One of the last few days of the New England fall and what better way to enjoy it than to catch some beautiful fall foliage! To take advantage of nice weather I decided to head off on a road trip to Lake Winnipeesauke - an old Indian word for "Smile of the Great Spirit." The largest of New Hampshire's lakes it is about 20 miles long with several islands in it. On the way there from Boston, however, I got distracted by the Old Shaker village at Canterbury, which is now maintained as a lovely museum. We had an interesting tour [View Full Entry]

---

---

October marks the Cranberry Harvest season in Massachusetts, the world's second largest producer of Cranberries! Cranberries are harvested in a rather unique way. A cranberry field is flooded with water leading to the creation of a cranberry bog! The cranberries then float up on top of the water surface and can be collected. Thus, it is a rather interesting sight to watch. The largest cranberry producer in MA, AD Makepeace and company has an annual harvest festival which we decided to visit .. We decided to end the day with a trip to the charming town of Sandwich. This town has [View Full Entry]

---

---

I made a two day trip to the Netherlands from Hannover. I visited the 2000 year old city of Nijmegen. I have to admit I was quite surprised to learn that this was a city - since it really is a very small place. It has a lot of young people around being a university town, but I got somewhat bored since I visited alone and there was not that much going on. However, its a pretty town - the old market place and the gardens make for some nice photographs. I also visited Grooesbek, which has a War Museum detailing [View Full Entry]

---

---

After Greece, I headed to Hannover, Germany, where I was presenting a poster at a conference. The conference was interesting, but since this is a travel blog I won't talk about it. Hannover is a lovely German city - not too big, not too small. It has several historic sights interspersed within the city. The railway station, preserves some of its architecture from the 1800s. The Herrenhausen gardens are a lovely example of baroque gardens - the symmetry and attention to shape is quite fascinating. I also saw the "Nanas by Niki st phalle" which is a piece of modern art [View Full Entry]

---

---

I started my latest European sojourn with a trip to the ancient city of Olympia. Although most of it is in ruins, if you consider how long its been around it is remarkably well preserved. The first stadium is really quite remarkable. A depression in the ground, surrounded by grassy hills on 3 sides is quite an ideal natural setting to watch sports. All modern stadiums are modeled after this one. The podium where the Olympic torch is lit every four years is also in Olympia. Following my trip to Olympia, I set off for the island of Zakynthos with my [View Full Entry]

---

---

At the end of 2008, I decided to visit the seat of power in this country - Washington DC. Washington DC is actually a very interesting place. The Metro in the city works quite well and is one of the better run subway systems in the US. Although I was told by locals that some parts of they city are rather unpleasant the National Mall area itself is very pleasing to the eye and pleasant. The National Archives, Library of Congress, Capitol Building are all worth visiting. The Smithsonian Museum is world famous and does not disappoint..one can spend many days [View Full Entry]

---

---

I visited my parents in the town of Ahmednagar, a few 100 kms from Pune in summer 2008. Western India is blessed with fabulous weather all year round and one of the better parts of India to spend the summer in. It also has a rich history. Ahmednagar is very close to the Ajanta and Ellora caves - UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Ajanta and Ellora are actually a collection of caves. Ajanta is known for its paintings, while Ellora is known for the sculptures. Ellora has about 34 caves in all. Some of these were monasteries where monks stayed. Most of [View Full Entry]

---

---