Gettysburg: Where the old meets the new

Honestly speaking, I can see what makes Pennsylvanians so proud of this tiny little town-let. For here is an exotic confluence of history and scenic beauty. Tucked away rather serenely in the Hills of Adams County it is somewhat difficult to imagine it was once the site of one of the bloodiest battles in history. Driving along a long stretch of pictorial farmland along the Old Lincoln Highway on a lovely spring morning was a treat in itself. We saw monuments and statues arrayed all across the highway in a tribute to the soldiers and generals who fought in the battle of 1863.
Driving up to Gettysburg-Day Inn we saw the denizens darting in and out of their quaint abodes in the costumes of the 1860s. A little too good to be true, we thought. In earlier times the place was known as Marsh Creek. The term Gettysburg came about thanks to an early American settler who launched a tavern in the late 1700s.
Among the things that Sue and I liked in this quaint, curious little town was the 44th and 12th NY Infantry Monument in a locality called Little Round Top. The view on top is absolutely marvelous.
We also visited the famous site at the National Cemetery where the late President Lincoln delivered his renowned Gettysburg Address in November 1863. The grass under our feet was as soft as felt. It felt good taking a stroll around the cemetery.
We next visited the Battle Theatre showcasing a mini battlefield. The multi-media show presenting the battle is most interesting to behold. Don’t miss it if you can.
We drove down to the downtown area for a bite and on a whim chose the most expensive restaurant- Dobbin House. I loved it because the food was ‘home-made’. The sandwiches and the vegetable entrees tasted heavenly to our ravenous tongues. The restaurant décor has some great retro touches harking back to the 1700s. The menu and the music is especially designed to take you back in time.
A great place for a weekend. Check it out if you can.

Blois: tres charmante

“Look!” Sue pointed from the window of the aircraft circling over the little French town. I craned my neck to look at the white houses with crimson chimneys. I could also see a cathedral atop a hill. Blois had made a charming first impression.

We were driven to the Cote Loire – Auberge Ligerienne, a rather sprawling mansion with a lot of character. It does not look like a hotel per se but reeks of atmosphere. I quite liked it actually.

That evening we took a stroll around the Loire River which was in state of semi-spate. From its banks we could see its landmark bridge constructed in mid 18th century by the renowned French architect Jacques Gabriel. Quite impressive, both Sue and I felt.
The next morning we went to see the Chateau de Blois in the Loire Valley. An exotic residence to ancient French royalty, it was also visited by Joan of Arc in 1429 who was blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before she left for Orleans with her army to battle the English. I loved the castle’s spiral staircase, the Louis XII wing along with its impressive façade, and the Chambre du Roi.

Feeling peckish after our excursions we stopped by at this French restaurant called Le Triboulet next to the Château de Blois. The décor is traditionally French and very cheerful. Sue couldn’t stop raving about the duck sausages or andouilletes de canard (didn’t try them myself) while both of us loved the fresh seasonal river fish preparation and the dessert, cooked prunes doused in red wine. Sue also ordered their plateau de fromages.

We also visited the Musée de l’Objet with its unique architecture housing some great sculptures and artworks. Wandering around the streets flanking the edifice felt great too as we got to see such marvelous facades and houses constructed partly out of timber.
We had to catch a flight in the evening. The holiday was over too soon for me.

Gafsa: Underrated Paradise

Gafsa has to be one of the best kept secrets of the African continent. Most people tend to simply pass it over in favor of other ‘exotic’ destinations like Tozeur or Douz. True it is cities that appears to be crumbling and needs to be promoted more aggressively but it have some really endearing spots.

Wandering around the Kasbah area and going past its butterscotch walls we could see the devastation it had witnessed thanks to World War II. Like a sturdy sentinel, though, it stands tall and proud guarding the town. Situated on an oasis the Kasbah looks picture perfect. On the brink of an oasis is a little café where we had sipped hot coffee and snacked on muffins.

The Medina in Gafsa was every bit as interesting as the one in Marrakesh although smaller. Both Sue and I got lost a couple of times there!. A nice old man pointed the way out. We saw some really beautiful mosques on the way; I was especially impressed with the architecture of the Great Mosque which, I understand, enjoys pride of place in the Medina.

Another sight that impressed me – and Sue – greatly was the Roman pools housed in a rather ornate square. They reminded me of the Mughaloid hammams in Delhi and Fatehpur Sikri in India. Sue, who can never resist a chance to swim, dived right in. “It is so warm and pleasant!” she urged me to join her, an offer I smilingly declined.
For lunch we made our way back to the Kasbah towards the edge of the oasis. We noticed that most restaurants in Gafsa are for ‘men only’. Rather quaint in this day and age.
On our way back we passed by Place 7 Novembre, a historic square in one of the town’s main streets.

