Tuesday 15 May 2012

In the neck of the woods

Do you ever feel the need to not incessantly check email, not download a new app, not turn on the TV (which unfortunately is a constant fixture in my house) and just run away..far far from the usual retail therapy outlets..away from the hustle and bustle of city life..far far away. Do you ever feel that the great outdoors, the countryside, the mountains are calling you and you really need to escape.

Well that's exactly how I have been feeling lately and while I would have liked to go away all of Easter holiday, unfortunately that didn't happen and I only managed to do a one night stay in Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare.

Stratford-upon-Avon! That's no mountains!! You must be thinking..

I know, I know, yes it is part of the Cotswolds, the quintessential English countryside, but for all practical purposes its a little town. Its a town with its high streets littered with the same old chains we see around every neighbourhood - Cafe Rouge, Strada, Pizza Express and of course, Starbucks!

But anyway, this is the best I could get to, so here I was, trying to escape the city, but the city wouldn't leave me alone! So my friend and I sauntered around the park around the little river, looking for the "off-beaten track".

"You are looking at the wrong place, ladies" said the friendly traffic policeman we asked for directions to the "forest"

So we decided to stroll around the manicured lawns next to the river. We were about to give up, when suddenly, we saw a cycle hire. This friend of mine is a dainty lady, so I assumed that she didn't know how to cycle. I just stood in front of the cycle hire guy looking really forlorn and said, oh well, if you knew how to cycle, we could have cycled around....

"You've known me for more than a decade and you don't know if I can cycle or not!" my friend exclaimed..

"Well... I've never really seen you cycle" I retorted.

"I can! and I shall prove it!" and with that she struck a deal with the cycle hire and before you knew it, we were on our bikes.

It was chilly, and the wind swept across our faces as we cycled through mustard fields. Very DDLJ :) All I needed was my prince charming with a cow and a swiss bell...oh Well!

We cycled along the pathways, sang songs like old hindi film heroines and generally wondered how life had become so complicated and how little time we had to enjoy life's simple pleasures.

But sometimes, even an hour of indulgence can make you realise what you are missing and make you feel relaxed and rejuvenated again.

So go re live those simple pleasures and tell me how it felt!