On the road - and back again

On the road again. Going places that I've never been. Seeing things that I may never see again. And I can't wait to get on the road again.  

I am laughing from my car's backseat - where I have been stuck in the Mumbai traffic for some hours. And then Willie Nelson's On the road again fills the air. Perfect timing! Hilarious! Because yes, dear reader, I still spend a huge amount of my time in the car. Status quo since Driving Miss Daisy, in other words. I still sit there with my mouth half - open: taking in the scenery outside. I still try to be patient. I still try to think positive. Note my "try".. sometimes with success and sometimes without..

Being used to the Mumbai streets packed with people, rickshaws, cars, buses, people, cows, trucks, motorcycles and people again - imagine my shock when we discovered the new highway (going north -south - over Chembur) - and (hold on) : we are sometimes The.Only.Car.On.The.Road!! In Mumbai! I can still hardly believe it. But I am loving it. Here is the proof! See: Alone On The Road:  

Oh. One more car!  

The view from the new highway is also quite..something... Just have a look: 

So, in company with this fellow......

.... I made it to where I was suppose to go: markets, lunch with a friend, and strawberry-shopping...

  ... and back home again ... cruising the road with On The Road Again - which of course now is stuck on my mind the rest of the day!  Time for a quick bite on the balcony in sunny weather! And: Let The Weekend Begin!

Grilled brown bread with tomatoes, crumbled feta, oregano with  tirosalata and salad:-)  

And dessert...:-) 

Have a great weekend, dear reader! All the best! 

COD Heaven II - my online favorites

If you are in India...and you have unexpected guests...and your fridge is rather empty - noooo worries! You see: - a full meal, wine and some dessert - it is all just a phone - call away. Within a small hour (+-) it will all be delivered right at your doorstep. Oh yes. You can pick up your phone and order food, drinks, dessert, medicine (!) - almost anything, and pay COD - Cash On Delivery when they show up with your goodies. I early on blogged about COD heaven, being a very impressed newly-arrived expat in India!

If you do not have to feed some hungry unexpected guests right away, and have a bit more time, the online-order shops are really great. You book online, and they deliver to your doorstep. I have gathered a short list of some of my own favorite online-shops. As mentioned in my Christmas shopping tale: what I write about are just my personal choices - not a complete guide. I like:

• Danzbread - for fresh dark bread delivered every morning 
• Foodesto - for gourmet food, cold cuts, cheese etc 
• Localbanya - for all kinds of groceries 
• Organic Garden - for organic fruit, vegetables, rice etc

• Flipkart - for books, games etc
• Healthkart - for sports-stuff, vitamins, personal care etc
• Indiacircus - for home decor, art, gifts etc
• Book My Show - for tickets to movies, theaters, concerts etc
  

In addition to these, there are a lot of online shops for ... - well, anything you can think of. In fact, you may not need to leave your house at all! But a bit boring, eh? A stroll in the markets or to the local shops has it's charm - and you don't wanna miss out on having a cup of chai with some new friends, do you? Well, you know that I don't! So, let me round this up by sharing some colorful moments from - just walking around:

So, as you may have guessed, dear reader: I say yes, please - to both. Yes to the amazing online-shops of India and yes to the fun of exploring the local markets. Do you have any favorites?

I hope you have had a good start of the week, and wish you a nice evening from Mumbai!

So, what's new in Mumbai?

It is always nice to come home, don't you think? Home to the known and familiar, home to your friends and family, to your clothes, your things and your own bed? But for us, the term "home" is a bit blurry. We went home for vacation: Christmas in Norway and New Year's in Greece, and it feels like home in both places - but Mumbai does too! I might have a leg in each country, or a piece of my heart? Home is where your heart is..

Yes, dear reader, we are back home in Mumbai. And as always: exciting to find out what's new? Has anything big happened while we were away? Yup. A few things. The first one was right there when we landed. Our airport - remember my Chit Chats at Chhatrapati - will no longer be the same. The new T2 - Mumbai Airport Terminal, inaugurated by the Prime Minister just a few days before we came back, will open - supposedly on 12 February. From the outside it certainly looks impressive: big and bright. It will be one of the largest in the world, and the use of Indian art will make it a very unique one. I do wish for a user-friendly airport, and it will be exciting to explore it. Have a look at YouTube here. A sneak peek:

My American friend's first response to my sowhatsnew was: - Taco Bell is here! Mumbai Boss was, as usual, on it, and conducted an anonymous test. Our Greece-loving neighbor was more excited about a new film coming up on the movies from tomorrow. As Hollywood is still inspired by Greek Mythology - we can enjoy the glory of The Legend of Hercules. The neighbor is ready and so are we, and The Greek will as usual - a bit skeptical - check out if Hollywood got it right... Ah, the joy of cinemaing in India! 

As for my own news, I was just at a launch. You see, last year I volunteered for the Communication team of Mumbai Connections (organisation for expats in Mumbai). We spent a lot of time making a new website for the organisation. Yesterday we launched the site, and it is now up and running! Check it out here.
Coming back home, my favorite part is catching up with friends. Getting their news, chatting away. And hey, what could be better than combining the catch-up with checking out another newcomer? Le Pain Quotidien recently opened in Powai, and is a great spot for those long catch-up lunches:

Yummy:-) 

So yes, we are well back home again, and I am still updating myself on news, as you can see. I hope you are well and happy, dear reader! Stay tuned for more Mumbai tales, and take care!

