Yash Chopra movies – Traveling Noodles

There are some images that leave an indelible mark on us and remain with us prodding us to make promises to ourselves that we will visit the place one day and capture the memory for ourselves. Images which inspire and influence me to travel often come from movies and books. They are the best alternative to traveling while allowing one to immerse oneself in a new land, foreign culture and way of life.

The one continent that has eluded me for most parts of my travel has been Europe and hence any opportunity that lurks around which would take me to Europe, beware because I am going to grab you and wrestle you down. I have been to Switzerland, the beautiful country and its flower laced windows beckon me all the time but my bucket list which incidentally have all been inspired by movies is slightly longer.

P.S I Love You –

Hillary Swank in a tan jacket stands in front of the purple flowered landscape of Wicklow Mountains in Ireland where she meets Gerald Butler. The scene is tranquil, inviting and mesmerizing , words fall short. The air around them looks wet with promise. Also having Gerald Butler is definite plus in the scene because who doesn’t want to swoon over him. This movie has inspired me to put Ireland right on top of my bucket list for more reasons than one. Dublin would certainly be the first destination on my trip and I hope to do a musical pub crawl while I am at it.

Image Source – here

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge –

This Bollywood movie was what defined the spectrum of love for most kids growing up in the 90’s in India. A large part of the movie is shot in Switzerland and soon it topped the chart as India’s favorite honeymoon destination and because of this there is a lake in Switzerland that is named after the director of the movie. The images of silent wind over the alps and wooden houses with cow bells jingling in the distance and the promise of finding love has prompted many Indians to visit Switzerland, including me. Its true that a Bollywood movie took me to Switzerland but I was validated when a person I met in Interlaken said that Madhuri Dixit (Indian actress) is his favorite. I have been here but I would go there again in a heart beat. The next stop of my movie inspired trip would be Zurich and onwards to Interlaken.

Eat Pray Love –

Eat Pray Love is popular as a book and a movie as it tugs on the heart strings of anyone who wants to rediscover themselves. The first part of Julia’s journey takes her to Italy and sun kissed Tuscany. Cobble stones, gelato and wood fired pizza’s should be reason enough for anyone visiting Italy. Another movie which has cemented my desire to visit Tuscany is Under the Tuscan Sun. The movie literally transports you to the orchards in sun kissed Tuscany. I hope to board the Eurorail and travel to Tuscany and Naples from Swizterland.

Image Source here

Angels and Demons –

I read the book while in college before I saw the movie and the book takes you on an adrenaline ride across Rome. The intricate details some fiction and some fact takes the reader on a virtual tour of Rome and definitely piques one’s interest in this ancient city and seat of power. The shots of the Basilica and other monuments in Rome which are themselves important characters and plot changers in the movie leaves a powerful memory. Rome is also close to Italy and hence can be easily incorporated into this movie inspired itinerary of mine.

Image Source here

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants –

Sisterhood of the traveling pants is an important coming of age story that resonates with many teenagers. Some of the imageries that have stayed with me are the ones that were shot in Santorini in Greece. The stark white houses hanging precariously on the cliff against the blueness of the ocean gives me goose bumps. The little boats along the coast bobbing up and down in the water where Lena and Kostas meet each other and the donkey rides to and fro the mountain abode are experiences I would definitely like to own one day.

This post is written as an entry for GoEuro Travel and it would be great if you could head over there and vote for this article. Who knows maybe I could win!

Fresh snow on a windowsill

One of the items on the bucket list for people from South India is to see snow. So when my husband to be and I were deciding where to go for our honeymoon, my response was- ‘to see snow!’. So that’s were we went, we went to Switzerland which thanks to Yash Chopra movies has captured the minds of thousands of Indians as the destination for snow. We evidenced this first hand when we got vada pav and idli on top of Mount Titlis and took air car gondola rides with tour groups full of Indian families. Maybe we saw more Indians there than the Swiss.

Me dressed for snow. If Kajol could, I could.

We even saw a Telugu movie shooting on top of the Alps, two hero’s in leather jackets and a heroine in a mini skirt (appropriate winter wear). But Swizz tourism is thankful , they even named a lake after Yash Chopra. The only disservice Yash Chopra movies did was that they gave very questionable guidelines on how to dress for snow. For the first time snow aficionado like me, one might end up sacrificing your old pair of boots on top of a mountain because old boots, snow and suede just don’t go together. Also three fourth leggings are an absolute no no for surviving snow.

Jungfrau Mountain

The first snow that I saw was on top of Jungfrau Mountain from the balcony of our room in Interlaken. With snow or without snow, Switzerland is just perfect. That is one thing that Bollywood didn’t get wrong. Every picture you take is screen saver worthy. When one sees snow even for the first time, hands get all itchy to make a snowman. For the inexperienced, not all snow can be transformed into a snowman with a scarf and a carrot nose. After struggling with gloves and without gloves, I managed a teeny tiny one which could also be called a snow lump technically.

On a trek down the mountain with a torn, wet boot.

The problem with our ‘lets see snow’ plan was that, we went there in September. We got to see last years snow on top of mountains and glaciers and I didn’t quite get to experience snowfall. I witnessed my first snowfall in the Poconos, USA at a mountain ski resort. It was magical. I took copious amounts of photos of snow, snow flakes and snow falling. Poconos is a great place for skiing in the north east of USA. The ski resort had closed down due to a blizzard and we had nothing to do but drink hot chocolate in front of the fire place and go outside and have a snow fight. Sometimes the best memories are made when we slow down and live in the moment.

Swans on the lake

First snow was magical as it lightly touched and settled on my outstretched hand and then quietly melted away. Fresh fallen snow covered the barren landscapes in thick white blankets and made everything pretty again. It squished and squashed under my boots as we ran like children all over the slopes. Swans on a frozen lake tried to find little holes of water to swim in as winter had glazed over their lake. But by the second time it snowed, it was just something that made me all wet, cold and threatened to give my toes a frostbite.

Snow is wonderful for the first time every winter, as you can become a child again and snowboard on white snowy slopes. Slopes that you didn’t know existed before it was covered by a snow blanket. Snow and Christmas is what makes winter magical for someone who stays in places where there is snow and Christmas. For others stuck in sunny places go against your instinct, book a ticket and make a beeline for a place that is cold.