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Pondicherry

Pondicherry was a French colony. The French legacy is still maintained in the french quarter of the town with yellow colonial bungalows draped with bouganvilleas and streets named in French. We drove down to Pondy on a sunny day and it took us almost four hours with two breaks in between. The drive was pleasant ( love driving through the countryside) and the roads were good for most part. We checked into the Hotel Du Parc which is located on Nehru street, adjacent to the French quarter. The building is old colonial and has that distinct old world charm with high windows and antique furniture. The room that we took was on two levels. The groundfloor had a tiny seating area and the bathroom whereas the beds were in a kind of loft like area above. The stairs were wooden and my LO had a gala time marching up and down.
We checked in late afternoon, dumped our stuff and decided to hit the promenade.It was two mins walk and we sat by the sea enjoying the cool breeze and samosas.The promenade is kept quite clean and is very well maintained. We just hung around till sunset and came back to the hotel for dinner. The hotel Du Parc has good continental cuisine and meals are definitely recommended. The next day, we hit Auroville. After the customary visit to MatriMandir , we rented bicycles and rode around auroville. We had lunch at WellCafe and enjoyed the art and installations around. Auroville takes an entire day to explore. With its quaint cafes and art communities Auroville is definitely a visual treat.
The next day we hired a scooty and just went around the French Quarters. we started with the Aurobindo Ashram and then followed it with the vaious centres funded by the ashram. We bought some handmade paper, handmade incense, handmade soap etc. I love "handmade" and I went mad choosing what to buy and not. In the evening we went to this beach called serenity beach which is 7-8 kms from the town. Theres a pretty little cafe there called THEEVU PLAGE with a pretty little waitress. We sat there for some tea and sandwiches and she told us that there was a surfing school there run by a spaniard. So the next day we dutifully made our way to Kallialey  Surfing School. The husband went for a surfing lesson while I sat at the pretty little cafe with the pretty little waitress. Came back in the evening, had dinner at La Maison Rose and called it a day. The next day we drove back to Bangalore.
PS- had nothing but steaks and wine for the entire duration of the stay.

The Lighthouse

The promenade

WellCafe


Walk to MatriMandir


MatriMandir

Theevu plage

Serenity beach

graffiti


Promenade :Old Pondy


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