Saral Gupta

Alaska

noreply@blogger.com (Saral Gupta) — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 05:58:00 +0000

Home of the North Star,

I roam the night sky

as well as the north woods.

Nothing escapes me.

They have called me

Owner of the Earth,

Pride of the Woodland,

Forest Apple, Light Foot,

believing my strength flows

from a secret honey in my paws.

What they do not know

who worship me in fear

is the hunger:

the immensity of the search.

San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Saral Gupta) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 04:52:00 +0000

After a long time today I feel I want to pen down something on my blog again and what best could I write about but my recent travel to San Francisco.

A famous Dutch proverb goes something like this “He who is outside his door already has the hardest part of his journey behind him”. My life has been like this, I love to travel, I dream of the places that I want to go; there were many places in my bucket list and this one was on the top of it. Sometime back I had read about San Francisco in a traveler’s magazine; seen the pictures of its steep rolling hills, electric mix of architecture, the Golden Gate and the cable car and since then I always felt like a burning desire to visit the city. So it all started and I made arrangements for our travel to San Francisco. Our battered suitcases were out again, and I was most happy to visit this city than any other.

We reached the city around mid afternoon and that night we relaxed in our hotel at San Mateo. I was up early the next morning, anxious to go to the Fisherman’s wharf and take our Grayline tour to the Napa valley. When we reached downtown we had our first glimpse of the heart of the city, my vivid imagination of the steep roads, the vibrant colors and the different piers. The Grayline tour was a full day tour starting at 9:15 am and ended around 6:30 pm. The tour took us to three different Wineries – Jacuzzi, Cline and an Organic winery. I never know there was an art to cherish the taste of a wine. A tip to all Wine lovers – hold the wine glass by its stem not by the bowl. Your body heat warms the wine when you hold the wine glass by the bowl and as you know wine tastes best when it is chilled. Napa valley is very beautiful and has a very interesting history about Wine production, how it first started there, how the wine plants were imported from across Europe. I would definitely recommend the tour to anyone who is interested in knowing the history about San Francisco and Napa Valley; of course there is an added advantage that you do not have to drive after tasting to much wine.

Frank Herbert said, “Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken”. San Francisco has exactly this to offer. Our next day was kicked off by taking another Grayline Trolley tour of San Francisco. It is a 2 hour long tour which takes you through Chinatown, close to the Crooked Lane, to the Victorian style house, stops at the Golden gate. Golden Gate is majestic. It comes to life when you see it in front of you. Our next activity was the Red and White fleet cruise which took us to both the bridges and the Alcatraz Island. San Francisco has rich history and Alcatraz is a part of it and a must see in your trip.

On Fisherman’s wharf there are lots of nice places to eat and one I recommend is the Stinking Rose, the all Garlic Restaurant close to Fisherman’s wharf. Try the Garlic Ice cream it’s quite the unexpected.

The California Academy of Sciences is also a must see place in San Francisco. Make sure to visit its Planetarium and Rainforest. We watched the show Dinosaurs there. On your way back from the Academy you can drive to the Crooked Street, btw the address to crooked street is

1000 Lombard St, San Francisco, CA 94133

This evening we drove to Palo Alto to meet a friend and had dinner at a Mediterranean Place. There are many fine dining options in Palo Alto.

Day 4 of our trip we drove to Lake Tahoe from San Francisco. This is another beautiful drive and Lake Tahoe is overwhelmingly beautiful. Made me remember of Kashmir where between the hills we have a serene lake. Lake Tahoe is picture perfect. It’s the best place to visit if you need to spend time in nature away from the busy life of cities. This is what California offers, in few miles you reach a beach in another few you reach the mountains, in few miles you would have snow and the next sun blazing down.

There are many things to do and many more things to write about San Francisco. I would rate this as one of my most favorite places visited so far.

End by saying, Till another trip - I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.

- Saral

Cricket Fast Bowling Spell of 6/20 - Saral Gupta

noreply@blogger.com (Saral Gupta) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 14:17:00 +0000

Swine flu Expert opinion

noreply@blogger.com (Saral Gupta) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:44:00 +0000

My Batting and Bowling

noreply@blogger.com (Saral Gupta) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:43:00 +0000

England vs Australia 4th Ashes Test Highlights Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Saral Gupta) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:44:00 +0000

England vs Australia 4th Ashes Test Highlights Day 1

Shared via AddThis

Las Vegas, The City of Life.."What Happens in Vegas Does not always Stay in Vegas"

noreply@blogger.com (Saral Gupta) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 04:19:00 +0000

Las Vegas was one of the dream vacations for me. Before starting for Vegas we had stopped in to Los Angeles to visit Hollywood. After a wonderful time at Hollywood we were bit curious to see what Las Vegas beholded for us...
We landed in Las Vegas around 7 in the evening and took a car rental from the airport to our hotel Sahara. Reaching the city we were wonderstruck by the Las Vegas Strip. The first night we managed to stay on the strip gambling, visiting hotels etc till 2 in the night... We were all set to start our next day...
The next day we visited the Variety Show, Madame Tussad, and Stratosphere... In the evening we visited the fountains of Bellagio...

Time in Las Vegas was very memorable, the city lives night and day...
I would not say "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas", since for us the memories of Las Vegas were forever...

Mackinaw Island

noreply@blogger.com (Saral Gupta) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:36:00 +0000

A beautiful small island covering 3.8 square miles in Michigan, USA was the destination for our 4'Th July Weekend..

This island was the scene of two battles and now a popular tourist destination. Much of the island has undergone extensive historical preservation and now is listed as a USA National Historic Landmark. Motor vehicles are banned on this island, and Horses are galore.The fort on the island has many reenactments during the day, the firing of cannon, court martial of a soldier to name a few.

To reach the island you take a ferry or a private boat from Mackinaw city. Fudge is one of the delights of this island which most people like..

We also happened to do Para sailing on this island trip.. Being 600 ft above the ocean was as scary as it can get.. But to tell you its a lot cold up there :) .. In the evening we did barbecue while watching the 4'Th July fireworks.. Our hotel had a indoor hot pool and spa for us to cherish.. Overall the trip was a very memorable trip.. A place I would recommend anyone to visit..

-Saral

Micheal Jackson..The Legend lives on !!

noreply@blogger.com (Saral Gupta) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

You and I must make a pact,

We must bring salvation back

Where there is love, I'll be there

I'll reach out my hand to you,

I'll have faith in all you do

Just call my name and I'll be there

--MJ (1958-2009)

Micheal Jacskon, undoubtly the biggest, most lovable talent the world has been fortunate to have.. The first American singer most of us listened to. His moonwalk brought so many of us to attempt and try to be popular among the girls..His song crossed all boundaries..

Words can't tell how much precious he was to so many of us..

Every day, Every moment MJ you will be missed..We wish and pray may you RIP...

-- Your fan forever