Good places to eat in Jersey City

Grove Street Area:

1. Orale Mexican Kitchen
    Modern mexican and happening, family friendly

2. Roman Nose
    Italian, amazing pesto pizza and pasta, family friendly

3. Porta
    Good for some artisanal pizza, large space, family friendly

4. Gringos
    Mexica, street food vibe, family friendly

5. Mathews
    Eclectic american fare, good for a nice romantic dinner with proper table service

6. Ani Ramen
    Ramen place and quite happening on the inside, its a tight space if you are taking little kids

7. Cellar 335
    Eclectic american with a nice bar and accommodates large parties, good cocktails

8. Talde
     American eclectic, nice ambience, large space

9. Razza
    Artisanal pizzas


Exchange Place Area:

1. Amelias
    Poor man's Fig and Olive, family friendly

2. Light Horse Tavern
    Romantic dinner date night place, few vegetarian options

3. City Diner
   Good brunch place


Newport Area:

1. Batellos

2. Fire & Oak

3. Taphouse
    Drinks and appetizer place

4. Raaz
    Indian

The Summer of 2018 - Day 1

Its been in the making for about 4 years and here I am with my girls, on a 6 week journey of a European staycation!

The plan is to stay in Belgium of about four weeks, a week in Holland and the last week in Norway.

Day 1: Belgium, Brussels

Arrived here early in the morning at 7:40am. Or course my body has time travelled but in my mind its still about 1:40am (EST). We reached the hotel super groggy in a long, expensive cab ride with a very polite, talkative driver. Of course our room is not ready and we drop our luggage and head out.

First stop was Exki, its like a Pret equivalent but with a lot more character and some awesome choices. Sitting outside, the soft wind blowing in cool spurts, facing the beautiful stock exchange and sipping coffee and eating some delicious goodies. Anurag also got some Macdonald hash browns with European ketchup! I love the European ketchup which they always charge for and its simply delightful.

We spent the morning around the beautiful Grand place, strolling around, making snack pit stops and window shopping. Got the hotel room at 1pm and we all passed out the moment we hit the room.

In the evening, we went to the gastric streets around Grand place and sat in this Mexican restaurant called La Esquina. The food was good and the girls had a fill.

We all crashed once we got home, tired and jet lagged.

Some really good Foreign Films

I have been sick the past week with the flu, I was mostly in bed and had quarantined myself to avoid the girls or Anurag getting sick. Given all the time I had, I started watching whatever I could get find on Netflix, like documentaries (Wild latin American, The Alps from above), already seen movies (Bridget Jones Diary, Sliding Door etc.) and then this movie caught my attention as it was based on a true story...

In to the White:
Norwegian film, 2012
This movie is about the time when both the British and Germans were trying to occupy Norway for its natural resources. The story is about two planes (one British and one German) that crashes in Norway and how these two groups end up in a hunting cabin in the middle of winter and try to survive!

Two Lives:
Norwegian film, 2012
This is based on a true case, its about a lady who is a war child and has been living in Norway for 20 years post adulthood during which the Berlin wall crumbles (1990) and so does her life.... very interesting and to think such things happened way after the world war II.
Interestingly, looks like there were war children in Norway with German fathers probably because of the premise of the above movie (Into the White). Loved to see this connection....

Force Majeure:
Swedish Film, 2014
This is a beautifully done movie from every point you can imagine (acting, directing, cinematography, dialogues and just the ambience of tension that gets created). Its about a vacationing family at a ski resort and this event happening to the family that avalanches though their lives for the rest of their vacation days. This is filmed at an actual Ski resort in France, Le Arcs.

Evelyn:
Irish, 2002
This movie is also based on true events about how an Irish father in the 1950s Ireland had to fight the state in-order to gain custody of his three children who were taken from him and put into children's homes and convents as the Mother had abandoned the children. The oldest child about 6 was Evelyn who was just an absolute pleasure to watch.

The divine in me bows to the divine in you.....

A few months back I was visiting a friend, Miran, I had know her for many years on and off. She is a firm believer in holistic living both for the mind and body and by that I mean she eats healthy, exercises, does yoga, meditates, works hard and is a very polite and kind person and I would say practices these virtues. She is a single parent too.

Miran also had two girls right about the age of Roxy and Romy. And of course the conversation always drifts to what the girls are up to. At the time, I had been having these constant conflicts with Roxy over practically everything no matter how hard I tried; she didn't like the clothes I got her, didn't like the way I made her hair, didn't like the food, didn't like doing anything I would suggest. Rox got into the mode of starting to believe that Mamma was mean to her and didn't like her..... I was telling Miran about this and she said she also went through a tough patch with her elder one on things like this.

