Cassis

Meaning - black currant. Yep, I tried a flavored beer and it was quite nice. Tasted like a mix between light beer and a breezer. My beer run is soon coming to an end and I will be back to my old monk and coke :)

Farewell

We recently had our farewell party here at school. I can't believe it's already been 4 months since I'm here and it's already time to go back. Actually I go back and forth between thinking it has been too long, and that oh I just came yesterday. Funny.

Sometimes it is hard to believe that you have actually lived a dream. 

It's been so long. The colors have also changed. Sigh. 

Beer diaries 4

So after a really hectic week, I decided it was time to continue my tryst with new beer and I went down to the market to get myself some new bottles. 

Today I tried another Belgian beer. They sure do make a lot of beer out there ! This one was wheat beer - interesting is what I'd say. It tasted quite different from the ones I've tried before. And pretty light too. 

I opened the bottle with my teeth again :D 

It snowed :)

The town I live in get only rain. Rain, rain and some more rain. So when it snows, it really is a BIG deal. I missed the actual snow fall but at least I got snow :) I wished and wished for it to snow, and snow it did. Everything was white and pretty. 

Since I didn't get out of my room till much later, I made some snowmen on my window sill :) It was fun. I was super excited. 

Snow is beautiful. Except when you have to walk on slippery, icy roads. All I could think of was to try and get to the tram without slipping and falling on my bum. But it was beautiful. Just a day of snow, and I enjoyed it.

Illustration night

Listening to songs and illustrating lyrics. What fun !

Summer

It's getting colder here and all I want is to go back to warmer lands. Flip flops, Tank tops, shorts. Sigh. 

Gimme some sunshine.

Jugaad

The closest I can ever come to enjoying Rajma-Chawal in France ----> Chili con carne ! I must be the only living person making the comparison but ya it does taste like that and I like it. 

Yummy in the tummy :) 

Recipe cards

The project at my exchange school just got interesting. We are in the final stage and get to do all nice graphic identity stuff. We have to make to set of recipe cards to go into the gift box we designed (my partner and I) so here is what we have. Can't decide what to go with, so confusing. Help much?

Le Petit beurre is a simple yet delicious french biscuit made famous by a factory right here in the city of Nantes. The first three are in the shape of the biscuit itself, which is why that outline. Feel free to try out the recipe. 

Football match in Nantes

I was so excited to watch my first football match in France. I asked a bunch of my classmates, who surprisingly were quite interested in watching it. Some had never seen a football match before o_O !!

So we arrived at the stadium, the one we pass every day on our way to college, and it was choc-a-bloc. Where did all those people come from. I didn't ever imagine it to be so crowded. There were people everywhere. And there were food stalls (more than a dozen) and wine/beer stalls (one too many) and  merchandise stalls too. Wow, the place looked transformed. I was even more excited. While we bought our tickets, food etc. I could hear people singing and cheering inside. It was going to be a fun experience.

The crowd in the stadium was quite large, though it wasn't packed. But the energy. Oh my, the energy. It was enthralling. just to sit there and watch/listen to them cheer made my day. If only I could understand what they were saying, coz it was all in French. 

FC Nantes versus Nimes ( a city I recently visited) Nimes won sadly. They played really well and had a good goal keeper. We played well too, especially in the second half of the first half. But alas. And the saddest part was that I missed the only goal Nantes scored, thanks to my lovely friends who wanted to buy food and drinks. But it was fun. It was a cold, cold night but so worth it. 

Sadly, I didn't take my camera so this is a picture taken by one of my friends. 
And here is my ticket :)

View from my window

Decided to start illustrating again. Frequently. Often. Whenever I can. Here is my first attempt after long.

Beer diaries 3

Another day, another beer. This time it was a fellow classmate's goodbye drink in the city. We were waiting for the other to finish dinner so we had a beer to begin with. It was the cheapest one on the list :P (Students cannot afford to be picky) I like this one. I tried it in Nice too. It is light and thus, not too bitter. 

Google tells me that it is a Belgian beer. 

Beer diaries 2

What luck! We had a little get together today hosted by my German classmate. And I got to taste two kinds of German beer. This is turning out to be quite interesting. 

After quite a terrible day, we had a delicious meal consisting of 5 different kinds of German sausages, some other German dishes and one Korean egg preparation. Oh, and two French pies. Oh and also an interesting chocolate with liquid coffee inside. 

So the beer journey continues. Lets see what tomorrow has to offer.

I really hope 2013 turns out to be a good year.

Beer diaries

So I was at the supermarket. And I didn't even need anything. I just went because my friends were going to buy something. I was just looking at the aisles when I came upon these tiny bottles of beer. All different kinds. Strange and alluring. I whimsically decided to pick one up and try it. It being my last month in France and all that.

And now I'm planning to try at least two a week.  Don't want to sound like a drunkard but we don't get such a variety in India. And its rather inexpensive. Looking forward to the next one. This one was kinda strong.

The year that was: 2012

The year sure was eventful. A dream came true. Many new experiences. A great deal of traveling. A best friend married. Some silly mistakes. Some lessons learnt. A year older and I hope much wiser.

Highlights:

1. I made my first musical instrument. An iktara. Made me feel quite proud.

2. I worked at my first design internship. It was okay. I learnt a few things - travelling by public transport in Bombay was one of them. 

3. Volunteered at a theater over a weekend. It was fun.

4. Made a symbolic painting for the fella. I think the only one I made last year. (must paint more)

5. Finally saw a play at Prithvi Theater and more special as it was The Vagina Monologues.

6. Bought my dear DSLR and fell in love with it.

7. Saw the Eiffel Tower. Sigh. Double sigh.

8. Danced like crazy at my best friend's wedding. 

9. Celebrated a very Basque Christmas. 

10. Experimented a lot with food.

Songs that got me through 2012:

1. Moora - GoW II

2. Somebody that I used to know - Walk of the Earth

3. Someone like you - Adele

4. Bhondhu - Indian Ocean

5. Sparks - Coldplay

6. Mumford and Sons

Some memorable movies I saw:

1. Batman Begins and The Dark Night Rises.

2. The Help

3. Schindler's List

4. Problem with the Curve

5. English Vinglish

I hope 2013 turns out to be wonderful.

Words to use more often

Saw this on a tumblr account ... I really like some of the words, can't say I use them so often though. 

And then there are some I don't know the meaning of, which I must change. 

So here's to increasing my vocabulary this year. 

A Happy 2013. 

A post about the year gone by coming up soon.