Page 22 - Seniors Today - May21 Issue

And so, the adventure continued from one hours each day. I wandered in the mountains
village or town to another a combination around Menton, Eze, Saint Paul de Vence, Aix
of boutique hotels with decent to fine food en-Provence ending with Saint Tropez.
interesting sights and of course the day long
hikes in the beautiful mountains, one with
nature.
As all things must end, so did this trip with
a return to Mumbai on September 1, after a
fabulous eight days
The second trip from October 17 to 23, 2018
was to one of the regions of the world that I
really love: the French Mediterranean. Now,
one can be forgiven for thinking that it’s all
glamour, beaches and parties. But there is
another: a more beautiful side to that coastline
and that is the foothill of the Alpes Maritime.
This was a journey I undertook alone with
two guides I found through the Net. It was
similar to the Romanian trip… the difference
being that I was driving myself. I reached the
hotel in Menton the previous night, had a light
dinner and then went to sleep. Next morning
armed with a packed lunch, we hiked up 700
meters. The guide could speak little English,
so communication was a combination of
words and hand movements. On returning I met Paola, the most professional and erudite
to Menton, exhaustion overtook me, and I guide, I have ever met in Eze. She is a paragon
collapsed outside a pharmacy, but was back of knowledge, history, geography, culture,
on my feet in 45 minutes. The passersby were et all. She came armed with maps and two
quite concerned and willing to help, had I or more routes for each trekking destination
needed assistance. Finally, I got to the parking with different difficulty levels and time
lot and drove to my hotel. After regaining my required. She was a pleasure to hike with as
energy and fortified by rest, I walked around along with the beauty of the mountains that
Menton and spent a delightful evening and surrounded you, she regaled you with stories
dinner at Mirazur, the world’s best restaurant. comprising the history and culture of where
After a superb meal, washed down with you were.
delicious wine, I returned to my hotel to sleep The next trip – November 30 to December
and ready myself for another adventurous 3 – was to the hills above Rishikesh. I stayed
and exciting day. at a fabulous hotel – the Atali Ganga. Spread
And so, the trip continued from one beautiful on a hillside in the middle of a forest, Atali
destination to another, luxury boutique hotels Ganga is what is called an active hotel, with
and fine dining at night all the way, 500- individual cottages and rooms with windows
800 meter high, up and down five to eight on three sides. There are no televisions or

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