The Helix Nebula aka “Eye of Sauron” is located in the constellation Aquarius at 650 light years away. It is a planetary nebula that formed when a star shed its outer layers. The gases of the nebula glow due to the radiation emitted by the remnant central core of that star - a white dwarf.
Visited the Eiffel Tower in the afternoon. Being low tourist season, we could just walk through security without any wait and had a nice time. There so many photos one can take there with unique angles and perspectives.
This bridge near Bonnieux was built more than 2000 years ago during the Roman Empire when there was no mortar. It was built by placing perfectly chiseled stones on top of each other. It was in regular use till 2005 when it was designated as a monument. Amazing Roman engineering!
Lunch in Bonnieux was at this small restaurant called Panoramique César that had handwritten menu on the board. I had stuffed vegetables - eggplant, mushroom and a baby cabbage stuffed with various meats, grains and cheese. I think this was the best meal on this trip.
On day 2 our first stop was this picturesque pretty hilltop town of Gordes in the Luberon mountains. This place is used by many filmmakers as a typical Provençal town. For that reason every little stone in the town is in the perfect place.
Lunch at this wonderful little cafe, La Table des Balmes in Beaumes-de-Venise was fois gras and smoked trout on a pancake followed by crème brûlée.
Visited a couple of vineyards on the slopes of Mont Ventoux. There were some tasty wines made from Grenache grapes with Ventoux appellation.
Drove up on Mont Ventoux from Avignon for views but didn’t see anything as the summit was shrouded in clouds. Noticed many messages written on the road as this was on the route of Tour de France stage 16 in July of this year.
Although one can spend days in each one of them, we visited three museums in London in one day to view a few selected objects:
National gallery: Van Gogh and Monet paintings British museum: Rosetta Stone V&A museum: Tipoo’s tiger
Visited the white cliffs near Eastbourne on the south shore of England. These views were just breathtaking.
Squeezed in a bike ride with Yatin on a foggy Sunday morning during this London trip.
Went to Totenham stadium to watch the Spurs playing ManU with Adit. It was fun navigating through the tube system to get there. I was impressed with the stadium. Even though it was full at capacity, going in and coming out was a breeze. The second half was exciting but the game ended in a tie.
Went mushroom hunting with my daughter. Found some good ones. We are not confident enough to identify and eat the correct ones - maybe one day that achievement will get unlocked.
Congratulations to Indian Women’s cricket team for winning the World Cup!!! This whole tournament was so good except for some matches that were messed up by rain. Feels like Women’s cricket is much more exciting than Men’s cricket these days.