Dharma & Nita travel blog

Toronto – 12th May 2016

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Dharmesh

Today was sightseeing downtown Toronto, then dinner at Hansa foi’s place. Early rise up, masa dropped us at their local GO transport station, from where we got an express BUS directly into downtown. The bus ride was just over 40 minutes.

Arrived at Union station around 10am. First stop CN tower.

Union station had a walkway leading to CN tower, simply followed that. Noticed how it was all enclosed and heated, good facility for locals to move around during the cold winters.

Finally got to CN tower, wow, what a structure.

Finished that, next to walk around and explore downtown. The information desk at Union station had been very helpful. He had provided some good pointers, a map and also explained the PATH system, an underground network linking all the office towers in the downtown district. The PATH network also featured a shopping/eating regions. So why not explore the PATH network, into the PATH underground areas and soon were navigating ourselves (with some help from locals) around the network. It was quite amazing, how all the buildings were linked, this was so well thought out. After around 15 minutes, it was getting boring, not much other than food outlets appearing in the underground network, back up on the outside.

Love how Toronto uses Trams, they definitely add character to a city.

Found our way to Yonge St, apparently the famous st of Toronto. Off that was the Eaton Centre mall – our next stop.

Walked around the place a bit, unfortunately as we were not shopping anything till US, this stop turned out boring. Back on to Yonge st, headed up exploring the area, passed the Dundas Sq, lots of people buzzing around there.

Further on Yonge st, located the place Dhiren had recommended, “Salad King”, I was a bit sceptical going in there, salad was not something I enjoyed.

Walking in, the place was packed! And THAI food was the flavour, all looked soo good, a far cry from SALAD Smile .
The setup reminded me of Wagamama, long communial tables, however instead of benches, they had individual chairs with a basket under the seat to hold your belongings – nifty idea!

Ordered the Basil noodle and Penang Chicken Curry. Food was excellent and spicy, just the way Nita likes it – HOT!

A very good lunch, thanks Dhiren for the brilliant recommendation.

Next stop we headed to the Mills region, Rini had suggested that last night, it was supposed to be an old industrial area revamped with coffee places, eateries & art galleries whilst retaining the historic structures.

It was a fair way and since we had a few hours to kill decided to walk it, walking does allow for a much better exploration.

Getting near the old town area, we could see the difference, gone were the towers, here the building were lower (3-5 stories high) and older.

Finally made it to the mills area. The entry had a giant love heart sculpture and people were posing with it, so why not Nita.

Walked around the place, there were a couple of coffee places and restaurants, along with some galleries, other than the coffee shops, nothing much of interest here for us. Settled on a chocolate place that seemed to do coffees and desserts, the requirement was a nice comfortable place to sit. We ended up hanging around the place for over an hour, just chilling.
Overall, I was not too impressed with downtown Toronto, could it be that seeing Chicago first had caused that, not sure but it definitely does not make my list of places I could visit again.

Post 4pm, we made our way out of the area, grabbed a cab to union station, next to catch the GO train to Rutherford station (Kiran was to pick us from there). Located the correct train and made the 4:40 pm one. Informed Kiran we had left a bit early, also we wanted to finish of early tonight, for two reasons, 1) Nita wanted to meet her other cousin – Dharmesh (same name!), 2) tomorrow we had a 8:15am flight to NY, needed to be out of the house by 6am or earlier.

Kiran collected us from the train station, was good seeing him after a long time, first stop was to meet bhabhi, unfortunately she was working today and unable to be home for dinner. Nita remembered her very well, she was at our wedding. Was very good to catchup, she was insisted on us having a coffees, settled on a mocha and ice mocha.

Next Kiran drove us around the places and showed us one of the biggest outlet malls, this thing was HUGH, drive around it took some time, imagine walking it! He asked if we wanted to tour inside the mall, Nita was all YES, however I had to remind her of our time limitation, time to head to their home.
Was so good to see Hansa foi and fua. Last time I saw them was in Brisbane for Vinals wedding.
Hanso foi had gone out of her way to organise dinner for us!! Fish chaknu, chicken and then rice. Good dinner and even better catch-up!

Was around 9pm when we finished off, was soo good to have caught up with foi, fua, Kiran and Bhabhi. Thanks all for an amazing night!

Kiran drove us back, arrived back at masa’s place just before 10pm.

Nita called Dharmesh (her cousin) to come over for a catchup, she was yet to meet him. Glad he did come by, was good to have caught up with him. We chatted for around an hour, by which time he had to go, but that was not the end for us, we stayed up past mid-night chatting with masa and masi. Masi was already missing not having Nita from tomorrow Sad smile , she had grown very fond of her.

