People – Our World of 3

Bye Madagascar

September 22, 2013 Meeta Vu Madagascar, People, Reflections

Bye Madagascar As we sit at the Antananarivo airport to catch our plane to Nairobi I am filled with mixed emotions as I reflect on our stay here. If I am perfectly honest with myself, I am ready…in fact relieved, to be leaving. I am also not sure that I ever want to come back. Madagascar is a place of amazing and breathtaking natural beauty, but it has one of the worst infrastructures to allow outsiders to enjoy it. I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to come here. There are no short cuts[…]

Italy musings

July 22, 2013 Meeta Vu People, Reflections

Italians need to discover skinny cappuccinos and carb free pasta! How come you guys don’t get fat???? Even the Italian skinny model types were eating double scoops of gelato. How??? How can Italians have shots of espresso into the night? All the kid friendly activities ( amusement parks, baby dance, etc. )STARTED at 9pm! When do your kids go to school in the morning? Why do you eat dinner at 11pm?? Restaurants don’t serve dinner until 9! Island culture (Sardenia) is the same the world over. We value the same things. Relaxed pace of life, clean oceans and air, and[…]

Rome- Mi Amore, you are wooing me with your Cappucinos

June 11, 2013 Meeta Vu Food, People, Rome, Sights

I have a new cappuccino addiction. At the corner of the Pantheon is a coffee shop, with only stand up counter service, called Tazza d’Oro. The place is filled with locals and tourists trying to edge their way in for the tiniest sliver of space at the counter. The first time we walked in I was completely lost. People were seemingly just walking up to the counter and automatically getting served beautiful cappuccinos and decadent iced granitas. They barely exchanged words but the barista knew exactly what they wanted. I must have gawked for at least 5 minutes before I[…]

London Musings

June 7, 2013 Meeta Vu London, People, Reflections

London Why I Love it Best public transportation system! The tube is brilliant. I have no idea how they figured out this network of tunnels and webs but it works. I love that we just showed up, bought an Oyster Card, hopped aboard and were off to see any nook and cranny we wanted to. It’s a level of independence and stress free transportation that is a travelers dream Cultural Diversity- London has got to be one of the most culturally diverse cities on the planet. Maybe I think this because we got to spend so much time on the tube[…]

Gola in Wembley- More Little India

June 7, 2013 Meeta Vu Food, London, People

How did all the Gujaratis take over this suburb of London?? I swear from the minute we walked off the train we were bombarded with smells and sights that made us think we were in India. The only reason we knew we weren’t is because the roads were a little too clean (but only marginally). There were street food stalls selling everything from dosas to pani puri to seasoned corn kernels. But what made me stop and shriek with excitement was the gola stand. Now keep in mind that as much as we love Indian street food we CAN’T have[…]

Little India in London

June 7, 2013 Meeta Vu London, People, Religion

Little India in London Amazingly, Indians must be the largest non-Caucasian ethnic minority in London. SOUTH HALL We visited South Hall, which is predominately a Panjabi Sikh community. We got off at the tube station and the signs were in English and Panjabi! There is a Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) just off the tube station and our friend told us that all are welcome. It was our first time visiting a Gurdwara and I was dusty on my understanding of the Sikh religion. The temple hall reflected an atmosphere of communal meditation with bhajans playing in the background. There were no[…]

Avinash and the Street Performer

May 27, 2013 Nam Vu People

Today we came out of the Maida Vale Station after a long day of touring around London to the very pleasant sound of a violin playing nearby. Avinash was captured by a street performer playing the violin. The performer was obviously trained and talented and looked like an interesting fellow. He had cut-off gray sweatpants on with a white shirt and a pair of flipflops on his feet. On his head, he had a black derby hat with a yellow flower on top. Oh yeah, and his violin was yellow. Avinash watched and listened for quite some time. The performer stopped[…]