i've always been sort of intrigued by pondicherry. initially because it had such a cute name. i mean, pondicherry? it sounds adorable. then when i found out about its major french influence, i was sold. having now spent several months in india almost entirely pastry and non-amul cheese -less, i was hopeful for some authentic food if nothing else.
pondicherry did not disappoint! a charming little town, it boasts both lingering french influences and actual french people - thanks to the prominent ex-pat community. each street has two names, one french and the other vaguely tamil or perhaps the name of a person (confusing for the mailman, i'm sure). the city is divided into sections - french, tamil, muslim etc and bifurcated by a canal that has surely seen better days.
we stayed at a quaint little guest house (le rêve bleu.. charmant, non?) that seems to be popular with the french set - evidenced by the scene of baguette-tearing and cigarette-chain smoking we came down to in the morning. the french proprietess steered us towards the best bakery in town, baker street (english/sherlock holmes theme but thoroughly french) where we indulged in a breakfast of macarons (basil and vanilla olive oil) and croissants of the regular and almond variety (the latter was the best). french pastries at indian pastry prices? a rare find indeed.
properly stuffed, it was off to explore the city. we rented bikes and cycled around town, meandering here and there and stopping to take very similar pictures about every 30 meters. we made it out to the sea (which we later learned was a bay) and pedaled our way along the shoreline. at some point we stopped along the water at a cafe named, aptly, le café, where we had a lovely breeze and may have even been in the background of a (very cheesy) tamil music video.
after some more wandering we made our way to a nondescript place farther down the beach for a quick drink as the sun was setting. on the way we stopped to see 'the elephant' who visits the temple each day to bless whoever wants to offer money or fruit. for a few rupees you can experience the warm breath of an elephant as its trunk brushes over your head. for dinner we met a friend of a friend for a rather nice meal - mostly south indian food (think rice and coconuts) with a fancy touch. i had the chicken chetinad - a local preparation - and we shared other seafood and curry dishes as well. delightful!
which kind of sums up pondicherry actually. it was a delight, and we left quite full.
pondicherry did not disappoint! a charming little town, it boasts both lingering french influences and actual french people - thanks to the prominent ex-pat community. each street has two names, one french and the other vaguely tamil or perhaps the name of a person (confusing for the mailman, i'm sure). the city is divided into sections - french, tamil, muslim etc and bifurcated by a canal that has surely seen better days.
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| petit déj, anyone? |
properly stuffed, it was off to explore the city. we rented bikes and cycled around town, meandering here and there and stopping to take very similar pictures about every 30 meters. we made it out to the sea (which we later learned was a bay) and pedaled our way along the shoreline. at some point we stopped along the water at a cafe named, aptly, le café, where we had a lovely breeze and may have even been in the background of a (very cheesy) tamil music video.
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| colors of pondy |
which kind of sums up pondicherry actually. it was a delight, and we left quite full.
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