The Goan Holiday

So, finally we made it. The trip that has been in the works ever since we decided to take the plunge some thirteen years ago. Along the years, we added a few vehicles, a couple of kids and a home, not necessarily in that order.  The famed beaches of Goa kept beckoning throughout . Time and experience is still trying to teach me to grab  what I want, and this time I decided to heed their call.

The men wanted a resort and the women refused to resort to commercial hubs. Who won, is as always, a moot point. The trip started with a solo drive of five hundred kilometers through the lovely countryside of Karnataka…

….then a joint one through the last hundred and twenty five through  rain washed ghats…..

….and finished with the final five hundred meters with a daring drive ithrough probably the narrowest stretch of road in all of Goa.

We reached a small capella and an inviting sign board that pointed us to a driveway strewn with leaves and wild grass…..

…that led us to the most welcoming entrance that I had seen in a long time.

Cool and warm, overgrown shrubs and huge trees all around, there was nothing organized and artificial about the place. The plants grew at their own pace and flowered on will. There were leaves strewn everywhere and grass peeping up in some places and thriving in others. One look at the garage, the man was at home.

A peep inside, and I knew I had reached home as well.

Two flights of steps made of solid stone up , the door opened to small passage, with a window that looked down…

….into a courtyard below

The beds were huge and comfortable …

….and the writing desk a piece of paradise….

The balcony opened out to another piece of heaven…

Sipping our morning tea, we felt like royalty…

….yes, we did see some of the most beautiful beaches…..

…and thanks to our friend who stays in Goa, got around to one that was practically deserted. The kids and of course the parents, had their tummy full of salt water

Father and kids just fooled around in the pool the last day …..

…while the mother curled herself up here

….leafing through some real treasures

The place belong to the lovely couple, Jamshed and Ayesha who runs J&A’s Ristorante Italiano in Bardez, Goa. Your eyes are sure to pop out as Ayesha tells you the house is just about seven years old. The love for details and passion to get things just right and totally at home is so evident as she goes on to say how the doors and windows and beams were brought in from second hand markets in Bombay and how they were lucky enough to inherit most of the antique furniture from their families.

The attention for even the smallest things is amazing, and I cannot but post some pictures of the lovely bathroom. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration when I say that one could easily spend a day in there…

….even the soap dish captured my heart

Yes, we feasted on the famous vindaloos and sorpotels …

….and an array of Goan fish delicacies….

….but it is Capella that is going to stay with us for a long time. Kids know how to put feelings into words so well, as my six year old keeps saying, “I want to live there for ever”

Epiphany struck the last night. The man in love with his bikes and jeeps, the woman with a treasure trove of books and love for cooking, and a home that is built from their heart and soul. Were we looking at a slightly older and far better looking versions of ourselves?

pictures courtesy – the man 🙂