I asked her how it was going now and she said its gotten much better. I asked her how she got to that point, did it just run its course or did she change the way she was behaving or changed her attitude on things... and then she asked me to try this:

Sit in a quite place
Come to peace with yourself, that is calm down and just gather yourself and try to feel the peace
Close your eyes
Call out to speak to your daughter's higher self
Talk about all the things you love about her
Talk about all the things that make you mad that she does
Then ask for her forgiveness for the things that you may have done to make her mad in this life and the past life
After that also say that you forgive her for the things that have knowingly or unknowingly happened
And come to peace with who you are and who she is.....

I actually did this exercise a couple of times, there was nothing to loose I figured.

Interestingly enough, I have to say the past few months have been quite smooth..... may be this method taught me to  lay out what is actually bothering me and how to be at peace with all that.... or may be Miran knows a thing or two about holistic living :)

In any case, I am quite happy the way things are right now and would like to keep it that way,
so the divine in me bows to the divine in you.......

Going to the Pelican's

On our recent visit to Sarasota, Florida, Romy and Roxy were unusually peppy, constantly getting in each other’s way, louder than usual and to top it all whatever I said to them fell on deaf ears.

Interestingly enough, there were scores of pelicans flying around the Ritz waterfront diving beak first into the water. And it just occurred to me and I told them if they don’t behave they will be going to the Pelicans! And voila, they were all ears :)

I told them at the Pelicans there is no Pizza or Pasta or Fries or any other food they can’t live without. At the Pelicans they have to eat what the Pelican Mamma brings home which is usually fresh fish that is sometimes alive and worms. The Pelican will open their mouths and feed them that. Their jaws dropped….

I told them, the Pelican nest is quite small so there is no room to run around and they will just have to sit there all day unless they can fly.

They resoundingly said they didn’t know how to fly….

Moreover, I said life can get real boring as there will be no toys or friends. And on top of that if the Pelican babies do not get comfortable with them and they could ask them to leave the nest and go into the water.

They tightly held on to the table we were sitting on…..

Somehow my imagination of a Pelican nest was it’s built on the water (after doing some reading that is not the case).

And it went on and on. They had many questions like how do they actually get sent to the Pelicans? I told them that Mummy and Papa are going to swing them up and down and that is the cue for the Pelicans to come and carry them to their nests.

They looked in amazement with a little scare in their eyes…..

Then onwards all I had to say when they would fight with each other and not listen was “who wants to go to the Pelican’s?” 

All in all, it was quite a fun trip and we all got home without visiting the Pelican’s ;-)

Lovingly,

Mommy

 At the Ritz Carlton property in Sarasota, FL.

Go..... spread your wings and fly.....

At the beach

 Mommy trying her jump shots! :)

Day 2: At the Ringling Museum
The front gate was quite ornate and we thought that was it to it but when we stepped inside we were amazed at all the Venician architecture and gardens!

Here comes the circus! :)

 The property at the museum had these enormous banyan trees and not just one but about a 100 of them.

The house inside the property lies by the water and was just breathtaking...

 The art museum gallery

 Enjoying a ride back to the entrance after we were done walking around the spread out museum property.

 Back to the Ritz property in the evening, it was quite a lovely sunset.

Day 3: Headed to the Children's Zoo

 At the zoo

 Back at the Ritz, the kids having fun at the pool

Back pain and how I overcame it....

In last few months I have come across a lot of folks talking about back pain, both at work and outside of work. I often find myself asking them if they suffered any accident and so far the answer has always been “no” (which is good). Then I find myself telling them that they can probably overcome it. Of course this leads into more conversation but due to lack of time it never finishes. So I thought I should put this on my blog.

So the story goes back to around 2004 when I had chronic back pain and I started getting some tests done. I had an X-ray done and then an MRI and it turns out I had a bulge in my L4-L5 and a herniation around S1-S2 and that was pinching some nerve and that is what was causing the crazy lower back pain I was experiencing.

Then started a crazy regimen of pain medication, physical therapy, back stretching exercises and better posture training. I suppose with all this going on, I started feeling a little better and then a couple of months passed and again the pain developed and now we are in 2005.

This time whilst talking to other folks going through similar back pain issues I was introduced into the world of chiropractic adjustments!

