more of Houston

Here are more shots of the beautiful two-year-old Magnolia Hotel in downtown Houston. Man, I totally enjoyed those six pillows. And drooling over the classy TV station. I'd get me one of those in black--if I only had a bigger place, that is.

Last three photos are of the church across the hotel.

Anyway, that's all of the roadshow, people! As much as I enjoyed the trip, I couldn't be happier to be back home. Bebs and I just bought a new plush queen pillowtop bed over the weekend as well, so I've quite easily transitioned over from the enjoyment of 4-star hotel luxury to the good ole' comfort of the Bharwani home.

Nothing quite like the latter, if you ask me :) Awww, shucks (insert cheeky smile here. hehehe).

Last hurrah in Houston.

I'm still alive!

Or atleast I think I am. These past few weeks have been extremely stressful, exhausting and crazy for me! I'm glad the roadshow is over, although you can bet the stress is only just beginning, folks.

Incidentally, my last event (atleast for this leg) just ended a couple of hours ago; and though it was quite a success, I'm unfortunately a little too brain dead to type in the sordid details, or even edit this post for that matter :(

To make amends, I am posting some shots from our tour's final stop: Houston, TX. Yeehaw!

More pics to follow. Meanwhile, enjoy!

We stayed three days at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Houston. Veeeeeery nice. How can you not love a place that offers breakfast on the house, complimentary cocktails from 5-7pm, and free milk & cookies from 9pm onwards? Not to mention the nightly jazz gigs (below). Definitely the place to be.

A glimpse of the lobby (above) and hotel fireplace (below).

Quickie pose inside the elevator... I don't understand why my hair looks so short here, though.

Despite the busy sched, we always seemed to find time for shopping. The photo above happens to be the Galleria, the biggest mall in Houston. And it really was huge.

These are shots of the old church right across the hotel. There wasn't much to see downtown (especially during the day), so we ended up exploring this place one afternoon. Sorry, second pic is simply my appeal to vanity. hehehe. (Cut me some slack, kids, I don't have decent solo pics in this entire trip ;)

Okay, I'm officially done for the day. Have a great weekend everyone!

Four cities and counting...

MORE TRAVEL PHOTOS! :)

Our short stint in Florida comprised of two days in Orlando, and less than a day in Miami. Unfortunately, the Sunny State didn't prove faithful to its name, as the weather in Miami was a bismal. Consequently, we didn't catch the nightlife like last year, and I pretty much spent my one night in Miami watching The Cosby Show. Enjoyed it nonetheless ;)

The truth is though, as much as I love travelling and seeing new places, I find myself counting the days till I get home. The discovery isn't as breathtaking when you have no one special to share the travel with. Just not the same without my Bebster, I guess :(

Drama aside, here are photos of the City Walk in Universal Studios and the magnificent Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando. And as requested by my sis, I'm posting more shots of me this time (disclaimer: just keep in mind someone else took my solo pics. hehe).

Evoking Hope from New York.

My first day in New York may not have been as pleasant as I would have hoped (inside story: we were stuck in traffic for two hours and spent another agonizing hour trying to find our hotel), but let me say that the Big Apple is hands down beautiful. It's appeal is so different from San Francisco, and yet I grew to appreciate its charm as my stay progressed. If scheds weren't of so much importance, I would have definitely hung around a few more days to explore the sights.

The more amazing thing is, I went from downtown to uptown ALONE without so much as a map, and I still found my way around. And not to my credit at all; I was fortunate enough to have asked directions from some of the nicest people in New York who made sure I got to where I was supposed to go. Unbelievable. Twas truly a blessing.

Anyway, the pictures below are only a taste of what I actually experienced. Ground Zero and Central Park were the highlights of my exploration simply because they left such an impression on me. When I visited the World Trade Center for example, I couldn't understand it, but I felt such an overwhelming sense of emotion, I had to fight back tears. I was looking at the big empty lot, the rubble and what was left of the Towers, and in my head I could almost see the buildings collapse and the people screaming for help.

I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it must have been for New York to pick up its feet and move on from that tragedy. But you know what? They did. New York chose to rise and their lives were changed in the process.

It's amazing when you realize it's been four years since the incident. Which only proves that no matter how dark the circumstances, Hope always carries us through adversity. And that's such a relief.

Clink on any photo on film strip to view a large version below.
More of the beauty of NY here.

Doing the tourist thing in the Big Apple.

Ah, New York. All my college years I've always wanted to visit the place (my dream school is there ;).

Well, I finally got the opportunity to check out the Big Apple and so far it's been interesting (save for the horrendous traffic). I've yet to check out Ground Zero and the Empire State Building tomorrow, but meanwhile, here's a visual of what I've seen so far.

Click on pic below to view album.