern corner of the Pokhara Valley, which is a widening of the Seti Gandaki valley. The place is surrounded by several snow covered mountains The Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu ranges, each with peaks over 8,000 m, can be seen from Pokhara. There is a lake named Phewa Tal (Tal stands for lake in Nepali language), three caves (Mahendra, Bat and Gupteswor) and an impressive Devi's Fall (“Patale Chhango”) where the water from the Phewa Lake thunders into a hole and disappears. The enchanting Pokhara valley with the dominating presence of Mt. Machhapuchhare (Fishtail Mountain) in the background is the gateway to the Annapurna region where many a trekker finds his “Shangri-la”. It is highly visited by foreign tourist for its scenic beauty due to which there are many hotels and other accommodation to serve the travelers and make their trip unforgettable.

It is easy to reach Pokhara from Kathmandu. There are few options to reach Pokhara easily either by air or by land. By bus it only takes 7 hours (in normal traffic) and by air you can reach Pokhara in 30 minutes. The tourist bus is the best option to reach Pokhara. The bus leaves from Kantipath, which is near Thamel (another tourist spot in Kathmandu). There are few airlines like Cosmic airlines, Yeti airlines, Buddha airlines, Nepal airlines and newly added Agni airlines which travel through the clouds and the snow-white peaks, thus making your journey more enjoyable.
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It was a sunny morning, when we landed at Pokhara airport. The snow capped mountain peaks surrounding the valley were much visible making an awesome view. Our booking was in Fishtail Lodge, situated on a Peninsular with Phewa Lake on one side and a forest covered hill on the other. Pokhara is always heavily crowded by the tourists who gather to see its magnificent scenic beauty. There are many hotels, resorts, lodges of various ranges to cater the needs of the visitors. After having our breakfast we started our journey to explore the valley. The major places for sightseeing are listed here:


· Phewa Lake. One of the Nepal's most beautiful spots, Phewa Tal is surrounded by a combination of monkey-filled forests and the high white peaks. The reflections in the mirror-like water in the early mornings are something you must see at least once before you die. Hire a boat and row yourself across the lake and appreciate the beauty of nature.

· Devis Falls. Spectacular, eerie and unusual, Devi falls plunge into a cave and disappear into the earth.

· World Peace Stupa. Recently built atop a hill overlooking Phewa Tal, the Stupa offers a great place to see the sun set over Pokhara. It can be accessed by hiring a boat and rowing across the lake and climbing a sometimes leech-infested track, or by foot from the road that passes Devi Falls.

· Sarangkot. The perfect pre-trek warm-up. Head up Sarankot in the late afternoon, find yourselves a warm guest house before sunset, go up the top for sunset and again for sunrise - you won't be disappointed. You can rent a motor bike and take yourself to the top. The road is rough, but traversable. Great views, spectacular images and a great way to get a taste of what it's like to be trekking. Beware of demented water buffaloes on the way out of town!

· Seti Gorge (K I Singh Bridge). It is a mysterious wonder of Pokhara. Originated from the Machhapuchhre glacier, Seti (means white in Nepali) River runs through the main city area. Amazingly, at certain points the river appears hardly two meters wide. But its depth is quite beyond imagination - in about 40 meters depth. The river provides a perfect view of its dreadful rush before it disappears at Bagar into a deep gorge. The gorge is visible from the bridges in the city, K.I. Singh Bridge, northwest end of the city, Mahendra pool, Ramghat, and Prithvi Chowk areas. K I Singh Bridge is the proper view point of this wonderful and interesting river gorge. Looking down these bridges one can see the white turbulent flow of the Seti through an incredibly narrow canyon about 46 m. below.

· Mahendra Cave. Mahendra cave is a famous cave located in Batulechaur, the northern end of the Pokhara city.

· Chamare Gufa or Bat cave. It is another cave located some ten minutes away from the famous Mahendra cave. This cave is famous for the bats that can be seen hanging by the cave's walls.

· Gupteshawar mahedev Cave. Another cave famous for its religious importance located in the southern end of the city, Chorepatan. This cave has a famous Hindu god Shiva.

· International Mountain Museum. Apart from the above places, the valley is full of its natural resources. Pokhara is pleasant in the winter and has a rich flora and fauna making it ideal for bird watching.


The best time to visit Pokhara is during Spring and October.
The valley is also having an old market place known as traditional bazaar of Pokhara, which is colorful and so are its ethnically diverse traders. Located about four kilometers from Lakeside, the market's original charm is alive and thriving. Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole are the old markets (bazaar) of Pokhara and these provide a glimpse of the traditional ambience of art and architecture of the Pokhara valley. This area with the red brick walls, carved windows and tile roof harbors some interesting temple also. The old bazaar is also home to one of Pokhara's most important temple locally called the Bindyabasini Mandir.
Pokhara once lay on the important trade route between India and Tibet. To this day, mule trains arrive and set up camp on the outskirts of the town, bringing goods from remote regions of the Himalaya including Mustang. The people of this region are predominantly Magars and Gurungs - the hardworking farmers, known for their valor and earned world-wide fame as fierce Gurkha warrior soldiers. The other well-known ethnic group found here are the Thakalis. Known for their entrepreneurship, they run many tea houses along the trek routes in the Annapurna region.
There are many visitors who love adventure and try their hand in mountain trekking, paragliding, fishing, river rafting, and mountain biking etc to make their trip memorable in this magnificent valley.

Not only Pokhara, entire Nepal is full of colorful souvenir which you can collect for your home and for your near and dear ones. Pokhara is one of the main tourist places; you can find vendors prowling the streets, selling everything from “tiger balm” to clothing, jewelry, and beads. Travelers interested in souvenir shopping will see shops that virtually explode with the colors of fabric, jewelry, thangka paintings, rugs and masks.

The souvenirs that I bought for my home include a colorful mask of lord Ganesha, a singing bowl, two bead necklaces, a wooden Nepali king and queen pair with a lot of hand-carvings on them. Apart from all these, I took home some ever-cherishing memories and a wish to visit God’s own homeland once again.