Last night in here, tomorrow morning we fly to NY.

Posted in Canada, Toronto | Leave a comment

Niagara to Toronto – 11th May 2016

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Dharmesh

Today’s plan was simple, a car ride around the Niagara parks region, then to off to the Niagara Outlet centre (enroute to Toronto). Evening we were catching up with Rini and Jiten.

Post breakfast we headed out, first a tour of the parks area, this is the place Masa and his extended family came out lots for picnics. Along the way, we passed the falls – one last view of the magnificent wonder.

Arrived at the park soon after, it was a nice picnic area, with a nice outlook to the downstream Niagara river.

Time to head back onto the freeway for Toronto, first stop along the way, the Outlet shopping centre.
This turned out to be similar to Harbour town back home, open air outlet mall. Lots of big brands here, unfortunately the prices did not seem to be in line with the US outlets, decided against buying anything here, we were going to New York so will leave the shopping for then. Quick coffee break, then on the road again.
Masi suggested lunch at Masa’s favourite Indian-Chinese place, could not resist that, Indo-chinese = yumm.
They had originally planned this for tomorrow’s dinner however yesterday I changed plans to be having tomorrow’s dinner with Kiran and family (my Hansa foi from Suva, Fiji). He had seen my facebook posts and contacted me, there was no way I could say no to Hansa foi.

Not much traffic on drive back to Mississauga. For people like me who do not know, Mississauga is a separate City to Toronto, this is where Masa resides and strangely the Toronto Pearson International Airport is also geographically located in Mississauga.

Got to the restaurant around 1pm, did not look much from the outside, however the inside was nicely furnished and well presented, this was looking good. Left the ordering to Masa, Hot & Sour soup, chicken manchurian & chilly veg chow mein was ordered.
Food was served quickly, first impressions, looking good and the sizes were decent.
Taste wise, this would have to have been one of the best indo-chinese foods I have had, could say the same for Nita. The flavours, the spice were all soo good. Pity I did not take down the name of the restaurant, would have loved to have recorded that. (I will track it down from Masa and add it here)

Good meal, now to head back home for an afternoon siesta.

We arrived home around 2pm, and soon after Dhiren came by. He was dressed in his COP uniform, looking very smart. Nita was super excited to see him in his uniform. He hung around a bit, was good catching up with him. Dhiren gave me some good suggestions for downtown Toronto on where to eat.

Nita and masi decided to bring forward tomorrows scheduled making of the Date slice (“park”) and make it now. Nita makes this for herself back home and had brought some for masi, she loved it so much, that masi told Nita to make some for her whilst here – she wanted to learn the recipe.
Nita adapted her home recipe to the smaller quantity of dates that masi had, all along hoping the taste turns out ok.
The final product turned out very well, Nita was happy with the taste, masi was super happy with it. She was like, wow Nita you are soo good at making this!

date slice (“park”) completed for masi

Time was flying, we had our tea and freshened up, just after 6:30, Rini & Jiten arrived to take us out for dinner. Was so good to see Rini after a long time. The last time I had seen her, was in Brisbane in 2005. At that stage her daughter Dayna was less than a year old. Got into their SUV, kids were seated at the back, wow, Dayna a young lady now, and Jordan was so cute, kids grow soo quick, I could not stop thinking about Neha and Pooja at that moment.

Dinner was at “Browns Social House”, a casual/sports bar style place, a real nice ambience inside, I was loving this place, somewhat similar to the Buffalo Wild Wings chain, would be great to have this concept back in Brisbane, we need places like this for social nights.

Food was very good.

It was a very good night, lots of catching up with Rini & Jiten but also having fun with the kids. Jordan was too good, was having a great time with him. He reminded me of Pooja, a bit cheeky!
Chatting along, was surprised to learn that Jitens sister lived in Ann Arbor, small world, that is where I was a week back visiting Dominos International. They seemed to drive down every so often, if time had permitted, my original plan was to drive up to Toronto/Niagara from Ann Arbor – unfortunately not possible in the time frames.
Finished off around 9, it was a week night and kids had to go back to school the next day – I can relate to that, we have the same issues.

They drove us back to masa’s place, farewell and hope to see them soon in Australia!Thanks Rini for arranging this catchup, really had a great time catching up with all Thumbs up .

Posted in Canada, Niagara Falls, Toronto | Leave a comment

Niagara – 10th May 2016

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Dharmesh

Masa and Masi taking us down to Niagara today for an overnight stay. He had organised it all and arranged hotel accommodation for us as well Smile !

Up early, all packed up and ready by 9 am – good timing.
Was around 5 degrees outside, yet we were not feeling a thing indoors, homes here seem to have great heating. And not just any heating, these humidify the air so as not to dry your skin – which is what my air conditioning does back home.

