The Road to Pune

St. Louis to Chicago: 2 hours. 

Piece of cake. Well, bag of peanuts anyway.

 

Chicago to New Delhi: 15 hours.   

Lots of time to knit.

Yes, I started this scarf on the plane.

We flew over Greenland and came south through Russia, then through northern India, waking up to the stunningly brilliant landscape of the Himalayas below us in the airplane.

 

Travel by Car to Agra

Ahmed, our driver met us at the airport, then skillfully dodged many motorcycles carrying families to see the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra.  People were  traveling due to the Diwali holidays, sort of combination of Christmas and the 4^th of July.  (Sorry – no paint was shot at us.  Tiki said that happens in the spring.)  

Ahmed also dodged cows, cars, scooters, rickshaws and trucks.  We just closed our eyes.

First stop in Agra: Fatehpur Sikri

 

This was the first planned city of the Mughals, which served as the Mughal Empire's capital from 1571 until 1585.

An example of the intricately designed architecture found throughout the buildings.

Next, the majestic Taj Mahal which is actually a tomb for the third wife of Shah Jahan, a Mughal Emperor.  It took 22 years to build and was completed in 1653.

A group photo before we see the actual Taj.  From left to right: Danni Simon, Kathy Simon, Tiki Misra, Jean Durel and Jane Fitzgerald. The anticipation is killing us... 

 

Needs no explanation, I hope. 

 

Detailed inlaid marble on the building surface.

Last stop in Agra: The Agra Fort  

Shah Jahan, who built the Taj, was later banished by his son (“Dad, you’re spending all the money on these lavish buildings”) to live out his life and weep for his beloved wife, entombed in the Taj. The Fort is across the river from the Taj so at least he could see her tomb.

Current residents inspect the fort.

 

No more crocodiles in this moat.

The Cardinals: While we missed game 6 (don’t rub it in), we did get to watch them win game 7 at the hotel in the morning before leaving to see the Taj Mahal.  (Dear Diary, today i saw one of the seven wonders of the world and my team won the world series.) 

 FYI, no one cares about baseball in India.

 

The next day, in New Delhi:

The Bahia Temple, built by the architect who built the Sidney Opera House.

See the lotus flower in the design?

Qutub Minar: the tallest free-standing stone tower in the world, and the tallest in India, measuring 237.8 ft.  

 

Note the detailed carving…knocks your socks off, 

if you were wearing any.  

"So you see, Jane...it's really tall.  Got it?"

And finally, to our flat in Pune. 

 

Our kitchen.

My bedroom.

This will be home for the month.

we have now taken a week of classes and learned enough to keep us busy for a year.
More later.  

Jane