http://instagram.com/p/rCp9GAQJzo/

A tweet from Blogadda was followed by a personal invitation from Harish and within a few minutes I knew I’d be spending the weekend in Goa (yes, I squealed) as one of the “50 top bloggers in India”. All of us were invited to be a part of a fabulous blog meet wherein we would be experiencing Tata’s new launch, the Zest. (To read my thoughts on the car, click here)

At first, I was surprised and amused that fashion bloggers are being invited for a car event. But when I got to know that the mix includes various other kinds of bloggers, the genius of it hit me. Bring together people who are passionate about blogging and life, and you get an eclectic pool of prospective consumers to try out your new product.

Saturday morning arrived beautiful and glorious, and the flight to Goa was an absolute delight with fellow bloggers.

http://instagram.com/p/q68ZBGwJ-s/?modal=true

Landed in Goa and the aroma of sea food and the taste of beer flowed through my veins even though there was none around for miles. This, my friends, is the familiar ache of nostalgia. Nostalgia is a funny thing. It can strike you at the oddest times. At the strangest places. You see old faces in new ones. You find comfort in new surroundings.

I found a different side to Goa this time. It was far from a holiday, because we were on our toes constantly. By the time we reached Zuri on Saturday, it was already early evening. We arrived to the smiling faces and warm hearts of Harish, Ankita and team. The next best thing that happened was that I got Rukmini as my roommate for the weekend (to share the gorgeous, humongous room) and we hit it off instantly. We headed for lunch, which was quite tragic to be honest. We didn’t enjoy anything on the menu, so we cut lunch short and made a quick visit to the beach. What Goa visit is complete without a beach darshan?

http://instagram.com/p/rLrqRJQJ50/

A session on Blogadda followed, conducted by the wonderful Ankita. And then it was time to eat again but I chose to skip high tea and instead, headed to Zuri’s gorgeous private beach. Fellow bloggers and I had a blast shooting there. (More on that in the next post)

Pretty soon we rushed back inside for the Tata “Masterclass” where we got to know a lot more about the Zest and car design in general. My reaction to this was a mix of awe and apathy. I felt like this session could have been more interesting than it was. It was lovely interacting with the designers of the car though. What a tough job they have!

A quick dinner and a couple of beers later, we found ourselves back in our cosy room for a short night’s sleep. Next morning, however, brought with it a lot of excitement because I would get to drive! Yay! I immensely enjoyed driving the Zest petrol. Loved it.

Aaaand then. We were supposed to do what we supposedly do best. There was a live blogging session. I saw some people type away nonchalantly on their laptops, while others were struggling. Live blogging isn’t easy. For someone like me who prefers to write at night, this was a challenge. I struggled at first, but then the words eventually came to me.

Another quick lunch (this one tasted better, fortunately) and we were off to the airport to catch our return flights.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend. Hectic and a lot of fun. It was lovely meeting all you wonderful bloggers!