Stepping outside – greeted by a nice clear day, and a crisp cold morning Freezing !

Smooth drive to Niagara, no road traffic – a welcome relief from Chicago traffic! Highways in Canada were just as good and big as USA, we were mostly driving on a 4-6 lane road ways (on each side).

Arrived into Niagara around 11am. First a quick car tour of the place, onto the Niagara Parkway, and what a sight before us, the amazing Niagara falls. It was a quick glimpse but more than enough to get us excited for the afternoon. Masa found parking near the new Casino (yes for readers like me who do not know, there are two Casinos @ Canadian Niagara).

A nice water fountain took up centre stage of the new Casino entry, that does call for pics!

Headed to the food court, unfortunately half the food outlets were closed for refurbishment, settled for Subway – always a reliable choice when limited for options.

Lunch done, now for viewing of the falls, headed out to the rear Casino courtyard, this area provided an amazing view of the falls from high up, the Casino being a significant way up the hills, there is an incline rail cart to transport people down quickly, we were going to use that to get down.

The view from high up was simply breathtaking, what a sight of natures marvel.

Seeing these falls from up top was impressive, however was totally blown away by its vastness when being up close, the size, sound and just seeing the volume of water running through the falls – just amazing.

First stop “Journey behind the falls”, a chance to see and feel the falls from a close vicinity. The Journey behind the falls tour requires taking a lift down to half way down the falls. Being already a cold day, the underground environment was even COLDER!! Everyone was given ponchos – yep we were going to get wet. Stepping outside, it is unreal to be standing next to the torrential falls, not on top but directly next to the falling water. Millions of litres of water falling directly next to us, with no sign of slowing down, some things are simply hard to comprehend, so much water coming over the falls – continuing day and night.
Next viewing was a trench leading us directly BEHIND the falls, they had safety gates to ensure you did not reach the water – which is a good thing, the force of water would have simply washed anyone away if they did get too close.

Back up from Behind the falls, Masa was waiting for us, he pointed us to our next to do sight, the cruise to the falls. From here, we split up, Masa took masi back to the hotel, unfortunately her knees were causing her too much pain and making walking difficult, told them to relax and we would find our way back to the hotel later in the afternoon.

Walking to the Hornblower Niagara cruise terminal was a fair walk, lucky for the amazing sights making the walk feel much SHORTER!

Walking past the small American falls, it simply does not compare to the HorseShoe Canadian falls.

Arrived at the Hornblower cruise terminal, got our tickets,
another walk down the ramp, another lift down to the bottom and finally onto the catamaran. This time we had red ponchos. The top deck was already full, got lucky on the lower deck, front of the catamaran was still empty, good position to see the falls upfront.

There are around 4 boats doing this tour, and I like how they all have spaced each apart as not to interfere with the other. Boat horns sounded and off we went.

The American falls that looked small from the top was far from that, down at the river you realise its size not soo small, generating enough spray to cause a few to take shelter in the covered area on the catamaran. The Captain was good, allowing enough time for all to snap lots of pics.

Next headed towards the star of the show, the Horseshoe Canadian falls. WOW, the noise and sight of millions of litres water falling around you is simply incredible! Nature at its best. The spray from the falls was too much for me to risk taking pics with my Camera, it is times likes these when the smart phone camera’s come so much in handy Smile , managed to get a few good shots and selfies as well with my phone/camera.

What an experience, seeing and feeling the falls from up close – WOW! I would highly recommend this to all visiting.
Niagara falls all done, except for night viewing, this will have to wait for a few more hours.

Out of the Cruise terminal, the old Casino was close by, so why not a quick tour of it now, save the time in the evening. Am so glad I visited this place now and not allocate time in the evening. This casino is soooo OLD and run down, we were out of that place in a matter of minutes. Noticed a Starbucks around the corner, time for a much needed break & my Chai-latte fix. The starbucks was inside the Sheraton lobby and hence the nice lobby comfy sofa’s. Nita taking full advantage of that, took a power nap which lasted close to 40 minutes – she was very tired from the early start and also still sort of recovering from the jet-leg, there had not been much time for sleep-in at Chicago, tiredness was now catching up.

Post the rest, made our way back to the Falls viewing area. Passed the Queen Victoria place along the way, could not resist a stop over at its upper level restaurant, the place had a nice view of the falls from the outdoor balcony seating, and I also need a drink.
Got a nice table overlooking the falls, wine for Nita and beer for me, along with some bread – well I thought it was simple herb bread, turned out to be a full bruschetta, not complaining as it was very nice and tasty but we could not finish it all – this was only supposed to be a light snack, we were catching up with Masa and Masi for dinner soon.

