February 7, 2010 Sunday
I had the most magical 50th birthday I could imagine. It was a day of Palaces and I was treated like a queen. We started with a tour of the Maharajah’s Palace which is comparable to Versie in grandeur. An absolute fairytale within a walled complex with twelve temples, brass plated dome, wedding hall, pavilions, elephant gate, cast iron pillars and stained glass domes with peacock designs. It is an unbelievable spectacle for the eyes. At night it was even more magical when twice a week they light up the whole complex with over 100,000 light bulbs. Stunning is the only word I can come up to explain it.
We lunched at the Lalitha Mahal Palace which is now a five star hotel owned by the Government. At night we met up with some British travelers we met in Kannur and shared some drinks, Indian snacks and kabobs.
I think we are finally getting this travel thing down: wearing the same pants for several (or more) days, finding creative ways to tie my hair back, strategizing places to do hand wash so there is enough time for them to dry, how to score a beer in no-alcohol towns and ask any and all other travelers for travel tips.
I have mastered the art of ignoring touts (merchants hassling you to buy their goods) whereas Steve still talks to everyone of them “no thank you”, “maybe tomorrow” or “we already have one”. To his credit he is much more patient and treats it as a game of will power, as a result, he has many more interactions and has found a substitute for having an hourly cigarette.
By the way, for my birthday Steve quit smoking. He's been smoke free for almost four weeks now. I can't think of a better birthday present.
Mysore is the center of sandalwood carving, silk and incense. A large, but beautiful city and much cleaner than any city we’ve seen to date. The weather is perfect and it feels great getting out of the humid heat for a few days. Even though it is a large city, it is has a lot of character with colorful markets, old stylish buildings and to me the highlight is the Maharajah’s Palace(s). A fantastic city to just stroll and take in all the commerce.
Laurie
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Way to go Steve.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Steve! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteKarly
Happy birthday Laurie and Thanks Steve!!! You both make me jealous!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouraging words. I too am very proud of Steve!!!!
ReplyDeleteWOW!! Way to go Steve!
ReplyDeleteWe got back yesterday from a 5 day snowmobiling trip in Northern Wisconsin. It is gorgeous with all the snow heavy in the pine trees. We are jealous of the snow that Virginia is getting. We are supposed to get that, not Virginia. As far as Steve not smoking-coming from an ex-smoker, I am proud of you, Steve, & you are going to feel sooo much better not smoking & someday you will look back & wonder how you ever could have smoked that long. What a great gift for Laurie, too.
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