Jodhpur, the Blue City

We squeezed one more Rajasthani city into our travel itinerary over Thanksgiving weekend- this time we explored Jodhpur, the Blue City. Jodhpur was founded in 1459 and grew out of the profits of opium, sandalwood, dates and copper.

We stayed at a really cool hotel, the Ajit Bhawan. It's a Heritage hotel, meaning it's historically preserved and has tons of nooks and crannies all over the place. In fact, we spent quite a bit of time exploring the hotel! We had a super-cool room overlooking the pool, with our own private patio.

Once we'd arrived, gotten settled and explored the hotel a bit, we headed over to the Clock Tower and the surrounding Sardar Market. It was an incredibly loud, dirty, busy, crazy place...we were a bit overwhelmed especially since we had the kids. We lasted about 1.5 hours before we headed back to the hotel for dinner.

The buffet dinner was served alfresco (outside) with live entertainment- a group of men playing Rajasthani music, singing and dancing. There was one particular little boy who's footwork was just incredible! Ryan was especially curious.

The next day was dedicated to the Meherangarh Fort and the Umaid Bhawan Palace. The Fort was a pretty good one- great views of the Blue City (the Brahmin caste is predominant in this city, and they paint their homes/shops blue) and interesting architecture. There was a big collection of howdahs (seats for carrying people on an elephant's back) and royal infant bassinets. One thing I'll say is the the FLIES at the Fort were unbearable- there were millions! We lasted till early afternoon then headed over to the Palace, where the current Maharaja still lives. It was an interesting little tour, showing the Royal Family's world-over collections of glassware, furniture and clocks. A nice, quiet (and fly-less) end to the day.

Sunday was spent over a leisurely breakfast, a bit of window shopping and our flight home. Overall, it was a worthwhile trip, and we enjoyed having some family time outside of Mumbai.

Here's a glimpse!

Giving Thanks

We celebrated Thanksgiving the good 'ole fashioned way this year- with food, beverages, and friends! And while the turkey is not featured in these pics (the carving knife got to 'ole Tom before the camera did!), these photos show what a feast we had.
Thank you, Kristen for hosting such a lovely, relaxing day of nice conversations, fun Wii time and way too much food and wine. We especially loved the idea of the "Thanksgiving mirror" where we all wrote down things we are thankful for.
We Weatherwaxes are thankful for so many things, but "Each other" and "living in India" topped this years' list.

It's a "sign"

The other night, I looked out the window, and this is what I saw:


Could it be? Is that a LONGHORN I see in the clouds?


Heaven help us! :)

A wise man

I started a new book today, and a quote was included in the forward:

"Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth."
-Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Custom-House"

He was a wise man, that Nathaniel. A wise man indeed.

All gussied up

Mike and I got all gussied up last weekend for the annual ASB PTA Dinner/Dance. It was held at the Leela Hotel; the theme was Hollywood/Bollywood.

Here we are on the way out the door- Cate took this shot:

Enjoying ourselves over dinner:

....and then, the dancing started:

Someone wore a feather boa, and EVERYONE had fun with it!

It was a fun night spent gettin' down on the dance floor with friends- and each other! I love my hubby- he's a good sport!