(Views from Queen Victoria place restaurant)

Wrapped up at Queen Victoria place around 5pm, grabbed a cab to go back to our accommodation, unfortunately it was not meant to be easy. I knew the name of the place – Days Inn, what I did not realise were there were 6 Days Inn in the area!! Time to call Masa and ask for directions. Finally made it there.
Problem no.2, the NON-SMOKING room we had (which did have the non smoking sign on it) smelt more like a SMOKING room. Reception promptly moved us into another room – phew much better – thumbs up to the Days Inn staff.

Met up with Masa in his room just after 6 pm for some drinks and “bhuja”

Around 7pm we hit the town for Dinner. Masa suggested Boston Pizza, I was all for it, after all they also served Buffalo Wings! Dinner was good, pizza’s and wings both were very tasty.

Back on the street, Clifton Hill was alight with neon lights, lots of colour everywhere, very different indeed at night.

Walked down hill to the falls area, where we split up again, I wanted to do the falls viewing at night and Masi’s leg pain was restricting here movement, Masa Masi headed back to the hotel, me and Nita carried on to the falls.

It was aroound 9 pm when were got to the falls area, and COLD it was – around 10 degrees. Must have been good timing, apparently the falls rainbow lights come alight at 9pm daily. The lights did give the falls a different feel. If possible, you should see the falls both in the day and night.

Could not stand the cold too long, decided to head to the new Casino and tour that. Quite a walk up the hill to the Casino, a good 15 minutes of uphill battle! Finally there, a quick visit to the Casino, unlike our Casino’s back in Brisbane, the majority of the floor space was given to SLOT machines, not much fun with only a limited number of tables.
Time to get out of there, was still not too late and I did not want to go to the hotel and simply sleep early, what else is better than a good ice-cream / dessert on a cold night. Coming out of the Casino building, noticed a line of restaurants across the street, looked good, fingers crossed. Got lucky at PRANZO Italian, place had some desserts on the menu – that would do. Ordered an Ice-Cream wrap and Tiramisu. Was not sure what to expect of the wrap, turned out to be a winner! Both desserts were fabulous – Dharma was very happy Smile , happy tummy = happy Dharma Winking smile .

We spent a good hour there just chatting, then it was time to head back. Looked up google maps, our hotel was a 15 minute walk, I wanted to take a CAB, but Nita wanted to burn off the dessert, great, now to walk back in the COLD just to burn off the dessert we paid for Disappointed smile . Turned out the walk was not too bad, walking in the cold is soo much better then walking in the heat. Did not feel much and arrived soon after. Time to call it a night,
It had been a great day – Niagara falls was simply brilliant.

Posted in Canada, Niagara Falls | Leave a comment

Chicago to Toronto–9th May 2016

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Dharmesh

Early start today, catching a 9:20am flight on a Monday – bad decision!! We had to deal with crazy Chicago traffic requiring over an hour to reach the airport, and that was with leaving the hotel at 6:10am!!
Tip: if flying out off Chicago on Mondays, book flights around midday or later, that way you can leave for the airport post the morning rush.

Airport check-in was smooth, however the security screening was shockingly slow, we were in the queue for another 30 minutes Steaming mad , security in US is very strict so allow enough time for these delays or you could end up missing your flight.

Arrived into Toronto around midday, Pearson Airport terminal is very nice and new (well it looks new), not like LAX.
Nita’s masi and masa were there to receive us (Vrajlal and Vanita Khatri), they were our host for the next 4 days.
Drive time to their home was only around 15mins, a far cry from Chicago!

Time for some good home lunch, then a break, early morning start had both me and Nita tired.

Late in the afternoon, short visit to the Square One mall, one of the larger malls of Toronto. Was impressed with the range of big branded shops in the mall, unfortunately shopping was on hold till NY, only window shopping now.

Back at home, had a great dinner with family then off to bed early, tomorrow was an early start, Masi and Masa were taking us to Niagara staying overnight, scheduled departure was 9am.

Posted in Canada, Chicago, Toronto, USA | Leave a comment

Chicago–8th May 2016

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Dharmesh

After a big first day of covering the major sights, today was a sleep-in day. And literally it was, it was around 10:30 we woke! The schedule today was simple – roaming about Chicago city in a relaxed mode.

First stop, brunch at riverside directly next to our hotel @ Bridge House Tavern. The place was busy for Mother’s day.

(Bridge House Tavern, below our hotel)

Got lucky with finding a table, always easy with getting an indoor table, locals love sitting out in the sun (am not a fan of that, prefer shades).
I ordered the Eggs benedict, Nita got eggs florentine, good but not as good as what we get back home. Unfortunately these guys had no PROPER COFFEE, so had to settle for Tea. Sad smile …. they only served the drip coffee.

