Needless To Say

I have missed you! 

For I haven't spoken to you in a month

 For I have been away too long

But I know you'll forgive me

For 

I have been traveling

With my favorite people

To beaches and mountains

Experiencing life

And making and collecting beautiful memories

 

Over the last month

I spent some blissful days in Khao Lak, Thailand

And then did a road trip to Kotgarh, Himachal Pradesh

And now I am back

To you

For you!

Starting next week

Get ready for your dose of prettiness

 For

An Indian Summer is back, folks! :)

,

[All images copyrighted: Moi. aka An Indian Summer. aka Bhavna Bhatnagar]

When the bug bites..

..you surf!

 Well, atleast till the time you actually travel

That is exactly what I did today

Surfed and wandered virtually

To far off destinations

And cozy places

Casa Da Bela, an original house, lovingly restored and renovated, is in South Bahia, Brazil. It's well traveled owner, who has a background in fashion and interior design, has done a great job of combining local architecture and furniture, with interesting pieces from all over the world.

Sigh. Another beautiful place bookmarked and added to the travel wishlist. The bug has bitten, folks...expect more unique places to stay at, in the coming days. Let's wander together, virtually :)    

[All images: Casa Da Bela]

The Rose

The Rose is an immaculately put together, pristine small hotel in the heart of New Delhi's bohemian art and design neighborhood - the Hauz Khas village. It opened last year, and I was immediately drawn to its beautifully put together, minimalistic, light and airy interiors. Owned and run by Frenchman Pio Coffrant, The Rose also runs a cafe, an art gallery and various events on weekends.

Pio also runs another guest house in New Delhi, known as Colaba House. A quirky combination of Indian and French design elements, with odds and ends from various parts of the world, makes Colaba House another great place to stay at in Delhi.

Don't such lovely hotels make you wish that you were a tourist in your own city? What fun it would be if we got an opportunity to stay in such interesting places and a chance to view our city with a completely fresh perspective!

[All Images: The Rose, Colaba House. Layout: An Indian Summer]

Psst: The winner of the Lila Giveaway has been announced. Click right here to know if it's you!

Cochin. Sigh.

You know that when I haven't posted in a bit, it means one of two things. Or one of three things actually. But for now, let's just go with two. One, I am neck deep in work and the other shiny things and twinkling peeps that keep me on my toes. Two, that I am traveling. These last two weeks, it has been both. The first bit - the work and the twinkling peeps bit - was good, but the excellent bit was the travel! A friend and I hopped onto a flight (ok boarded a flight to be less hop-py) and went to one of my quickly-becoming-favorite cities - Cochin. We had a brilliant brilliant time and I am back with happy photos and a desire to go back as soon as that first bit, that bit that I mentioned above, allows me to :)

And you do know what I do when I am a chirpy bird back from a lovely trip, right? I share my favorite pictures with my favorite people - You! A bunch of you (my aforementioned favorite people) have sent me emails and messages - just a quick note to tell you that I am gradually getting over my Cochin hangover and getting back to those shiny emails. Within a day or two you will hear back from me :)

 

 

 

Oh, did I mention that I went to Cochin for the Kochi Muziris Biennale? And the day we landed, the entire country went on a strike? And almost all galleries and venues that were holding the festival had to be closed? Well yes, that's what happened. But I was just so happy to be in Kochi, that we made the best use of the time we had there. The Biennale? Am already booking my tickets for the next one :)

 

 

Kochi Tips: We stayed at the lovely Old Harbour Hotel - will go back there happily any day! We lunched and dined at three other fabulous places - Eight Bastion, Malabar House and Brunton Boatyard. All three places have been done up beautifully and I highly recommend them for a stay or a meal. 

I hope you, my favorite people, have been happy and chirpy. I shall be back tomorrow, and day after, and then on days that follow, with many pretteh posts and some luscious giveaways. Keep reading, An Indian Summer! 

[All pics: Taken by me. Kindly credit and link back to this post if you share. Many thanks!] 

Happy Holidays!

Hello my dear dear friends! I am sorry, I have been missing the past few weeks - family, friends and travel had taken over and I happily gave in. Also, in the last couple of weeks, tragic world and local events left me disturbed, and frankly, too angry to blog. I try not to vent on this blog, but such senseless acts of violence, such inhuman behavior - makes it very difficult to remain aloof and not get impacted. I just hope the coming new year sees more sense and humane order, and people understanding and internalizing the very basics of right vs. wrong.. 

Well,

I had to drop in before I sign off for the year. I have been missing you too, you guys! Personally, this year, has been a lovely year, and I look back fondly at all the travel I did, the fabulously creative people I met and the incredible friends I made. The last images on this blog for this year had to be my favorite images from two of my trips this year - the trip to Ladakh and the vacation to Kerala. I am again off to a tiny Himalayan village tomorrow, and shall duly report back with another set of visual travel memoirs :)

As I sign off for this year

Wish you, my fabulous readers, a wonderful wonderful holiday season

Here's hoping that the new year is 

Peaceful, progressive and happy for all of us!

See you in Jan 2013, folks

Be good :)

[Images: Taken by me]

     

Like Magic..

..I vanished

And now I am back!

I have been traveling, my dearest peeps. Spent a week at the Neemrana Hill Fort and a week at Jaipur and once again marveled at the heritage, architecture, crafts and textiles of the royal state of Rajasthan. I had a great time, but I did miss you! To make up for time that I was away, I have many lovely posts lined up and some exciting giveaways scheduled for this starting-to-get-chilly month of November.   

Thanks to all those who dropped me an email or a note on facebook. If you haven't heard back from me yet, fret not, for you shall within the next couple of days. I'll be back on Monday, with fresh inspiration and more such things that make us go aah! :)

[All images taken by this person who writes this blog. This person being moi :)]

God's Own Country, It Is

And I agree! 

I am back, my dear peeps! We had a beautiful, very laid back relaxed holiday in Kumarakom, Kerala. This was my first time in Kerala, and I was blown away by the lush green land and water scapes, the warmth of people, the vibrant homes, the oh-so-Dutch-and-Portugese feel of the old part of Cochin, the leisurely bicycle rides through villages, the fabulous cuisine and the blissful luxury of ayurvedic spa.   

  

Needless to say, there is yet another place, added to my ever growing wanderlust list. I know I have to go back, to explore God's own country by road, very soon. You will join me, right? :)

[All images clicked by moi. Kindly link back to the post if you use]

Design Hotels Ahoy!

San Giorgio Mykonos is one of the projects of Design Hotels, a company that represents and curates select independent hotels across the world. What caught my eye when I looked at San Giorgio Mykonos was the exquisite simplicity of it's interiors. The charm of white offset by a colorful rug, pillows and cushions, the very put-together-on-the-site kind of furniture, an earthy organic feel to the place, and of course, a certain ethnic influence seen in the furnishing and the decor - made it impossible for me to resist sharing this lovely little place with you. I would have loved to recreate this look in my home, if only I wasn't living in a dust bowl of a city! My interior aspirations aside, this style and look is one of the easiest ways to incorporate a global influence in home interiors. 

[All images: San Giorgio Mykonos]