We also did some shopping for some delicacies at Gafsa’s main market reeking with exotics aromas and scents. We bought these yummy local cakes and later gorged on them. This tiny paradisiacal oasis is clearly underrated.

Kericho: green charm

Whatever one may say about Kenya, both Sue and I loved Kericho, the tea heartland of the country. The hotel we were staying in was seedy, rundown and a real disappointment. But we couldn’t say the same about the town per se. Situated in the wet highlands of the Rift Valley, it is a green-laden paradise. That green has a rather unique appeal to the eyes, a translucent kind of emerald, if you know what I mean.

Sue, my mobile chatterbox encyclopedic friend and alter ego, had mentioned that the tea town was christened after a brave Masai chief who was slain by the Gusii tribe during the 18th century. She had also let on that next to India and Sri Lanka, Kenya happens to be the largest tea grower. And we were here, right inside the tea heartland of Africa surrounded by a vast mossy green carpet as far as the eye could see.

We started out early the next morning to go to the Ruma National Park. Our hotel had arranged for a jalopy and a driver to take us there and had even packed some sandwiches and tea in a flask for us (earning some redemption in our eyes). We went through a couple of fishing villages going past some beautiful coastlines. The park is picturesque and beautiful like most parks but what I admired most was the numerous species of antelopes, particularly the Oribi (among the smallest in the antelope family) we got to see. We also saw some rare birds like the Blue Swallow, Fish Eagle, and White Egret.

The next day being a Saturday we went to a disco at the one of the world’s best hotels, Mid-West Hotel. We first went to the bar at a place called Urwa Inn where there are some nice pool tables and relatively inexpensive beers. Both Sue and I let our hair down and danced all practically night. The discotheque at the Mid-West Hotel is pretty safe compared to quite a few others.
The emerald greenery of the town certainly held us spellbound over that one weekend.

Lanzarote: Windy and picturesque

It was windy when we landed in Lanzarote, the furthest of the Canary Islands. We pulled our jackets about close as we waited for the bus to take us to the center of capital Arrecife. We got off in the town square and made our way wheeling our luggage behind us. We had expected a small establishment but to our surprise the Lancelot Hotel is pretty large and overwhelming and is also one of the luxury beach hotels commanding a gorgeous seaside view.

I loved the spacious room they provided us with along with TV, mini-bar, telephone and an in-room safe. We had lunch at the large restaurant there after freshening up. Being tired we decided to rest a little. It was slightly late by the time our tiredness wore off. I was all game for winding up the evening at the hotel bar which appeared pretty decent to me. But Sue insisted on going out. She had made friends with Percy – another hotel guest – and his girlfriend Lisa who wanted to hang out at this place called Bar Hook at Costa Teguise. They had rented a car so off we went for a swig of cocktails at Bar Hook. The ambience was quite nice despite the sharp prices. The size of cocktails was pretty generous which were poured out in front of our eyes.

The next morning we drove through the wind along the picturesque coastline till we hit upon the Los Pocillos beach which in Spanish translates to ‘the puddle’. This is a curious quirk of nature as the puddle manages to run off into the ocean. We saw some kids shrieking with delight as they splashed about in it.

There is one site in Lanzarote you must absolutely not miss. This is the island of Mirador del Rio. Standing at one corner of Lanzarote we couldn’t take our eyes off the heavenly ground-piece, beautified further by the artist Cesar Manrique. Two domes roofed in and a restaurant contained within an artificially created mountain cavity make it look ravishing.
Other places we liked were the cactus gardens and the Timanfaya National Park.
A great place to visit, surely.

Odense: Fairy tale land

Traveling to Odense was my idea. Ever since I learnt that this third largest city in Demark – next to Copenhagen and Arhus – was the hometown of Hans Christian Andersen. A tiny local carrier called AirBorne brought me in, along with my best friend and alter ego, from the Italian city of Parma. Ever since the construction of the Great Belt Bridge airline carriers have practically stopped halting at Odense.

A friendly cab driver drove us to our one of the best luxury hotels, Radisson SAS Andersen which is part of the chain operated by SAS, the Scandinavian Airlines. Bang in the midst of the old town, it is very close to the town hall where we saw a statue of Hans Christian Andersen. Sue was mighty tickled as there is casino downstairs.