Next stop the Magnificent Mile, passing some nice sights/architecture.

Walked passed the Rosebud Italian restaurant from last night. Highly recommend this place!

Rosebud Italian – highly recommended!

Spring is so very evident here, Tulips in full bloom everywhere on the Magnificent mile.

Finished off the window shopping on the Mag mile, next was walking to State St on the other side of the River. Lots of walking required in Chicago and that seems to be the best way to appreciate all the Chicago has to offer!

HardRock Chicago

State St

Millennium Park water fountain with screen

Had done a fair bit of walking today, still to be done was viewing The Bean at DUSK, which was still a good 3-4 hours away. Back to the hotel for a break.

Was not long before we were out of the hotel and on the way to The Bean for dusk viewing. Like us, there were many others interested in viewing this work of art at dusk. Viewing it for the second time still had us mesmerised with its beauty! It was great to watch the reflection change right before us as the darkness crept in. I would recommend to all if possible, come before dusk and see the changing colours right before you.

Had to pull ourselves away from The Bean, it was getting cold and also late, time for Dinner, was already 9:30 pm! Headed to “Cantina Laredo” a Mexican restaurant we had seen the prior day. Open it was, I love Chicago, coming to dinner post 9:30 and the places are open for business!

A plus on the late night eats, no waiting for tables, we were seated promptly and ordered their fresh guacamole for starters as recommended by the wait staff. Did not realise the FRESH meant, made at the table, a lady appeared with a trolley of fresh ingredients along with a lot of avocadoes. There she asked us what our preference was for the guacamole, what veg we wanted within it. Then it was the making of the guacamole right before us!! Very impressive and very tasty!

Overall a very good Mexican experience! Highly recommended.

The night was not done yet, Chicago is known for its Jazz music, was not leaving this place without enjoying a bit of Jazz.

Next stop Andy’s Jazz Club, only a block from our restaurant! Again we got lucky with finding a good table, no need to sit at the bar! Ordered a couple of drinks, desserts and then to enjoy the live Jazz! I can see myself growing into this music, goes very well with a good scotch whiskey.

Jazz at Andy’s Jazz bar

We hung around for an hour, it was then time to head back to the hotel, tomorrow was an early flight out to Toronto.

Chicago you have been awesome and left us with the best memories Smile Smile

Posted in Chicago, USA | Leave a comment

Chicago–May 7th 2016

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Dharmesh

First morning in the Windy city, looking at the online weather, it was 8 degree C! View from our window showed a cloudy morning with slight rain Sad smile .

Got our jackets on for the cold, and then had to take ‘em off just as quickly, the controlled temp in the hotel was making it too hot! Getting to the lobby, we noticed a couple of ladies outside fighting the wind! Oh my, this place is windy! Time to rug up again before entering the Chicago winds.

The Winds were strong, and not helping the cold temp! It was 11 degrees C, still a very fresh feel – I would take this cold over muggy hot weather any day!

Exploring the city, on to Dearborn st, to State St. Wind was greater on the bridge, what a feel, and what a city!!

Tried to take the pic of the city from the same place I did from the prior night, got it close!

my effort at comparing two pics of night & day – same location!

Walking about, we could see the massive use of STEEL in this city. All the train lines were built above ground over the road ways, with no attempt to hide the steel structures every where. It was quite amazing to see any entire train network build above ground functioning directly over the roads!

Found a StarBucks around the corner – time for our Chai Latte fix! Then onto State St to see the famous Chicago Theatre Sign! I reckon this would look so good at night!

Walking onwards from the Chicago theatre, Nita noticed Sephora! Disappointed smile Time for a stop over and another break for me from walking.

On the road again, exploring more of State St, slowly making our way to the Millennium Park, all along passing buildings with a lot of historic architecture. Passed under a couple more of the raised rail tracks – these had me hooked!

Got to the Millennium Park, nice green space in the middle of the concrete city. Now to find the famous shiny BEAN that was on Nita’s to-do list! Was also referred to as Cloud Gate!

Did not take long to locate it, and WOW it was. Simply amazing sculpture made up of super shiny steel, almost like a mirror, just standing proud and reflecting the area around brightly – the clear sunny day was making the reflection PERFECT!

We took a ton of pics here!

Spent a considerable time around the bean, now to explore a bit more of the park.
The park had an amazing open area pavilion for concerts and performing arts – “Jay Pritzker Pavilion”. This place was huge, the first thing I thought of was how the Brisbane Khatri community could use it for their annual mohatsav!

