Planes...no, just trains and automobiles

Early Saturday morning we set off for a much-needed Columbus Day weekend getaway to the Hudson River Valley. The trip started off with a train from Grand Central Station:

The unfortunate coffee spill on the train:
View from the train which follows the Hudson River. It was dark and gloomy that morning, but shaped up to be a beautiful day.
There were no hotels to be found, so we stopped for a gut buster lunch in Cornwall-on-Hudson. I guess Prima Pizza delivers anywhere in the US:

After lunch, we headed over to the Storm King Art Center. Besides the autumn foliage, this was a must-see for me and it did not disappoint. Typical Hudson Valley lanes:

This is a view of the South Fields with a series of Mark di Suvero sculptures. The clouds were amazing:
Menashe Kadishman's Suspended from afar:
Just a small part of Kenneth Snelson's Free Ride Home set against the bluest sky:
I loved the contrast between the blue skies and the autumn leaves. In the foreground here is a sculpture by Louise Nevelson:
The half dollar chair! Just next to it was a chair made only of nickels:
Not sure who the artist was, but again, beautiful blue skies and green, green grass make for the most amazing backdrops:
Picture perfect:
This was a special exhibit of Maya Lin's Bodies of Water. They closed off the sculpture due to grass erosion so we could only view it from a distance:
Yay, I love Andy Goldsworthy. Me at part of the Storm King Wall which snakes along for 2,278 feet:


Worm's eye view of di Suvero:

The Bug got us around all weekend:
No photos of our first dinner in Rhinebeck. Starr Place Restaurant was nice but not *too* nice and the food was fantastic. I had a really nice pan-seared trout with pumpkin risotto. The risotto was sooooo good. B had pork saltimbocca with prosciutto and sage. For dessert we dug into apple cider beignets with butter rum sauce. YUM.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at Four Corners up near Albany. I know, a long way from the valley, but it was the only place with hotel vacancies on Saturday night, so we were up a creek...so to speak:
Sunday was wine tasting day. After a big breakfast, we made our way toward the Shawangunk Wine Trail. First stop, Adair Vineyards:
Next up, Whitecliff Vineyard with amazing views of...what else? White cliffs!
And last but not least, Brimstone Hill Vineyard, a charming and rustic little winery set in the least fancy of all settings:
After wine tasting, we checked into our B&B and then headed back out for dinner with a quick stop at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park. Along with the beautiful grounds and amazing views over the Hudson, these cute little goats were grazing along a hillside:


Dinner on Sunday evening was again in Rhinebeck, this time at Gigi Trattoria. We had salumi and olives to start and then Tagliatelle Berta and it was all delicious. Sunday night was a mellow one back at the B&B where we played Trivial Pursuit and made friends with the housecat, Roquette.

Monday morning we got up early for the huge b&b breakfast: melons with crystallized ginger, homemade muffins and scones, waffles with locally made apple cider syrup, homemade jam and whipped cream, and homemade turkey sausage. YUM.

Bellies full, we packed up the Bug and headed for the Walkway Over the Hudson. It was chilly, but we still managed to walk across and back before the Bug was due back:



The Poughkeepsie train station:

Home sweet home

On the last day of consulting school, we packed 5 weeks worth of luggage onto the bus, had our final presentations, and then made our way to TGI Fridays Bangalore for a little fairwell celebration. Who knew TGIF would be so much fun? There was tons of food and drink and everyone was in good spirits. The American kids also finally got to have a one-on-one with our supervisor to talk about where we were headed next. Great fun!

Then at 9pm, we all said our goodbyes and made our way to the airport for our first leg home. Because August 15 is India's Independence Day, there was heightened security at the airport but we all made it onto the flight and there were no significant delays. We were not looking forward to the 5 hour layover in Paris and I was sitting near some crying children, so I was exhausted to boot.

By the time we got to Paris we were a little cranky and ready to rest. KC made a friend on the plane who gave him a free pass (plus one) to the Air France executive lounge. YAY! I ended up being the "plus one" and the others paid a hefty fee, but it was well worth it for the hours we ended up killing. We ate and drank heartily and took really nice showers before getting back on the plane. For this leg, DC managed to get JB & I upgraded to business class. It pays to have friends who are medallion members. YAY!!! That flight just flew by and before I knew it, we were landing in Newark.

