TRAVEL TALES of ranaruby

The Charm of Fontainebleau   It is indeed charming. This small town about 50km by road from Paris has the appearance of a cute and quiet French Hamlet. Fontainebleau town is on the left bank of the river Seine. Ensconced between the laid-back town square and the surrounding thickly forested areas is the famous Fontainebleau Chateau, which has now been converted into a museum after being declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981. The origin of this cute chateau dates back to the twelfth century when a Royal Hunting lodge was set up for the Kings of France. It was enlarged by Louis IX (known as St. Louis) in the thirteenth century. Later it was entirely rebuilt by some famous French architects in the sixteenth century. From Louis VII through Napoleon III, this palace was used as the residence of French monarchs for over eight centuries. Among the impressive list of people who resided in   this palace are King Louis XII, the Russian Czar Peter the Great, King Loui

CALCUTTA CAFES   -  Oh Calcutta! Addas with Great Tastes About twenty years back Calcutta boasted of some famous ‘adda’ joints like Coffee Houses on College Street and Central Avenue, Basanta Cabin in Basusree Cinema, Sangu Valley at Bhowanipur, Dhaba at Ballygunge Phari to name a few alongwith a few renowned Tea stalls where people from all walks of life would congregate and spend hours over cups of tea and snacks debating  literally on all topics under the sun. The city earned a name for such ‘adda’ scenario which used to be mostly intellectual in nature. Lyrically depicted in Manna De’s popular rendering of Bengali song ‘ Coffee houser  sei  Adda …’.But over the years this character dwindled with emergence of modern foodscape. Like old wine in new bottle, more costlier versions sprang up – CCD, KFC, McDonalds, Haldiram, Barista to name a few. Returning to Calcutta after many years the one joint that caught my fancy as a foodie and a great admirer of Calcutta ‘adda’ is

Cafe Leaves n Aroma --- Adda with Great Tastes Not very far from the din,bustle and squabbles of Calcutta lies another Calcutta. A new Calcutta-Kolkata comprising Rajarhat and New Town. A newly developed Park known as Eco Park is located here. We bumped into it recently on our way back from the airport. Built on the concept of providing eco-friendly atmosphere it houses amongst other attractions an exclusive and unique Butterfly Park. Nature lovers can catch a glimpse and observe the behavior of a wide variety of butterflies and moths. Way to the Park saw us at a culinary stopover ‘Leaves n Aroma’, a cute little café seated a few meters from the Eco-Park entrance gate. Run by Ms Mitali Mitra and Ms Sunetra Chaudhury, the inside décor is simple and warm. We were greeted by Mitali, a former journalist. Bubbling with ideas she has effectively all the ingredients in place to create the nostalgic café culture of seventies. A book rack with some very interesting collection is an added