Next on the list was a visit to Willis Tower (more famously know as Sears tower). This was the second highest tower in USA, and the viewing deck on the 103rd floor provided some amazing views on a clear day, sometimes able to view the 4 states around it.

Reaching the tower around 1:30pm, were informed the queue was over 1.5 hours Sad smile . Decided to have lunch first and come back here post that, hopefully the queue may be shorter.

Back on the street, made our first turn when we noticed a restaurant with a bright red sign – Giordano’s, famous stuffed Pizza – WHY NOT! US Pizza’s are known to be great and so far I had not had one. Also this brand was established in 1974 – my year, so that in itself was a sign Smile .

Entering the venue, was surprised to find a number of people waiting for tables, oh oh, was not looking too good, more waiting. We were told the wait was over 15 mins, phew – not bad, we also got to order our pizza now, the famous deep pan pizza’s took over 45 minutes to cook – ordered a small BBQ Bacon & Chicken!
This earlier ordering is a great idea, we were seated after about 20 mins, and the pizza arrived around 25 mins later, and what I sight it was!
This was not a pizza, it was a PIE! Wow!!

This was a small Pizza with 6 slices, we could only manage to finish 4!! Was soooo filling. Got the two remaining slices packed up and handed it over to the first homeless guy we saw on the streets, which was just around the corner – that is another difference between US and AUS, there are homeless people on almost every street in the cities in US. A word of advise for all my fellow family and friends to US, the meals in US are massive so if you do have left overs, it is great idea to get it packed up and you will surely find someone who could do with some food around the corner.

Headed back to the Willis tower, and surprise surprise, the queue was still 1.5 hrs Sad smile . No options now, lined up and waited for over 45 minutes to BUY the tickets, then a further 1 hour to get to the LIFTS!!! Word of advise to others, buy these online, it will easily save you 30 – 45 minutes!

By the time we got up, the waiting had already left us very tired, went through the viewing process quickly. The view was great from the 103rd floor, I think it was the frustration of waiting that made the entire viewing experience not that great, was more a moment of ‘ok we have done it, now let’s move on’!

Experienced the walk on the glass panes suspended outside the building, it is amazing being out @ 103 floors.

Back on the street, grabbed a taxi and headed to the Navy Pier. This place has a bunch of restaurants, theatres, kids play areas and more restaurants!

We did not really find much to our interest here, however it was a nice walk around the pier. Found a good spot with amazing views to the City.

Next stop was walking the Magnificent Mile, a section of Michigan Avenue hosting designer labels and good shopping spots.

They do know how to decorate the famous spots, the Mag mile had spring Tulips planted everywhere and they were in full bloom. A very pretty sight. The streets on both sides were filled with lots of people, I guess Mother’s day weekend rush may have been a factor.

By the time we finished the street, it was getting Windy and very Chilly, temps were at 13 degrees C Freezing .

Walking back to our hotel, came across a corner Italian restaurant that was very busy, decided to try that, “Rosebuds Italian” on Rush st. Were lucky to find a table after a short 5 min wait! The menu was nice, asking the wait staff on their recommendations, we were told the Fish Risotto was very good and big enough to share! Settled for that and ordered a cognac for Nita, a good drink in the cold weather!

Food arrived and wow it was a full FISH on a bed of risotto. The wait staff was super helpful and took the plate away to divide into two plates Smile .

First bite and yumm, this was the best risotto we have had to–date. Had asked them to add chilli and garlic and did they add that, taste were so good, simply 5 star!

The shared meal was more than enough for us both, was an effort to finish it all. No space for dessert, headed back to the hotel for an early night.

It had been a good day, we had covered most of the sights, tomorrow will be a relaxed day to roam about.

Posted in Chicago, USA | Leave a comment

Chicago–6th May 2016

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Dharmesh

Unlike previous holidays, Nita had to fly in solo. She arrived into Chicago around 4:30pm and made her way to the hotel, staying at the Westin North River. My flight from Detroit landed just after 8pm, made it to the hotel just before 9pm.

There she was in the lobby with her favourite red wine, time to charge my glass of Stella and let the holidays begin Smile . I was surprised by the lack of tiredness on Nita, she had been travelling for over 18 hours, and was eager to hit the streets of Chicago. No point wasting time.

Heading out, noticed the night was not as cold as I had expected, San Jose and Ann Arbor had been cold!, Nita was doubting what I had told her about the cold, still it was windy and enough to require a light pull over.

Colleagues from Dominos had recommended Shaw’s seafood, that was to be our first stop. Luckily the Westin was in the heart of the Chicago eating out area, restaurants and pubs all around and Shaw’s was only a 10 minute walk away.
Walking to it, I was surprised to see the number of pubs and restaurants, they were everywhere, literally everywhere in this area! Lots of options and variety!