Then started another regimen of chiropractic treatments, physical therapy and massage!! I really liked going to my chiropractor, it seems they could magically make you feel better with those abnormal adjustments and then the physical therapy after that. Let me also add the physical therapy also included mini neck and back massages which were just amazing! It felt more like going to a spa in pain and coming out refreshed. This went on for a few months till my insurance would no longer support it for that year L

At the end of 2005 I was feeling better than before but the pain kept lingering and on top of that I found out that I was expecting. So in January 2006 the pain overtook me and I was put on bed rest for a couple of weeks. Since I was expecting there was no medication to be had, no X-rays or MRIs to be done and most doctors would not recommend me continuing with my chiropractic treatments.

It was around third week of January’06 Anurag left me a copy of

Healing Back Pain by Dr. Sarno by the bed side. I opened the book and started reading……

 

That was the day and here we are today, after two children who are 6 and 3, I am pretty much free of  back pain without any medication or physical therapy or chiropractic treatments or back strengthening exercises or better posture or you name it! 

In a nutshell this is what Dr. Sarno says and what I have come to believe:

• You back is one of the most resilient organs of your body, do not doubt it, do not think its weak
• The mind is very powerful and it will play tricks on you and most of the pain you feel (that occurred naturally not by some unfortunate accident) is an effort by your mind to repress emotions
• The mind tricks you into not facing repressed emotion by making you focus on pain in the body
• And when the above realization sinks in (you have to believe it and practice it) the pain starts to go away….

I can’t thank Anurag enough and incidentally he got this book for me in 2004 (2 years before I finally read it). Feel free to email me if you have any further questions.

Happy Healing,

Puja

Three days in Paris with the girls.....

On our way back from India, we took a 3 day detour in Paris and it turned out to be quite a trip.

Day 1: Arrival in Paris

 Arrived in Paris around 9:00am, waiting by the train station at the airport after putting the rest of our luggage in the cloak room.

 Stopped by the lovely cafe by our Hotel

 Took the train to the Pont des Arts bridge with the love padlocks, its quite a scene!

Kids enjoying their ice cream by the bridge!

Another view of the Pont des Arts bridge

 Reached the Louvre and the kids loved the glass pyramid and the surrounding area

 We didn't go inside the Louvre this time, we just hung outside with the kids

 Enjoying the waters by the Pyramids

 On the Ferris Wheel ride, looking at the great Paris skyline

 There were various rides and the kids just loved it

Day 2: 8:30am

Started our walk to the basilica at Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre since we were right in the area. Right here was a a lovely carousal ride the kids would not get out off! :)

 Right on the steps of basilica at Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre

 There are still these public telephone booths all over Paris and everytime we would see one, Romy and Roxy would make a few pretend calls. They absolutely loved this.

 Walking towards the Eiffle Tower by early afternoon.

 Right before the Eiffle tower there was another Carousal ride the kids did and then there were these eccentric bikes we all got in.

 Afternoon we reached Jardin du luxembourg

 Had our lunch here in the open besides these fountains at the really nice Italian place

 Nice view of the Jardin du luxembourg

 Another view of Jardin du luxembourg in the evening and headed back to our hotel.

 Day 3: 

Reached the Eiffle tower by 8:30am and waited in line for 3 hours before making our way to the top. Note that if you buy your tickets a day in advance you don't have to wait on such long lines. Anurag was insistent on getting the girls to the top and this really paid off because now they recognize the Eiffle tower very well.

 Views from the top of Eiffle tower were amazing.

In the afternoon we headed to the Center Pompidou so the girls can ride the escalators. Right in front of Center Pompidou enjoying a glass of wine with some snacks.

 Again in front of the Center Pompidou was a really cool art shop, would have spend much more time there but the girls were driving me nuts :)

 Ahh... finally on to the escalator rides, there are about 6 escalator rides before you reach the top and the views from there are breathtaking.

After the escalators ride, enjoyed really delicious gelato ice cream at Amorino. Incidentally this shop is also there in NYC.

 Outside the Center Pompidou there was a man who was making these lovely ballonaimals and things for kids for free!!! Can you believe it. Anurag tipped him and he refused to take the tip. The girls really enjoyed their ballons.

 Made our way to take a trip on the Seine river in the evening.

 On our river cruise Bateaux cruise, it was an awesome boat, very long and sleek with great views wherever you are seated.

2 hour Bateaux cruise coming to an end after seeing some major landmarks like the Notredame.



Au revoir Paris!! A bientot!!