Last day of 2019; December passed by so quickly thanks to exams, travel and family functions. In the first two weeks the kid had is pre-board exams. With that out of the way, an excursion for his class to Auroville followed. They were staying in Auroville for 3 days to see and learn about sustainability, organic farming, recycling practices there. The kid was thrilled, any reason to travel with friends was welcome and so he was off.

With him away, we planned a trip to Hyderabad for 3 days and it was a good break. One of the highlights of the Hyderabad visit was shopping at Ikea – the first store in the country opened doors in 2018. Spread across 2 floors, it was a home decor haven and we spent almost a whole day there.

During this season of cakes, the doughnut brand Krispy Kreme comes up with their unique creations and love the festive look👇. We cannot walk away without buying a box.

After the trip to Hyderabad, it was Christmas in Bangalore; we invited all our relatives over; three days of prep and cooking; it went well and it was good to see everyone.

This time Christmas in Bangalore meant we missed the carol service in Kerala – there is the kids choir, senior citizens choir and the church choir. Christmas choir costumes are new every year and eagerly planned. The carol service photos and videos are shared on WhatsApp by family across the globe.

On the 27th, we were off to Kerala by road. The two good times to visit Kerala are during Monsoons – for the rain and December – pleasant weather. Everyone loves the cold December mornings; it gets warmer as the day progresses, but mornings are lovely.

The roads are good; starting from Bangalore by 6:30 am, after crossing Krishnagiri, Salem, Coimbatore we enter Palakkad, the border state of Kerala and the majestic western ghats come to sight shrouded in mist.

Breakfast was at Salem at a Saravana Bhavan, and we tuck in masala dosa and chai. Lunch is at Indian Coffee House (ICH) at Thrissur; the food is okay only, nothing exceptional and the toilets are appalling. We decided on ICH for pure nostalgia reasons; during the college days ICH was a hangout, the food was good back then. One of the regular college eats was beef omelette; not the same taste now, was much tastier back then.

And we cannot resist Kerala parotta and beef😋 and wash it down with fresh lime juice🍹😋

In Kerala, days of frenzy followed, family functions; a whirlwind tour of relatives houses, sampling Christmas cakes in every home. A December special sight are the stars and fairy lights hung outside every home and shop in Kerala. Hence if you are travelling by road at night in Kerala you can witness this multitude of colours and I love the scenery. The churches have rows of stars leading all the way from the compound wall to the roof top.

This year LED stars have caught people’s fancy and are seen everywhere.

The highlight of this Christmas was the lone musical Christmas card we received this year👇

That’s it for this year; wishing everyone a very Happy New Year 2020 🦋!!

Till next post, take care !!