Got to Shaw’s, going through the menu, unfortunately nothing was appealing to us, I guess it was more that we wanted something SPICY and nothing wrong with the menu itself!
There were lots of other options, back on the road just walking around, looking for an option that may interest us. Interesting to see most of the shops, restaurants had revolving doors, finally worked out this was to do with the wind factor, Chicago seems to always have high winds and the revolving doors do so well to shield the inside from winds!

Walking about the place, we stumbled upon Imperial Lamian

– asian fusion place, menu looked very nice and YELP gave it the all ok! Only had to wait 5 minutes for a table to be available, we got a high table near the bar, that area seemed more lively and fun! Seated and quickly got about ordering, the time was already close to 10pm. Simply loved the fact that even this late, people were actually enjoying the night and coming in to eat! We back at home soo need to change to this mentality, eating out LATE is fun.
Food arrived soon and did it look delicious! Had ordered Ginger Chilli Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, & Seafood Fried Rice. Food was simply brilliant, especially the Kung Pao – with the most amazing flavours and the Seafood fried rice – they actually had massive pieces of lobster in it!

What a meal, highly recommend this place to all visiting Chicago.

Nita was not tired and felling quite up to walking around, so next stop was dessert – the Grand Lux Cafe, created by the founders of Cheesecake factory. It was a 10-15 minute walk from Imperial Lamian, and was located on the Magnificent mile, the high street of Chicago shopping.

The Grand Lux had some great dessert varieties, however after our big meal we could only manage to share one plate. Settled for the creme brulee. Now I have had this back home and know the size of a typical serving, well here it was twice the size, yet the taste was the BEST we have every had! Simply brilliant.

It was past midnight and Nita’s travel tiredness had kicked in, time to head back to the hotel. Along the way we made a quick stop over to get a glimpse of the view from the bridge behind our hotel linking to Downtown Chicago, amazing view at night!

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USA 2016 May – work and play

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Dharmesh

Back in the USA – this time for work, attending the PASS BA Conference in San Jose and a quick short visit to the Dominos HeadOffice in Ann Arbor. Got lucky with the dates, mum & dad were able to look after the kids, so Nita could join me post my work on the 6th of May for a short two week break visiting, Chicago, Toronto & New York.

Am not going to bore this holiday blog with my work schedule, however quickly touching on the non-work highlights:

San Jose – 30th April to 4th May – for the PASS BA Conference

First time @ San Jose, very picturesque place! The place was not as busy as the major cities.

Had to do the Johnny Rockets Vanilla Milkshake – just heaven!!

My favourite place here were San Pedro Square, ended up spending my last two nights visiting “The Old Wagon Saloon and Grill”, gotta try the Buffalo Wings, soooo good.

It was not all San Jose during my stay here, Nickesh (my cousin), took me to see the Playoff game between Golden State Warriors and Portland! This would have to have been one of my best sporting experiences! Top game, but what an atmosphere, big kudo’s to Nickesh for this amazing experience – much appreciated bro!

Post game it was dinner time at Rajend kaka’s place, always fun visiting my US Kalyan clan!

Thanks to all my family there for the great day and the great night!

Ann Arbor – 5th May to 6th May – Dominos Head Office Visit

So I thought San Jose was on the quite side in comparision to SF, well Ann Arbor was very quite in comparision to San Jose, but what a town! Friendly people, home to the largest university in Michigan, this was the typical non-urban town, they even had street lights hanging rather than the fixed posts!

Went out to the Buffalo Wild Wings with my ex manager now residing in US – more Buffalo Wings time, I loved these!

A good place to try wings with different sauces, overall experience was good, however the wings were not as good as the ones from San Jose – Saloon and Grill place- they rock!

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Sydney Day 6 – 8th Dec

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Dharmesh

Last full day in Sydney, today the plan was to have brunch near the Opera House.

Around 10:40 we all took the ferry from Pyrmont Bay to Circular Quay. Nothing beats the Sydney Harbour views – they are simply amazing!

Arrived at Circular Quay, first stop was the Opera Bar, unfortunately this place only served light and simple options, nothing FANCY! Moved onto to a couple more and finally settled on the Sydney Cove Oyster Bar. The view was breathtaking, seated next to the harbour viewing both the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. However the food did not live up to it.
Either we were jinxed or this must be the norm – if the place has views, do not expect good food!

Post breakfast, it was time for more pics at the Opera house, could never get enough of that place!

Ladies decided to head off to Pitt St mall, me and Vik guided the kids on the same route but at a very slow pace.

