Lotus temple and Qutab Minar, New Delhi, India

The Lotus Temple was truly beautiful both inside and out. Even though there were alot of visitors, because of the expanse of the grounds it is set in it felt peaceful.

At the Qutab Minar the detail in the intricate Islamic carvings was inspiring. The red standstone against the blue sky made it striking.

I'm also enjoying every minute in the warm sunshine. 

Bricks cafe, Gurgaon

I finally overcame my embarrassment of asking our driver to drive us across the road! It is a pretty major duel carriage way without footpaths... But still... We could throw a stone from our apartment to the South Point Mall. It is another nice mall and we have discovered 'Bricks cafe', (tipped off by my new friend, come 'best places for kids guide'. As I type we are waiting for our food to arrive, meanwhile MJ is knee deep in lego, Lj and Calvin are sitting at a table of lego with two helpers watching over and Ezra is running up the steps and down the slide. What a great place... I think we might be back!

Shopping for books

Our mission today was to find a book shop, Kool Skool, which had been recommended by our new American friend. It was in another shopping mall which pushed us out of our comfort zones. But I feel we are gaining confidence in dodging stray dogs and not being put off by dusty, run down looking stalls. After going down to the basement, up to second floor and back down to ground and asking four different people for directions we finally found what we were looking for.
What amazes me is that although from the outside the shops look tired and out of date, inside they carry all the well known brands and latest items.
We purchased a few books to keep us going and I particularly liked these two. One has an audio cd which I thought would be useful on our long car journeys. I was also drawn to the watercolour illustrations as Lj and I are trying to improve our watercolor skills on this trip. Perhaps, I'll post a few of our watercolor efforts one day.

And the rains came down

It was a good morning to hitch a lift with M on his way to work. A night of thunder and lightning storms and very heavy rain had left the roads flooded. Our driver jumped out of the car in his bare feet to help fold up the buggy and put it in the boot along with his shoes. The new parts of the city have drainage so were busy but not flooded. As we neared M's work in Old Gurgaon, the fun began, with broken down tuk tuks, people abandoning cars, choosing to walk and people trying to stay on the high edges of the road to avoid the deep puddles. So many people with trousers rolled up and shoes in hand waded through the flood waters. It was a sight to behold.

Friends

It seems that in order for us to make new friends we need to stay out later in the evening. There was a hive of activity around the parks this evening. Mj and Lj had great fun playing 'tag' with some kids their age and plan to meet up tomorrow! 

Red Fort and Ghandi Museum, Delhi, India

Today was the first day since our arrival that M has been off work so we made the most of it and headed into Delhi.

We started at the Red Fort in the morning. Had lunch at ‘The Salad Story’ in Khan market and finished in the afternoon at the Gandhi Museum. Lots of ideas for homeschooling this week!

A real Indian takeaway

Tonight we had our first real Indian takeaway. It was delicious. The kids were v brave and tucked in too... Adding a mouthful of mango lassi with every bite of korma!! Calvin was the funniest. The spiciness didn't put him off his love of food but oh the facial expressions as he persevered on. 

I also loved the packaging that the take away arrived in. V cool illustration. 

Spotty Cal

Calvin has chicken pox and has it pretty bad. He didn't get much sleep last night and was feeling pretty miserable this morning  .. Until we took him outside to the park and now he seems 'happy as Larry'!

MJ and Ljs guide to eating out

The kids have decided to rate the places we stop to eat while here in Gurgaon. Yesterday's surprise spice in a 'non spicy' pizza and being double charged left Pizza Hut with zero stars. Today's eatery, IHOP fared much better with 5 stars. 

Ice skating

Ice-skating today at Ambience Mall, Gurgaon. Ezra was disappointed that he couldn't skate but MJ and Lj loved it and want to go everyday. While we watched, I tucked into a coffee and chocolate brownie without considering the cleanliness of the outlet that serve it. Please stay away Delhi Belly!

Jet lag 😩

Just after midnight and everyone is awake apart from M!

We made it!

The view from our apartment! Floor 15 of 27. We also found the play park. 

Our Indian Adventure begins

The wait is over and we are off! Dublin-Heathrow-Delhi. Business class is awesome, even if we still didn't get much sleep. My fit bit read 57mins of sleep for me! 

Slower days

I think I mentioned in my last post that this has been an unusual sort of Christmas for us as we have stayed home. Two weeks at home, with M off work (mainly), packing up our house in preparation for 3 months in India and radiators being installed in our house while we are away. But there is only so much packing and tidying you can do in a day so our free time has been filled with little trips to town, to the forest and catching up with friends. When the kids have gone to bed I have enjoyed a couple of great books and movies.