Good morning, here we are on the last chapter of our vacation. I am going to keep this one short *no small talk this time eh?* so let’s to jump right in to it our visit to Mysuru and Goa.

Mysuru

The Sharma’s went to Mahabalipuram and the Chikodi’s went to Mysuru. We choose Mysuru for two reasons, one because of iconic Mysuru palace and two it’s right next door to Bengaluru.

The trip was short and sweet, covering all the major landmarks – Nimishamba temple, Brindavan gardens, Chamundi hills, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary and the Mysore palace.

Though Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is known for the migratory birds , the crocodiles were the highlight of this place. We loved every bit of the boat ride that took us dangerously close to these reptiles.

After Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, we visited the Mysore palace (Amba Vilas Palace). The palace lived up to the hype. Our guide walked us through all small details of this place. While girls were astonished to see the elephant heads, for me the paintings of young princess and prince made by Raja Ravi Verman were the highlight for me.

After the witnessing the 3D sculptures in Mahabalipuram, seeing the 3D paintings were like icing on the cake. This palace is also a royal residence with a portion occupied by the current Wadiyar clan who have rule Mysore for centuries.

The Brindavan gardens was a big disappointment but made for a fun place to take pictures. While Mysuru wasn’t as exciting as Mahabalipuram, we sure did have lots of fun and made so many memories.

Mysuru was special for one and one reason only– it was our first pleasure trip in years not counting the temple visits! Ever since after Aditya started working, we rarely ever had the chance to make family trips.

Our clan kept growing and the few weeks we did get together during our summer holidays were spent doing anything but traveling. And that is why this trip will always hold a special place in our hearts 💓.

Goa

Goa is just couple of hours drive away from home and it’s one place that never disappoints us. We had an amazing time this year around playing on the beach, swimming in the warm pool, building sand castles, getting our hair braided with colorful strings, shopping for silver jewelry at the famous Tibetan market, visiting the popular Tito’s club and feasting on delicious shrimp and fish delicacies.

V‘s idea of summer vacation in India is holidaying in Goa. And I don’t blame her , who doesn’t love beaches? Specially coming from Pacific North West we have a new found admiration and respect for warm beaches.

When in Goa, we (by that I mean my parents, who are here sometimes 3-4 times in a year 😜) always stay in the Chalston Beach Resort. We did stay at the Taj Fort Aguada last time around , but nothing beats the location and service of this resort *Oh I am so tempted to say something, but I’ll just hold my tongue. For once I’ll play nice and let write her “short post”*.

While Mahabalipuram and Mysuru were all about making memories and exploring the rich history of India, Goa was all about just letting loose and having pure unadulterated fun!

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This here covers the last piece of our vacation and with it I am finally done with this 5 part series *This is your idea of a short post? For once I kept shut and yet!!🙄. My sympathies are with you dear readers* . It has taken me forever to complete this series but I am glad it’s done now.

Goodbyes are made up of tears and hugs, smiles and prayers “Thank you for all the memories, can’t wait to do this again” 🧿❤️❤️.

Alright I am off to a pretend picnic in our living room with N who is hovering around my laptop making it impossible to continue! Adios folks, hope you have a fun weekend.

“The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.” – Charles Dickens