My Reading Life

This was originally written in 2016 (as a facebook note), after a month of travels across Europe, in response to friends and family asking which places we liked most.

Faraglioni, Capri

We really liked Capri- its natural beauty is breathtaking although the place seems to have been bought up by the rich and famous, so I don’t know how comfortable I would feel spending a lot of time there (we did a day trip). The Italian coast in general (Positano, Sorrento) was very nice.

Venice

We also loved Venice and Rome. Venice was kind of a pleasant surprise for me- I was expecting it to be this overrated, touristy, smelly (the canal water is stagnant and smells) kind of place but it actually turned out to be very beautiful. Forget the overcrowded Piazza San Marco (main public square), it was a pleasure to get lost in the long, winding streets of Venice. Deepal was thinking of doing the Gondola ride but when I showed him the Amitabh Bachhan song video (do labzon ki hai), he changed his mind!

Largo Di Torre Argentina, Rome, The assassination spot of Julius Ceasar

We stayed near the Vatican in Rome and my overwhelming memory of the place is the beautiful Sant’ Angelo bridge on the River Tiber that we would pass every day to get to the central part of Rome. A group of musicians played there in the evening and the loveliness of the bridge accompanied by the soulful music would create such a powerful impression that Deepal would have to drag me out of there. I loved the European concept of installing pianos everywhere- in train stations, airports, bridges, riverside. It may not mean much coming from me, but I think I heard some of the best music of my life- from ordinary, regular people playing the piano! Rome is also kind of unique in that you can see centuries’ old architectural remains in the midst of a bustling, modern city.

Florence from Piazza Michaelangelo

Tuscany was one part of Italy that I found to be overrated. Not that it is not nice, just not as great as it is advertised to be. The exception would be Florence which is the biggest city in Tuscany. Florence has an indescribable quality. From the outside, it looks like a preserved, rather fragile city even though every modern amenity is available inside. Just like Rome, it has the curious mix of the contemporary and the historical – the numerous Louis Vitton, Prada, Armani stores lining the ancient, cobbled pavements are a sight! The most spectacular view of the city- the river Arno with all its bridges, the Duomo and the Florence Cathedral can be seen from the Piazza Michaelangelo around twilight. With so many important galleries, museums, and churches housing the original paintings, sculptures and frescoes of the Renaissance artists, Florence is also a Mecca for art lovers. My overall impressions of Tuscany might have been better if I was a wine enthusiast (or if it hadn’t been so hot!).

Naples

And finally, our Italian memoirs can hardly be complete without mentioning Naples- the Chandni Chowk of Italy without any of the great food. The place is dirty and dangerous. As a pedestrian, you literally have to wave your hands to stop the traffic in order to cross the roads. We mistakenly thought that Naples would be the most convenient base for a trip to the Amalfi Coast- in hindsight, Sorrento would have served this purpose so much better.

Being a vegetarian, I do not have much expectations about food while travelling, but Italy with a pizzeria on every street corner had a variety of options for me. Plus many mouth-watering desserts!

I was quite anxious about travelling alone in Netherlands but it turned out to be rather enjoyable. Not to mention, it did loads for my confidence in undertaking solitary travels in the future. The first thing that struck me about Netherlands was how clean it was! We had been fed the myth that all of Europe is superbly clean (‘you could eat off the roads’ – actual quote from an acquaintance) relative to the US. So not true! Only Netherlands fits the bill and that’s probably because it rains every day there. (Some other myths were also destroyed, e.g., the elusive, sensual women of Europe- long story short, I didn’t find any! In my very humble opinion, the prettiest, most fashionable women of the world are in New York :D) Traveling within Netherlands was extremely easy courtesy an excellent public transport system. Actually, that’s true of all Europe. Even in a place like Naples, the trains were frequent and always on time. The fact that almost everybody speaks English is also very helpful.

Geithoorn

My first stop was Geithoorn, a picturesque village in the north-eastern part, also, known as the ‘Venice of the North’ because the primary means of transportation is through water via canals. It is marketed as a ‘fairy tale village’ and that is indeed a perfect description for this charming place.

Amsterdam

I liked Amsterdam too though I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more with Deepal (having to check google maps every few minutes was not fun! :P). I took one of Sandeman’s New Europe walking tours which was a great idea- it’s very interesting and informative and there’s no fee-you only need to tip your guide. Groningen was another city that I visited but found it to be rather dull. Although I did bond with Dona di (my sister-in-law who is doing her PhD in physics in Netherlands and whose generous hospitality I availed while being there), so that made the trip well worth it! In terms of landscape, I thought that Netherlands was like a flat Switzerland. On the whole, it is probably the most livable country in Europe (at least among the ones I have been to).