Had only moved around 200 metres and Vik spotted Jacksons on George, a Pub he used to visit. Quick stop over over a couple of pints whilst the kids enjoyed the pubs hot chips.

Next was a stop over at the Apple store, this place did put some life back into the kids!! Then it was onto Pitt st, Pooja and Neha wanted to show Aaria the Microsoft Surface Hub. More playtime with technologies.

It was around 3pm we caught up with the ladies, Meeta took Aaria up to Myers for a promised toy, this also prompted Pooja to show me the most innocent pleading face – “please papa can I have one more toy!!” So came my fourth visit to the Myers toy section in these holidays – this must be the holiday Tax when travelling with kids Smile with tongue out .

It was now time for a late lunch, Ladies took us to the level 4 Food court at the Westfield Tower Shopping Centre. They had been raving about it and how classy it was. Well they were not wrong, this was unlike the normal food courts, very nice food outlets – more like dine-in restaurants and the decor was top notch.

Pooja had her favourite – sushi, we had our favourite for this trip – Din Tai Fung! Those dim sim’s are sooooo good! The place also catered for yummy desserts, the Lemon Tart and Coconut vanilla gelato were a good post lunch fix!

From there Vik and I escorted the kids back to the hotel, ladies were still not done with their shopping, making the most of the last day.

To make the most of the last night, decided to first get dinner for kids and settle them in the rooms – they can all be together and we could go out for a few drinks/dinner.

Around 7:30, we took the kids to the Darling Harbour mall for their McDonalds fix, along the way one final opportunity to make the most of the Pyrmont Bridge memories = more pics.

Back at the hotel, kids were all in Vik’s room, they were looking forward to the night – more playtime for them Smile .

By the time we left the hotel it was already 9pm. Across the Pyrmont Bridge to Cockle Bay Wharf, unfortunately being a Tuesday night, most of the kitchens were closed Sad smile . Headed around to the harbourside and got lucky at Cyren Bar – they were doing Pizza’s. Time to settle down with drinks, enjoy the views and relieve our trip!

The Pizza’s were the best we have had, especially Chipotle Pepper Chicken – amazing!

Tomorrow is the long drive back to Brisbane, Sydney you will be missed heaps!

Posted in Australia, Sydney | Tagged RoadTrip;Sydney | 1 Comment

Sydney Day 5 – 7th Dec

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Dharmesh

Today Vik and family was joining us (they were here for a wedding and staying with family, today checking into the same hotel), and also joining us this afternoon were Jayesh & Priya. Kids were excited on catching up with Dian, Aaria and also meeting up with their Sydney cousins (Neha & Paya).

Vik rocked up at the hotel around 10:30, check-in process completed, now to start exploring Sydney together. First stop was Circular Quay. This going to be a long walk!

However before that was time for brunch, it was just past 11 am, walking past Din Tai Fung, we all decided that would be better than brunch! Dim Sims and Kump Pao Chicken with Fried Rice were on the menu. Kids were loving the Dim sims here.

Next was the long walk to circular quay. The first 10-15 minutes were great, kids were having a grand time all having fun. However it was after that Pooja starting complaining about her tired legs Sad smile . We managed small baby steps and kept her moving.

At Circular Quay, decided against doing the sightseeing ferry tour which was over two hours and instead settled for the simple ferry to Pyrmont bay which would still give us the harbour bridge and Opera House views (and an easier walk back to the hotel – a big plus with kids). With the time savings we managed to squeeze in a visit to the Guylian cafe at the Rocks.

Back at the Ferry terminal, it was now time to head back to the hotel, kids were looking forward to this short ride.

(ferry ride from Circular Quay to Pyrmont Bay – the best views)

Ride to Pyrmont Bay terminal was only about 10 minutes, and it was only a further 5 mins walk to The Star. We were looking good for time, were meeting Jayesh, Priya and family at 3pm.

First though, an opportunity to take pics with “The Star” art work. Whilst going through that process, we heard someone calling us out from across the street, turning around it is none other than Jayesh and gang!

Quick freshen up, and off on the road, Dinner was in the Revolving restaurant in Sydney Tower. First a leisurely walk across Darling Harbour.

Finally at the tower lifts, had to go in two lots – did not want to overload the lifts!!

Arriving at the top, the view was WOW! Kids were more excited about the revolving floor rather than the view! Whilst the view was to die for, the same could not be said for the buffet. It was very lacking in variety. Nevertheless it was the catchup with friends that was more important and fun!

Back down from the tower, it was time for the long walk back to Darling Harbour.

Great fun night out with family/friends whom we have travelled with before. Kids had bonded really well with their cousins Neha & Payal – we need to have these catchups on a more regular basis = more holidays Smile with tongue out !