My Top 5 - January in Greece

Well, even though most people choose to visit Greece in the summer, the winter can be quite pleasant too. At least here where we live, and in my bubbling joy of being here, I decided to come up with a top 5 list (!) of my favorite things! Maybe for inspiration - if you should happen to visit Greece in the winter, dear reader:-) And as for the pale promise: I didn't have to wait too long until a soft breeze of summer headed my way....

1. Alkyonides days is the name of an almost non-interrupted period of summerly days with clear blue sky, sun and warm temperatures, which occurs in January almost every year. It is a meteorological phenomenon of the central Greek climate, but also has a lot of mythology and stories connected to it.

2. Ta fota. The lights. Just as Christmas and New Year's  is over, a new big celebration comes up on the 6th of January, when the Greeks celebrate Ta fota. It is to remember the Christening of Jesus, and in a way it functions like a Christening of the new year. The fun part is when the priest throws a cross into the sea, and men and women throw themselves in the cold water to compete for catching the cross. The lucky one receives blessings, glory and fame, and also some money....

Pic from news.gr

Pic from videotex.gr. The lucky one in Nea Peramos.

3. Coffee outside. The sun is warming, but it is not too hot, only pleasant - to gather at an outdoor cafe and catch up with family and friends. And the cafes are crowded. I don't think anything or anyone can stop the Greeks from enjoying their cold frappe, warm nes or the small Greek coffee at the cafeterias. Ever.

Cafe me gusta - our favorite cafe i Kavala:-) 

4. Basari. If you have followed my blog for a while, you will know that I have been an enthusiastic visitor at the markets in Mumbai. And I am on- in Greece too! And as always: go with the flow- do as the locals! So, wherever you see hoards of Greek women fighting over some clothes: join the party- it is bound to be a good bargain!

Only 2 euros- and one happy sales-lady

Season for mandarins now! Yummy!

5. A walk along the sea. Always a favorite of mine, but the Alkyonides days,the lack of crowds of people, tourists in combination with the magnificent light - makes it a more than just a pleasant experience in January. Peace and quiet. The sound of the waves hitting the shore. Flisvos. Love it

 Bye bye from Greece! I hope you are well and happy, dear reader - wherever you are!

A pale promise of a Greek summer

Summers in Greece are well known and highly loved - but the winters are not bad either, I tell you. Ok, the heat is not that on, the beaches are rather empty, the nature has less color, and people are gathering more inside than outside, but it is still Greece... Good company, good food, good music. Greece. The atmosphere is still here, and a promise of a new summer to come is in the air. I can feel it. And as always, walking along the sea, my favorite place, makes the feeling even more real.

The sea - still so blue, still so beautiful and still so attractive... even dressed in winter clothes, and even being a bit paler than usual. Just have a look:

Waiting for the summer to come....

And what can be better after a walk in chilly weather along the sea - than to head for one of the many tavernas along the harbor. Perfect. It is warm, lively, the company is good, the Greek music is on - and so is our appetite:

Fresh fish - koutsomoura - with lemon:-) 

Seafood and grilled fish  (like sardeles) with salad, kolokithakia, tzatziki, cheese,
fresh bread and a tiny tiny bit of ouzo?:-) 

And what do you know?  - in the pale scenery: a color explosion: orange mandarins:

For dessert-- maybe a mandarin or two?  

 Oh, yes, dear reader, the promise may be pale, but it is definitely there. And a promise is a promise. Summer will come, it is in the air. I wish you a great weekend:-) Thank you for following:-)

Happy New Year - from Greece

Yes, we are in Greece dear reader! An amazing Christmas celebration in Norway is over, but our holiday is luckily not! We are ready for our next stop! So, we came to Greece just in time for jumping in to 2014 with our family here! Here are some moments from our first days in Greece!

The first glimpse of Greece - Athens - from air. Sunny and bright. Here we changed airplane and headed for our home town - our Kavala.

New Years Eve started off with a looooong meal with our Greek family. We are talking stuffed turkey, sausages, meatballs, meat, vegetables, potatoes, rice, tirosalata, kotosalata, salad and-so-on..:-)

Traditional Greek sweet - kourabiedes:-) 

When the clock ticked towards midnight, we closed every single light in the house - a symbolic gesture to get rid of all old bad things from the past year. Then the lights came back on - together with the new fresh year 2014! Time for some champagne and to cut the vasilopita. a sweet bread with one coin hidden inside. The one who gets the coin, is the lucky one for the new year. We cut one piece for each member in the family, one for Agios Vasilis (the Saint who brings gifts for the children in Greece) and one piece for the home.

So, what do we do in the first hours of the New Year? Some play cards or games, some go celebrating at the bouzouki clubs and some have a quiet relaxed welcome of the New Year. We are just so happy to be here with our family and friends! What a great start of 2014! I hope you had a wonderful start of the new year too, dear reader! Wish you all the best, and stay tuned for more Greece tales:-)

The sea... winterly dressed..

In Greece we put lights on the boats for the holidays:-)

Winterly scenery and empty beaches in Greece - but still beautiful..