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veen in india: hampi.

one of my other favorite places — and maybe the place i’ve visited the most in india — is hampi. the former seat of the vijayanagara empire, hampi is now a unesco world heritage site and one of the most popular tourist sites in karnataka. what the climb up looked like on my first visit. hampi, karnataka. october 2005fun group of friends. hampi, karnataka. october 2005.this is completely dry…

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gov ball 2025.

and we’re in! flushing, new york. june 2025.her energy was amazing. flushing, new york. june 2025.they are so funny and i’m kind of obsessed. flushing, new york. june 2025.really enjoyed how they used the space. flushing, new york. june 2025.this pizza was very good. flushing, new york. june 2025.loved getting to do gov ball with these two. flushing, new york. june 2025.glad we got to briefly see…

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veen in india: palolem, goa.

there are few places in that bring me the peace of mind that palolem does. one other place is coorg, which i’ve written about before and is where i would go when i needed nature. when i needed the beach i would sometimes go to gokarna, but my favorite spot was and continues to be palolem, goa. one of my favorite places. palolem, goa. december 2005. now, first things first: “goa” is a state full…

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may 2025.

am i the only one who feels like may lasted forever?? don’t get me wrong, it was a fun month and i very much enjoyed the cool weather we had in nyc, but also i am ready to throw may in the rearview and see what june has in store for us. may highlights included: a few stays with blanche // dumplings and “oh, mary!” with jen // slowly finding a new running and workout routine // dinner with…

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april 2025.

i swear i blinked and april was over. my 2.5 weeks in memphis flew by, and before and after were packed also. highlights included: a quick dinner with ellie during her way-too-short work trip // dinner with mamma tiziana // pranay came to town! // walshie wedding weekend and many reunions // family trip to hot springs // park hang with maggie and matt // lots of cooking // very slowly getting…

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a springtime visit to memphis.

i recently returned from a whirlwind two-and-a-half weeks in memphis. the impetus for the trip was to celebrate katie and craig’s wedding, and i wound up squeezing in quick visits to both nashville and little rock as well. it was fun and exhausting and i would love to share some highlights with you today. love these people. memphis, tennessee. april 2025.so fun having this one in town! memphis,…

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veen in india: coorg.

i took a break from writing the nostalgic india posts to write the recent india trip posts but now that those are finished it’s time to return to this series and i figure there is no better place to begin than one of my favorite places in the world: coorg. and more specifically, honey valley. my first visit to honey valley was in june 2008 with the impington school group, and i was immediately…

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an extended visit to chicago.

work wife alex moved to chicago last summer and sarah moved into a new apartment in the city last fall, so i decided it was time to make a visit and see how they both are doing. we joked that they shared custody of me, with me staying with alex for the first weekend and then staying with sarah and her roommate claire for the following week. it allowed me to spend solo time with each of them, plus…

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march 2025.

march was a busy month! some highlights included: a stay with blanche // saw superboys of malegaon at the theater // tried a new kerala restaurant with abi // went for a few runs // days are getting longer // had a great time in chicago and got to catch up with a lot of great friends // went to a comedy show at village underground // attended a few meetups // trivia adventures at the lowery //…

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india 2025: wrapping up and what's next.

this year’s india trip felt different to last year’s in so many ways. i was returning after one year rather than seven. we covered a few of the same places but also some new ones. it was less of a nostalgia tour and more of a semi-annual tradition. it was so much fun introducing sarah to my various family members and being able to fill her in on all the family lore. my aunts and uncles and…

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india 2025: know before you go.

i’m not re-hashing the things i included in last year’s know before you go post, but there were a few things that came up this year that i wanted to share so i decided we needed an addendum of sorts. once again we’ll start with the general stuff and then a few place-specific things. more friends. palolem, goa. january 2025. general indian airports are an adventure like no other. the main thing…

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india 2025: what i took and what i bought.

i went back and forth on doing a packing post, mostly because i forgot to take photos of all the things i took and it’s just not as good without the visuals, but as i thought about it i decided i still wanted to share both what i took and also some of the things i picked up while i was there. here we go. what i took. my life for 3.5 weeks. astoria, new york. december 2024. i’m going to keep…

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india 2025: the food.

one of the things i was most excited for when planning this year’s india trip was the variety of food we would get to eat. we were visiting six different states on different coasts and in different parts of the country, and i knew we were going to get to eat a lot of really delicious food that would also be fairly different from place to place. i was even more excited when i found chitrita…

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february 2025.

i skipped doing a january photo roundup since it was mostly india so this is our first monthly recap of 2025. and what a month february was! it felt long even though it’s the shortest month which is probably due to the cold weather and a few rounds of snow. we’re slowly creeping our way into spring which is very exciting and i’m looking forward to seeing what this month brings. february…

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india 2025: bombay.

we have made it to our final stop: bombay! i’m sure i have said it before, but in case you didn’t know — bombay is the city of my childhood dreams. when we would visit india growing up, we would fly in and out through bombay and the city always fascinated me. i couldn’t get enough of the sounds and the smells and the traffic and the people, and even as a kid with very little concept of the…

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india 2025: goa.

ed note: if you’re still following along with our playlist, songs 10-19 are from our time in goa indian rest stops have come a long way since my day. karnataka. january 2025.so good to be back. palolem, goa. january 2025.early morning beach walk. palolem, goa. january 2025.arriving at 6am meant we got to walk the beach for sunrise. palolem, goa. january 2025.breathtaking. palolem, goa. january…

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india 2025: bangalore.

bangalore is always where my deepest nostalgia hits. i first moved to the city when i was 22 and proceeded to live there on and off for the next 11 years. i made friends who are like family to me, and because of them a piece of my heart will always be in bangalore. so much of the city has changed since i first lived there — the metro is progressively getting completed [even though it still…