Tag: Travel

One of the most spectacular drives hidden in Montenegro

Published on by 100cobbledroads84 Comments

Head to Mount Lovcen now…

A route so spectacular, it will extract involuntary Confucianist soundbites, celebrating undying love for roads. Because its paradise found, sprawled before your eyes for miles and miles, as you ascend 1000 meters above sea level up Mount Lovcen from Montenegro’s bay-facing capital Kotor. Yeah, you’re probably juggling reflexive philosophical mutterings with overwhelming emotions of gratitude. But concentrate on keeping those blinkers glued to the window pane. Panorama after panorama unfolds.

Continue reading “One of the most spectacular drives hidden in Montenegro” →

Three Barcelona icons that will blow your mind

Published on by 100cobbledroads94 Comments

A deeper look at Gaudi’s architecture…

Barcelona’s most famous Catalan Modernism artist-architect, Antoni Gaudí made a livelihood from constructing (or deconstructing) ‘fantasy homes for the rich’ and dreamt of completing a ‘cathedral for the poor’. His legacy lives on through some of the most recognised icons of Catalonia. You’ve seen the pictures. Now dig deeper into his craft.

Continue reading “Three Barcelona icons that will blow your mind” →

Pretend to be a noble at a French châteaux in the Loire Valley

Published on by 100cobbledroads94 Comments

France will have you fantasizing…

Just two hours southwest of Paris, lies the Loire Valley, an enchanting countryside ablaze with colours of green and gold, filled with vineyards, farmlands, hunting forests and ancient towns. Christened Loire after France’s longest river, which was a highway for transporting food and building materials in flat boats during the Greco-Roman age. An exceptionally fertile land that enticed 15th-century French royals and nobles to hire Italian architects and artists to build hundreds of palatial Renaissance-style chateaux.

Continue reading “Pretend to be a noble at a French châteaux in the Loire Valley” →

12 insider secrets from my first year of travel blogging

Published on by 100cobbledroads96 Comments

Clumsy to confident…

Time flies when you’re having fun. Just a year back, on this day, I was a nervous wreck, biting my nails at the prospect of launching my travel blog. Its been a thrilling ride over 365 days, made sweeter with the support and encouragement of my constant, Vikas, my partner in (life-n-travel) crime, my cheerleader friends and doting family. And here I am today, dishing out 12 insider secrets as 100cobbledroads celebrates its first anniversary. How many of these can you identify with?

Continue reading “12 insider secrets from my first year of travel blogging” →

Flashback to the gilded age of beautiful Budapest

Published on by 100cobbledroads78 Comments

Still as glamorous and grand…

Life seems uneventful along the peaceful road winding up to Gellért Hill, lined with posh residences and embassies. But one look at the Habsburg Citadel and the Budapest Statue of Liberty commemorating defeat of Nazis…and you can sense the reverberations of an unsettling past. From this vantage point, resist the urge to proclaim aloud…“A river runs through it”. Practically the entire map of Budapest stretches across your vision. Bridges over the great Danube stitch Buda on the left river bank, atop leafy hills hiding natural cave systems and hot springs with Pest on the right, crowned with a scene-stealing Gothic Parliament building. Timeless splendour of a timeless city. Best viewing mode: Sepia. So, dive right in.

Continue reading “Flashback to the gilded age of beautiful Budapest” →

Drown in all the colors of the rainbow at Porto

Published on by 100cobbledroads93 Comments

Don’t you dare overlook Portugal’s second city…


This 4th-century port and commercial centre founded by the Romans at the mouth of the river Duoro, actually lent its name to its country, and rightly so. Look deeper and you know how Porto (or Oporto) is the very essence of Portugal. Its a hilly town sans the elan of European cities. It gives the impression of being old and neglected. But its magnificent mansions, opulent churches and a picture-perfect riverside captures the heart. Old Portuguese women cheerfully advertise roasted chestnuts outside colourful building facades, classic tramlines run through broad hilly boulevards and iconic black-white mosaic calcada (flooring) adorns streets and there’s ornamental tile-work everywhere you look. So how about a colour theme to explore this quintessentially vibrant Portuguese city?

Continue reading “Drown in all the colors of the rainbow at Porto” →

Why Rothenburg is the epitome of German romanticism?

Published on by 100cobbledroads78 Comments

Dollhouse town in Germany…

Factoid: Germany’s second largest city in the middle ages, with 6,000 residents (mammoth for those times) was reduced to poverty during the 30 years war, and virtually faded into oblivion. But life comes full circle. Today it has regained its glory as Germany’s best preserved medieval walled town. Rothenburg ob der Tauber seems like the perfect name for this fairytale place until you translate it into English…red fort on the River Tauber). Mmmm…something less practical, maybe?

Continue reading “Why Rothenburg is the epitome of German romanticism?” →

Why you will fall madly in love with Meghalaya?

Published on by 100cobbledroads98 Comments

Wild romance with nature…

The love affair begins in the flight to Guwahati as your gaze is transfixed at the snowy outline of the Himalayan peaks in the far distance. You ignore the silent protest your neck makes from being subject to a weirdly obtuse angle. Its the only way you can successfully trace the entire length and width of that unbelievably massive waterbody miles below you. No, being called a river just doesn’t do her justice, you conclude decisively. Brahmaputra is in a different league altogether.

Continue reading “Why you will fall madly in love with Meghalaya?” →

Stroll in a cemetery that is worth a thousand pictures

Published on by 100cobbledroads88 Comments

Zagreb’s most surprising architectural gem…

Lovingly encased within seven acres of lush landscaped gardens, Miragoj Cemetery figures as one the top 20 must-visit places in the Croatia’s capital, Zagreb. The final resting place of 300,000 souls from diverse religions, created by architect Hermann Bollé, is one of Europe’s most beautiful cemeteries. 

Continue reading “Stroll in a cemetery that is worth a thousand pictures” →

Why Granada is the best moorish palace to see

Published on by 100cobbledroads94 Comments

A magical day at the Alhambra

Moorish mystique on your mind? Then pick Granada…the last Muslim kingdom of Spain, which survived even after surrender of major cities like Cordoba, Seville, and Toledo to invasions during the Reconquista. Thanks to a treaty with the Christian kingdoms (gold in exchange for independence) and the exceptional strategic position of the Granada fort, Alhambra, the Nasr emirs had held on till 1492, when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella claimed the city. In 1502, Islam was officially outlawed in Granada and by early 1600s, not a single Muslim was left in all of Spain.

Continue reading “Why Granada is the best moorish palace to see” →