Although I had reached home (almost), everyone else still had to catch connecting flights so they still had some flying time ahead. But I was heading out of the terminal to find B and in no time we were in a taxicab home! I have never felt more relieved to be home. Oh happy day!

I'll be back on a plane next Monday but for now am enjoying my time at home...

Consulting school

Our last week was all about Consulting School. It was a challenging week with a real-world consulting simulation. We were up until 4am on the first night trying to put together a proposal which none of us had done before! It was a tough week to end on but I think one of the more challenging and useful things we did throughout the 6-week induction. Plus, at the end of it all, we were heading home!

Ropes course

Our entire team headed out to the Pegasus Institute 60km from Bangalore for a weekend of team-building. It was fun and frustrating at the same time. As for team-building, I'm not so sure. If anything, there was a bit of team destruction. But hopefully in hindsight we'll all look back on the experience fondly.

We stayed in 10-person tents and here is the setup. Basically there was a mattress pad and some blankets which served as our sleeping bags. Luckily the girls' tent only had 4 of us, so we had plenty of room to spread out.

We got lost on the drive out, so we were late for dinner but the folks at Pegasus waited up and saved food for us. It was delicious and we got to eat out by the campfire:

A beautiful view from the Pegasus grounds. I still have no idea where exactly we were, but the scenery was a nice change from Bangalore's dirty and congested streets.

The long path that cuts through the Pegasus grounds. On one side are the tents and mess hall. On the other side are the obstacle courses.

This is like a regular ropes course. Unfortunately we did not have any projects on this course the whole day.

Task 1: We were to pass each member of our team through a unique whole in this spiderweb without touching any of the rope. This was the only project that went smoothly.

Task 2: The goal was to get across this field using 3 barrels and 2 planks. The catch? All 10 people on your team had to be off the ground (i.e. not touching the dirt) the entire way. This was by far the most frustrating task we had to complete and by the end everyone was irritated and angry. Needless to say, we did not complete the task.


Before task 3 we had a dancing break. This little exercise was meant to loosen us up before the obstacle course, and it was so much fun. We couldn't stop laughing.

Task 3: A tricky puzzle of an obstacle course. There were 3 stations that each team had to get through without touching any of the sand or any areas painted red. We only got through the first station and ran out of time trying to strategize the 2nd.

It was still light out when we left Pegasus and we got some beautiful views of the countryside:

The roads got pretty narrow on the drive and they were filled with local villagers.

Goin' to Goa

We managed to squeeze in a quick weekend trip to Goa. "Weekend" is being generous here -- we left Bangalore around noon on Saturday and were back by Sunday night. Despite the short jaunt, we desperately needed this getaway and it proved to be the refresher we needed to get through the rest of induction.

The walk down to Baga Beach is basically owned by Tito's. There are multiple Tito's bars, restaurants, and night clubs:

Hotel Beacon Court. This is where we stayed for the night. Totally worth it for great location and amenities!

The entrance to our hotel spa. I did a 45 minutes back massage + sauna. Heavenly!

On Sunday we rented scooters and explored some of the countryside. It was the highlight of the weekend. This is some of the beautiful countryside we passed through:

Oink oink. I think this was the first time we had seen pigs in India (they're not on the street, nor on the menus!).

Some ladies having a stroll along the green waters:

One of the many many Christian churches in Goa. This was definitely the biggest and most opulent of all the ones we saw that day. A groundskeeper even unlocked the main area so we could have a look inside.

Goats! They were so cute and we saw them just as we were turning a corner, so I had to snap fast. Add them to the list of a million animals we saw in India.

Mexican lunch in Goa. I'm not sure I would call it "authentic" but we were hungry and it hit the spot.

A guy herding his cow along the street:

Another view of Baga Beach. Lots of people at the beach this particular day. They swim, bathe, do laundry, and fish here!

We hit a few of these roadblocks where cows just stand in the road as cars and bikes honk until they move out of the way.