I was longing to visit the home of the Grimm’s fairy tales. The hotel concierge had mentioned that the Hans Christian Andersen Museum on Bangs Boder opens at 9 am sharp. It was all I expected it to be- and more. The museum is housed inside a modern building. Stepping inside the museum we were treated to the life of this remarkable writer for children. Lovely frescoes by the artist Niels Larsen Stevns, cutouts, letters and other artifacts narrate the life story of the writer. We also visited his little cottage at the back of the museum. “I expect the place transform any moment,” exclaimed Sue, “and see jellies hanging from the roof.” She was echoing my sentiments word for word.

On our way back we saw this rather gorgeous church dedicated – as we learnt from people there – to King Knud who met his end at the hands of rebels in the 11th century.
Although taxis abound in Odense we decided to walk back to the hotel. On the way we stopped at this café called Baresso Coffee on top of a bookstore. The place has a mind-boggling range of coffees, including hot, cold and iced. We settled for two cappuccinos and cheese sandwiches. Pretty good.

Varadero: Touristy and rustic

“This is just… so heavenly,” Sue yawned and stretched herself on the beach. This was our second morning in the Cuban resort haven, Varadero. The beach was next to the Sol Elite Palmeras, one of the four star luxury beach hotels, actually a sprawling bungalow with nice restaurants, bars and a pool. I personally thought that the Cuban resort town was a little too ‘touristy’, if you know what I mean.

Sue wanted to visit the Santa Elvira Church in the afternoon so that’s where we went. While I had seen other cathedrals and churches that are truly beautiful but I still loved the rural, rustic appeal of the thick, stone-walled edifice resting on chunky beams with double windows and doors.

Sue clicked a lot of photographs while I contented myself with taking a stroll, talking to the locals in broken Spanish and taking in the quiet surroundings. It got late by the time we got back to the hotel. Sue wandered off by herself as she wanted to take a swim in the pool. Crazy girl! I went to the bar and poured out a drink for myself. Later we had dinner together in the room.

The next morning we set off early to view the archaeological site around Ambrosio’s cave where runaway slaves were known to seek refuge during the colonial era. With an entrance fee of three pesos we got an insight into ancient Indian rituals and customs. I particularly loved the large collection of pictographs of the time.

On our last day we decided to go shopping for gifts and souvenirs. One of the hotel guests had recommended visiting the downtown area as opposed to shopping around in the hotel complex. We made a beeline for the local craft market which kept us fascinated for hours as we picked out wood carvings, exotic necklaces, T-shirts, etc.

On our last evening we had a buffet dinner at the hotel where we sampled various pastas, breads, and pastries.

Our stay in Varadero was short but sweet. Definitely worth re-visiting.

St. Maarten: sun-soaked paradise

Getting into St. Maarten in the Caribbean takes about four hours from New York by flight. We had heard of the great beeches of the place, 37 at last count. Sue, who loves beeches, had jumped up in excitement at Sheena’s, our travel agent’s, office.
We landed at the Princess Juliana airport which has a duty-free shop, a restaurant, a bank, even car rentals.

The airport taxi delivered us to one of the world’s best hotels booked by Sheena on Orient Beach called La Plantation. Arriving there I felt I was stepping into Grimm’s fairyland- one with palm trees and a swimming pool. Beautiful furniture with great downy beds and pillows and mosquito nets reminiscent of the sets of Cleopatra made our two-day stay very comfortable. Plus, we had this long balcony overlooking the ocean; all very exotic and glamorous.

We went for a walk down Orient Beach in the evening after tea. This beach is clearly demarcated for aquatic sports. We saw some lovely diving and snorkeling spots. Charming huts – called ‘tiki’ huts – line this particular beach.

The next morning we went to explore Marigot, the capital of the French side of the country. This tiny little place with only four streets to boast of nestles rather smugly next to the Marigot Bay. This infinitesimal megapolis packs in quite a bit in terms of bustling crowds, a handicrafts’ bazaar, designer outlets housing the trendiest wares from the world over (all tax-free, by the way). Great bistros and coffee houses make it look very French.

We couldn’t resist visiting that evening the Dutch-side capital of this interesting and diverse little country. So we drove down to Philipsburg where most people speak English. The place is more well-developed than its French counterpart and happens to be a real shopper’s paradise. Since we were not in the mood for any shopping we were content to sit out at the harbor at a wayside café and watch the ships dock.
It was evening by the time we got back, tired, hungry but immensely happy.