"When I get older, I will be stronger, They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag, And then it goes back, and then it goes back, And then it goes back"!!!

On 11th June, The Beautiful Game began in all its magnificence in the beautiful stadium of Johannesburg in South Africa! The one month footballing extravaganza will yet again bring hundreds of nations, thousands of cities and millions of people to a standstill like only it can. It would not be wrong to say that Nothing unites people, brings them together, excites them to core and makes them passionate & emotional like the magnanimous event known as THE WORL CUP FOOTBALL!!

Talking about favourites, for the sheer amount of bench strength and the multiple number of specialists that they have for every particular position, Spain, the Euro champions, are undoubtedly the numero uno team to lift the cup. The time has come for the long-time underdogs to shed this tag & finally win the championship. Torres and Villa at the front, Xavi, Xabi and Fabregas in the midfield and Captain Cassilas at the goal-post, this is on paper as well as on form, the Spanish Armada destined to be 2010 winners.

Giving them a really tough run for the ball, however, would be the likes of Argentina, Brazil and England indeed! If there is only one man who is capable of changing the course of this whole tournament and bring back the cup glory for Argentina, Lionel Messi it is!!! The world footballer of the year has been compared to the likes of Maradona and Pele already and HE IS THE ONE who can make this world cup his very own. How all we wish that he does so!!! Five-times winner Brazil have always been a major contender for the title and in coach Dunga, they have the commander who can take them to the distance. But it would be interesting to see how they counter the threat posed by Ronaldo’s Portugal and Drogba’s Ivory Coast in their ‘Group of Death’!! And after an outstanding qualifying campaign, England will fancy their chances of going all the way with the help of some luck. With the likes of Rooney, Gerrad and Lampard at their disposal, English are a serious threat for sure!

Having said all that, history has time and again proved that a football world cup is incomplete without its share of surprises. And the three dark horses: the Netherlands, Portugal and Germany will all prove to be a tough nut to crack. As I write this, Germany has already made the most resounding start to its campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of Australia!! And it would be a huge mistake to undermine the skills of Van Persie and Cristiano Ronaldo viz.a.viz Messi!!

The defending champions Italy are always a contender for the title. And no matter how much I personally hate them for their defensive style of play-making, it is also the biggest strength of this Cannavaro led compact unit.

With only 18 goals in 11 matches thus far, the first half of the tournament has been rather dull in terms of goal-scoring. Nevertheless, two things have ensured that WC’10 remains in the thick of headlines: The Vuvuzela trumpet and the Jabulani balls!!

Not for one second in the complete 90 minutes of the match, can you stay away from the blaring sound of the vuvuzela trumpet, known to be really high on the decibel levels. What started as something which will add to the fun-factor of this African safari, is now increasingly becoming an irritation for one and all alike. And then we have the case of the Jabulani footballs which made David Green, the English goalkeeper, in-famous as the ‘Hand of the Clod’ in their matchup with the USA, what with the ball conveniently slipping past his hands inside the goal!! And its not only the goal-keepers who are complaining, even the strikers are finding it very hard to keep the ball down during set-pieces and while making that final blow inside the D on the goal. Hence, the embarrassment is shared by both!

Only time will tell that which country will hold the ‘Waving Flag’ on 11th of July. But rest assured, this one month will once again prove to be full of excitement, passion and enjoyment!!

The Red Fury – GO GO GO!! :)

Date: 14 May, 2010
Time: 12 midnight (Paris)

3 souls are hypnotized with what they are witnessing in front of them! One of the 7 wonders of the world is glittering with stunning lights over and over again, for the next 10 minutes!! For me, the already special day (my Mom’s birthday) became a day I will always remember forever!! Eiffel tower at 12 midnight in all its lightning beauty touched me inside the heart to the core. Yes, this is Paris!

The Paris trip started in almost the Barca way for us, travelling around a lot to find the right apartment and made even more exciting because of THE GAME we played (JD will agree the most I am sure :P). And then the Paris experience went from being good to better to best to near-perfect!!!

The monumental Arc di Triomphe with six diverging roads leading to all the architectural master-pieces such as Eiffel tower, Pantheon, Concorde, Notre Dam, Sacre Coure etc. The ‘Monalisa’ painting of the Louvre Museum attracted one and all, besides the other magnificent paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michael Angelo.
La Defense malls and the shopping we finally did at Zara and other biggie stores! Moulin Rogue in all its sensual colours (Red and more ;)). Lets keep some secrets here!

And then there was DISNEYLAND!!! To me, the defining moment of the whole Euro trip. One full day spent in this magic-world, the world that amazed us, enthralled us and glued us to our TV screens (in the form of Aladdin, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and so on…..), was now right in front of us and yes we could feel the magic!! Another experience, which one really has to experience to thoroughly enjoy the super-exciting world!!As it turned out, this was one place, where me and JD completely beat Kamra in enthusiasm levels: day-in & night-out!! :)

Amidst all the fun we had, there was one question which boggled me wherever I went!! Counter this: Temperature less than 5 degree Celsius, windy atmosphere and mild drizziling too: How can not only the teenagers (read 15-25 year olds), but also adults (read 50+ junta), both male and female roam around in shorts and skirts everywhere?? When we three can’t get enough warmth in our inners and full sleeves shirts and sweaters and jackets and gloves and caps?? Everyone said: “Adaptability”! Well I don’t agree with this guys: For I still melt the same and my sweat-o-meter hits Richter scale even after spending 1 year in Mumbai, and I still wear all that woolen stuff in Dehradun in January for the last 10 years!!! Food for thought guys??

Huh.. but I wont like to end on a question nary note!!

Awesome Mausam, Beautiful people, Clean surroundings, Majestic architecture, Automatic gadgets: All in All a lifetime experience!!

Europe: I will be back :)

J'aime Paris!!!

Hotel Marina in Bogatel turned out to be a not so easy destination to reach! The three of us had been walking on the road for almost 2 hours now, quite a few kilometers for sure and if you have to keep up with kamra’s pace, you have to speed-walk or should I say mild-running! Now Bogatel is a small place in Barcelona… Now if I have to repeat a similar series of events in Mumbai, trust me we all would either have a heat stroke, melting from the sweltering heat and dehydrated our bodies to the last drop of H2O… But then we were enjoying ourselves in a very pleasant climate, with vacant roads, ultra-clean environment, very impressive crowd and the fact that we had finally arrived in Europe for the one week extravaganza!!

Right from the luxury of our 4-star hotel with majestic rooms and lavish breakfasts to the booming La Ramblas market (with JD’s couple dance with uncle: the icing on the cake :P) and the beaches and the night clubs and yes, I almost forgot – the beautiful, very beautiful Montsserat: Barcelona is an absolute delight!!

If we were all awed by the exquisite metro trains with their overwhelming interiors and amazing curls, then we were thrilled to the core by the crackling sound of Alonso, Schumi & Webber’s F-1 racing dynamos (cars would be an understatement)!

Moments that took my breath away:

3rd: The cable ride to Montsserat and the place itself: WOW!
2nd: The taste of the Sangria drink and its after-effects, something I can never ever forget. Infact, the one single reason I would like to be back in Barcelona again: WOWW!
1st: Club Razmatazz@4am!!! No I can’t describe this in words, you have to be their to experience the SHOW: WOWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Adoro Barcelona!! (I love you Barcelona in Spanish) :) :)