Panaji June 18 Road

 

Our first full day in Panaji we walked along 18th June Road, a busy street located in the heart of the city. Here are some pictures of the area.

 

Bombay Bazar, a well known place to get any indian souveneers and goods.

 

 

While walking in the area we pased by Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, one of the oldest churches in Goa dating back to 1540.

 

 

 

We spontatenously stopped at a random shop where Alexis got her ear peirced!

 

wahooo!

Lastly, we dicided to see an Indian movie. Luckily enough it was opening day of Dhoom: 3, a highly anticipated movie with one of the biggest budgets in all of India's history. It is also the first Indian film presented in IMAX.

 

 

Dhoom: 3 is an action thriller.  A man on the street described it as "India's Fast and Furious". Alexis and I were worried there wouldn't be dancing (like in bollywood films), but we were so silly to have thought that. Of course there was!

Couchsurfing with Justyna

Our last destination in Goa was Panaji, the capital city. We stayed with Justyna, a couchsurfer from Poland, who was a really outgoing, easy to talk to person with a really groovy apartment.

Justyna's Apartment

Justyna and her friends painted all over the walls of the apartment .

The masterpeice was in the kitchen. Notice the footprints, which walked all the way up to the ceiling.

Justyna was kind enough to take us around on her scooter to run some errands. We stopped by her work-intership place, which also had really cool art.

Ashvem Beach

Random street sticker

Our last day in Anjuna, we took a trip to Ashvem Beach. This beach was farther to get to, but more secluded and with less tourist. The beach was as peaceful as people said it would be and we ate the best grilled prawns ever. I still think about that meal to this day.

The view doesn't get old.

 

UGH! SO GOOD.

Anjuna Flea Market

Every Wednesday Anjuna has a famous Flea Market where local and expat vendors sell clothing, jewelry, spices, and souvenirs. By this time, Alexis and I had gotten much better with a haggling skills but the sheer size of the venue was overwhelming! I came out of the experience with a few small gifts, but unfortunately I can't do too much shopping until the end of my travels. It was still super fun to window shop and people watch all the locals and hippies.

 

 

The market was so HUGE that we had to stop a few times and rest.

The flea market is situated right next to Anjuna Beach.  A short walk to the outskirts of the market sight and we were at the ocean!

Black rocks along the coastline.

Alexis and the sunset.

YAYAY! <3 <3

 For dinner we ate on the second floor of Curlie's, a well known restaurant that was suggested to us by our first Airbnb host in Colva.

Another romantic dinner <3!

View from our dinner seats.

Lotus Eaters at Bean Me Up

While staying at Lotus Eaters, we helped Sameer out with a a project.  They had a few shelves at Bean Me Up that needed cataloging and organizing. We were happy to help!

 

Sorting the books!

Bean Me Up Vegan Resturant

Bean Me Up is a vegan restaurant around the corner from Lotus Eaters. Everyday we would ride our bikes to Bean Me Up for a morning yoga class and breakfast. The restaurant had an assortment of fresh foods and juices. It was pretty much the best start to our days we could imagine. In general, it's super easy to eat vegetarian or vegan in India.

 

Bean Me Up is named the Best Vegetarian Restaurant in Goa three years running.

 

IMPRESSED.

 

hungry.

 

One of our morning meals.

 

Papaya pineapple smoothie and chocolate chia porridge.

Apple carrot beet juice and a fruit salad

Vagator Beach

Goa is a host to many beautiful beaches, the closest one to where Alexis and I were staying was Vagator and Little Vagator.

Along the beach side are restaurant shacks serving the freshest seafood and vendors selling clothing and any sort of beach accessory you could need.

 

LADIES @ BOOM SHANKA

The water was cool, the sand was soft, and the sun was warming. What more could you ask for?

 

 

Free cows happily roaming the beach coast.  This was a common sight!