Chennai, India: April 15 through April 22

~ Chennai, India: April 15-22 ~

Bhavani and me at Mahabalipuram

Coconut Juice and Yummy Coconut Insides- A great treat to beat the heat!

After a 27 hour layover in Doha, Qatar (fascinating place, I would like to go back), I landed in Chennai, India at 3 AM. Of course, by this time I was already panicking. After having decided not to take my malaria pills (a combination of forgetting to take them during relaxing Greece and being afraid to take them due to the side effects), I promptly sprayed myself with 99% DEET, starting my malaria paranoia and my soon to come rash:)! I don't think that my ratings of India are particularly fair as I landed with a sinus infection and never fully recovered. Regardless, I had great accomodations in IIT's Madras campus (thanks to Ashwin, a Professor there) and interviews with a company all day Friday and Saturday (yes, I am thankful to usually have Saturdays off in the US after travelling to all of these places!).

On Sunday, I was able to hire a car to see Mahabalipuram- a World Heritage site filled with fascinating sculptures and architectural monuments and shrines located ~60km South of Chennai along the Bay of Bengal coast in the state of Tamil Nadu. One of my gracious hosts and friends, Bhavani, came with me to fill me in on the history. We also stopped at DakshinaChitra, a place that showcases some of the different cultures and heritage in South India, covering Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and AndhraPradesh. Finally, Bhavani humored me and took me to one of the most famous silk shops in India that was absolutely filled with locals buying sarees and other attire. The next day I gave a talk at IIT, met Ashwin's lovely family and had a farewell dinner in the City. I even survived crossing the street, which Ashwin assured me I can tell my kids about:)!

Some of my memories of India, in addition to the fabulous welcome I received at IIT Madras and the company, will include: Constant Car Honking, Crowds of People, Yummy Coconut Juice direct from the source, Cows in the Street, Ox pulling loads, the beautiful attire of the local population, the unique head nod, fabulous food (although, I must admit that I was not ready for the food in the AM- where was black filter coffee and a pastry?:)), the HEAT and humidity- Boy, was it hot!- frizz hair!, fabulous sweet lime juice, eating with your hands- as I learned, naan and other indian breads are to eat the food, not separate from the food! I couldn't eat with my hands much here though- remember, I was malaria paranoid and had DEET all over my hands:)- and therefore was obviously not from there, relying on a spoon!

Greece: April 6 through April 15

~GREECE : April 6-15~

Tara next to the Parthenon

The View from our Balcony overlooking the Volcano

(Below): Tara in the SMART car

Everything blends in Santorini!

Ok, ok! It has been forever since we published a post, and the thought of getting up to date all at once has overwhelmed me enough that I end up never posting! So, I thought I would start in Greece and eventually work my way both forwards and backwards to cover our journey.





I left London in the snow, and Londoners are not used to snow, nor due they know how to drive in the snow. My taxi ride to the train station was a bit comical. Anyhow, after a cancelled flight (no, I was not in BA Terminal 5), I made it to lovely Greece. What a welcome warmth after the fairly cold destinations of the past! I had a wonderful time interviewing a company here and then my dear friend Tara Carney from work visited! Well, actually she started her visit in London and then met me later in Athens. We were able to see the amazing and fascinating history that Athens offered (did you know that they had potty trainers in the 4th century BC???) and wonder how people can smoke so much, everywhere- I can't even remember when people were smoking in restaurants! - before heading via ferry to beautiful Santorini. It was early season (thank heavens), so we were able to meander at a fairly relaxed pace and enjoy the breathtaking views of the volcano and surrounding island. Brave Tara volunteered to drive a car (a SMART car!) and we went around the island, stopping at Oia, a winery, beaches (not sure if I would call them "beaches" per se) and a light house. The next day we hiked for about 7 miles from Fira to Oia (yes, we are from Colorado!), enjoying the views, but also realizing that we should have listened to the elderly lady and left early to avoid the heat (we thought for sure she must have meant in August:)). The following day we went on a boat cruise to hike the volcano and swim in the hot springs (note to future Santorini travelers- these "hot" springs are luke warm and require a hearty swim through freezing cold water). It was a fabulous time!