This is one post I have no idea where to start from. Because this is not a recipe post, its about putting into words the unlimited fun and happiness I experienced over a three day period.

Its about meeting people you have never met before and chatting for hours as if you have been friends forever. Its about friendship, fun, food and so much more.

Its about BM 25 Meet.

My blogging would have stopped a long time ago has it not been for Valli’s Blogging Marathon (or BM as we call it). I have been part of this since 7th or 8th edition and there are only a very few editions that I have missed. Over this period of time, all of us have been interacting a lot through mails, chat and phone.

So when Pradnya of The Pumpkin Farm (now, don’t you love that blog name?) suggested that we all meet for the 25th edition, I never thought it would really materialize. Vaishali of Ribbon’s to Pasta’s suggested that we all travel to Ahmedabad – her place – for the meet. She personally called up everyone and made us believe that the meet was indeed possible.

Hubby was more than happy to get a three day break for himself and persuaded me to book the tickets. ‘I deserve it, honey. So why don’t you go and come?’ was his reaction. So I booked the tickets in November, and forgot all about it – until Jan mid when the mails started pouring in.

Finally, nine of us were able to make for the meet.

1. Archana  – The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen
2. Kamalika – Dedicated to Janaki Paatti
3. Nandini and Ikshvaku- Foodiliciousnan ( Ikshu is only 10 months old, so its Nandini who blogs ;-) )
4. Padma Rekha – Plantain Leaf
5. Padmajha and Sidhu – Seduce Your Tastebuds (Again, PJ does the blogging. Sidhu is just one year old.)
6. Pradnya and Shlok – The Pumpkin Farm (Shlok was the eldest kid there, he is three.)
7. Rajani – My Kitchen Trials (Yours Truly :D)
8. Valli – Spice Your Life
9. Vaishali – Ribbons to Pastas (of course! :) )

I was as excited as the others and couldn’t wait for 8th of Feb, 2013 to come. Our Day 1 started at 5 AM, when we reached Chennai airport. The dress code was ‘shades of red’. Jet Airways took the five of us from Chennai, dressed in bright pinks and oranges, from Chennai to A’bad via Bombay.

Vaishali and Archana received us at the airport. They later told us that they almost took another group of 5 ladies dressed in shades of red color, home!

Luckily for us, they didn’t! So, off we went of Vaishali’s hotel cum restaurant ‘The Nest’, where we were given a royal welcome. I mean it, really! Look at us lighting that lamp at arrival :). Vaishali was really really sweet!

Vaishali even let us inside the restaurant kitchen, where we all clicked non stop. You can see a lot of clicks of the restaurant kitchen, with her staff being interrupted, harassed, questioned and clicked non stop by us ladies.

Then we were fed. And later fed again. And then we helped ourselves. Then it was time for the BM Chef contest. We had to take a precooked food item from home. I didn’t make anything special for it, I had an extra packet of cookies I had made as a gift for everyone. So I kept that.

And we ate that too ( as part of judging, of course!).

After the BM Chef contest (burp!), we attended a food photography session arranged by Vaishali. And then there was this gift exchange session. I came home with a lot more stuff than I carried from here. But then, that’s for another post.

With so much food inside the stomach and so much photography related information inside our head, a bit of shopping seemed a good thing to do. Again, Vaishali (can never thank her enough!!) took us out for a shopping trip. I bought lots and lots of earrings. But hey, this trip was all about me, remember?

After that she took us to THE happening place – street food joints! Gujarati pizza, pav bhaji, pani puri, dal vada, tawa pulao – you name it, they have it! And of course, we named all of these!

The final round was kulfis with all four flavors (chocolate, pista, malai and one more flavor, I forgot which one :D) in a single piece….yumm!

We headed back to The Nest with a full satisfied heart and stomach. An hour later (11:30-ish), I went with Valli to pick PJ and her one year old son Siddharth, from airport. She was flying from Coimbatore. We started yacking the minute we saw her and it was only a while later that I remembered I hadn’t introduced myself. But PJ said she assumed it was me, but god knows how!! We women just know, right :)?

Anyway, Day 1 ended with me and Nandini (with whom I was sharing the room) yacking till 2:30 AM and thus waking her 10 month old son Ikshu in the process. I slept after that, god knows what she did :D!

Anyway, that was Day 1 of BM 25. I will be posting about Day 2 and Day 3 soon.