The Dutch don’t have anything by way of a cuisine (sandwich is probably their national food!) but my love for Netherlands was greatly enhanced by their food prices (much lower as compared to rest of Europe and also relative to US (with the exception of Amsterdam).

Palais Garnier

France was our first destination. You can clearly see the bright, fresh faces in the Paris pictures and trace the fatigue (and the tan!) that sets in later. About Paris, I would say that it was probably the most beautiful city in the entire trip (Rome would be a close second though). It was the most explored one too. We were planning a day trip to Colmar but that did not pan out because the transportation time was too long. So, we spent almost all our time (a week) in Paris and Versailles. The signature cream colored buildings with their quaint French balconies make for a very distinctive and pleasing cityscape. The Eiffel tower, although quite ordinary by the day, becomes magical at night. Deepal and I both agree that we have never seen anything as grand as the Palais Garnier. The Pantheon was a big favorite too- not only is it adorned with beautiful frescoes and sculptures, it also houses a crypt which is the final resting place of eminent French citizens from all walks of life- Voltaire, Rousseau, Marie Curie, Alexandre Dumas etc. and the best part is that they have empty rooms which I can only assume are waiting to be filled. So, yes- do something notable in France and earn your place in the Pantheon! There is a Pantheon in Rome too and it is venerable (going back to BC times) but the Paris one was prettier and this was generally true for other monuments as well. The river Seine looks splendid by the night (although the distinct smell of the under-the-bridge pee cannot be missed! Deepal actually saw people doing that- shame he didn’t get any pictures!).

Pantheon, Paris

Seine at night

That being said, I do not think I would be returning to Paris (and France) any time soon. Language is a problem. Most people don’t speak even a little English- getting your order confused with something else, not being able to ask directions when your phone gives up- they stop being fun pretty soon. But the biggest issue was the omnipresence of pickpockets and scamsters- they were everywhere! Deepal has kept his wallet in his back-pocket for as long as he has possessed a wallet- in India and US but two days in Paris and he realized what a blunder that was! After a couple of such attempts, we became hyper-vigilant. It got hard to trust the local people and definitely spoiled the experience. When we complained to the French police about the swindlers that line entire streets near the Eiffel tower right under their nose, their response was something really quote worthy- ‘Welcome to Paris!’ A couple of weeks later I saw the video of French policemen in Nice making a Muslim women remove her clothing. Shall we hashtag this? #Frenchpolicepriorities

Long queues to enter the attractions are a phenomenon almost everywhere in Europe but nowhere so much as in France. Palace of Versailles was especially bad- my one advice to anyone thinking of going there: skip this barely average palace-it’s not worth the money and more importantly, the time! In India, you may have to wait in lines but at the end of it, either there is no ticket or a very marginal one. In US, you pay a substantial price and don’t wait in line. At quite a few occasions, I felt like I was getting the worst of both worlds in France. Stores and coffee shops would close by as early as 6 pm- its broad day light at 6 pm and yet you are too late to get the ingredients to make dinner!

Food-wise, France wasn’t bad at all. Not having had any experience with French cuisine, I was very skeptical- I kept thinking of the scene from Queen- you know, the whole fish with the eyes! But, the many different kinds of crepes (both savory and sweet) provided some great options for me.

Hermance Village

Bollywood cliché it might be, but the Swiss landscape is simply unparalleled in its beauty. If you want to be mesmerized by Europe, go to the Swiss Alps. We had already visited the central part covering Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken etc. back in 2013. This time we set base in Geneva owing to Deepal’s conference. We took a train ride from Milan to Geneva which is a very scenic route. Geneva is a regular, modern city. I tried to get into the Palace of Nations (the UN office at Geneva) in one of my solitary travels but it didn’t quite work out. Lake Geneva is lovely but I do not understood the charm of the Jet d’Eau — it’s just a big fountain!

Yvoire

We did some day trips to nearby places like Mt. Salve, saw some pretty villages, the village of Hermance in the Canton of Geneva and the picture-perfect medieval village of Yvoire in France. If our only purpose was tourism, we would have chosen a different itinerary, basing ourselves closer to Zurich or Bern. As in 2013, we were repeatedly annoyed by the insanely high food prices in Geneva (a tiny bottle of water sells for 5 euros!). It probably makes sense to cross over to the French side just to get affordable food!

Lake Geneva

We are by no means done with Europe. But I think we are done with the art/culture/history part, generally speaking. Never thought it would come to this but I repeatedly heard myself saying ‘I do not want to step into another museum’ over the course of the trip 🙂 Next on my wish list are: any place from which the Northern Lights can be seen, Austria and Prague.