Ain't No Sunshine

Happy times  =)

Meeting and greeting none other than the very yummy Enrique Iglesias (we'll blog about it the moment we get our hands on the photographs!), VIP spots at the concert, followed by a short vacation in Pondicherry! Why must the holidays come to an end? =(

The morning we arrived at our guest house, the forecast didn't look so good. It was drizzling and we heard that it had been raining on and off for around a week. However, we were in luck. The rest of the trip was perfect sunny beachy weather!

The Bill Withers song Ain't No Sunshine seemed to follow us wherever we went, though =D

Here is a brief account of our holiday. Wait up for more ( and better) photos from Hanisha!

Stay

We stayed at Gaia's Garden Guest House, around 5km from Matrimandir. The place is owned by an ever-smiling Kireet, and is managed by the quiet, polite Murugan. Both rooms and the garden are well-maintained.

Left : A reclining Ganesha sculpture in the garden.

Right : The resident cat at the guest house, which sat on my lap for a while while i read. Kireet also owns two German Shepherds and a Greyhound!

Places

In and around Auroville

Driving around on a rickety Kinetic Honda, we explored Auroville on two of the three days.

We saw the usual sights in Auroville, ate at the canteen, walked around the Visitors' Center, tried on clothes at the boutique (some nice, some bizarre), the Solar Kitchen, Bharat Nivas, and some of the other buildings located on the interior as well.

Visitors' Center

 Pictures taken at Arka Guest House

   I wish we were hungrier when we visited the cafe atop the Solar Kitchen, the menu looked pretty nice and the place looked perfect to nibble on something and just.....chill.

Beach 

A visit to Quiet Beach left us slightly disappointed. Though the beach is quite clean, the attitude of the locals around ruins the beach experience.

French Colony, Pondicherry

We spent a long afternoon walking around the French Colony. There were a lot of lovely old buildings. The area is a visual treat, with greenery punctuating the colorful facades. Renting a bicycle to go around the town is advisable, we got pretty tired walking around. It is quite easy to find one's way around, thanks to the grid arrangement of the streets.

Food

Ah, the food *sigh*

Farm Fresh

Auroville Canteen:

The display counter in the morning hours leave much to be desired in terms of variety.

However,  the lunch menu is substantial and the food is tasty.

A mention must be made of the incredible hot coffee and the gloriously fluffy mashed potatoes accompanying some lunch items. Two thumbs up.

Farm Fresh: 

Laidback ambience, eclectic music, bold colors, fun crowd.

Nice coffee tart and olive pasta salad. Satisfying value for money.

Tantos: 

View from Le Cafe

We saw so many pizza outlets in the area! I definitely recommend this one. Exceptional pizza, go for it! 

New Pizzeria: 

Generous quantity for money, 6/10 on taste.

Le Cafe: 

Priceless view, situated bang on the beach! Great food as well. Nice veg. burger, nice fries.

Promenade: 

Also has a great beach view. The air conditioning is a relief in the sweltering afternoon sun.

Villa Shanti

Villa Shanti: 

This one is a cracker! Thanks a bunch for the recommendation, Joie de Vivre!

Located on Rue Suffren off Lal Bahadur Shastri Road, we absolutely loved this place.

Delightfully designed, this place is perfect for lounging around, flipping through magazines over a meal.

We took a look at some of the rooms here, each one is deliciously quirky, with details like lungi curtains or Karaikudi tile flooring or the use of vetiver as a room freshener.

All in all, a pretty great trip. Interesting places, people and food!

Here's to many more! =)