Two weeks down and two more to go, December is moving fast. One year end ritual is the visit to Sapna Book House, a sprawling bookshop/stationery shop in Indiranagar. From Sarjapur where we stay, we drive along the outer ring road, then onto 80 ft road of Koramangala and finally the 100 ft road of Indiranagar. The drive is always enjoyable; I have passed these roads countless times now, but still feel delighted when we pass under the canopy of majestic trees that line the Bangalore roads. The roads have been reworked from being tarred to now set with concrete; the trees have survived this onslaught also.

The shopping list is the same as the previous years – a planner for the new year, a desk calendar, notebooks, pens and maybe a story book or two. It was slim pickings in the story book section. For story books, the bookshops on Church Street are a better place. There is a brand of notebooks and folders I like called Store67, picked two colourful notebooks this time. For the desk calendar, one from HelpAge India was the pick.

It was past noon and we head to Lavonne at Indiranagar for a light lunch. The place was almost full, we and the lady after us filled all the chairs at the restaurant. There were people waiting outside for tables and many were ordering takeaways. The restaurant was bedecked for Christmas; a beautiful Christmas tree at the entrance on one side and a shelf showcasing Lavonne Christmas goodies on the other framed the scene – cookies, Dundee cakes, Plum cakes, take your pick 🎂. The place was buzzing with chatter, clanking of plates and anyone there for the first time was seen saying “Wow, it’s really nice !”🎄

The array of delectable and exquisitely crafted Lavonne pastries and breads took the center stage. It was Advent and so veg food for us; we ordered a salad with the brûléed figs, roast beetroot, arugula and mozzarella cheese; it was divine 😘 Also a penne alfredo pasta, veg; warm and creamy 😋.

You can’t leave without sampling the desserts; we packed some for home. The picks this time included – the Banana Passion fruit Brownie and the Peach and Thyme Danish. I don’t remember the last time I ate a peach, the pastry looked so good !

The way they pack stuff has to be mentioned 😊; they put a small transparent sticky tape under the pastries to secure them to the bottom of the box so that they don’t fall over and get ruined. The little works of art arrived secure and in pristine condition at home. Here’s proof…😊

Till next post, take care !!