lunch at the museum After a few hours sleep we were thrilled to wake up to being in the same house as Nitin who we all really miss from grad-school days (Kekai told me "I don't remember what Nitin looks like, but I can't wait to see him!"). We had a great breakfast of idli made by Muthu's aunt, then for lunch walked over to a nearby art museum and had great curry in the courtyard. The kids are doing great with trying new things tho they discovered that the cafe had peanut butter sandwiches and cheesy noodles so ordered that. They however also did a good job at finishing up Nitin's chapati and curry. Kekai has turned into a tea fiend and demands a cup the moment he wakes up (usually before 6am, sigh) and about every 15 minutes during the day (no, he doesn't get tea each time he calls for it). Anjali, Mela, Kekai, Lokesh and the Ramzan crowd Sunday we did a little shopping (Nitin introduced us to a great, and very dangerous, used bookstore; we'll have to limit our visits or I'll spend all my stipend money!), figured out how to get cash out of an ATM (I still get confused with all those zeros and keep getting off by a factor of 10 or more). Lokesh, a good friend of Nitin's and one of our Himalayan trek partners in 1998, took us out to dinner at the last breaking of the Ramadan fast (sorry that the picture is blurry -- we didn't want to attract any more attention than we already were by setting off a flash). It was a lot of fun -- a throng of people who all crowded under the eves (along with the 55-gal drum of kabob coals that had to be carried under) when it started to rain. The rain let up and we were able to come out from our relative shelter and eat a variety of street food that Lokesh and Tim selected from various vendors. Can you imagine a cuter car? Monday one of the 4 realtors who'd promised to meet us with keys came through so we drove over in Nitin and Muthu's cool EV, leaving the boys at Muthu's aunt's house. Her house is in a tree-lined part of town and quite beautiful. Plus there's a big ulu (breadfruit) tree in the backyard, so it was love at first sight for me. The boys love Nitin's car and when we all pile out of it, love that we look like clowns at a circus. view from Brigade Regency apartments (WTC building) We looked at several flats in two different apartment complexes. The first was super-fancy, right next to a glass-walled hotel and the World Trade Center building. It was pretty impressive with a swimming pool, tennis courts, etc, but felt a bit sterile and removed from regular Bangalore life. View from Mantri Greens apartments The second (which also has a pool in the complex much to the boys' delight) is still quite nice but a little funkier and probably a bit more our style. We're talking with the realtor about getting an agreement drawn up but in the meantime, we learned that there were some flats in Nitin's apartment that might not be as costly as we'd thought (most of the ones here are above our price range), so we're also looking into that. We also spent some time just walking around Bangalore, taking in the sites (see below). Kekai and Kalani were besides themselves to see their first Indian city cow, and we're making sure they don't get prosecuted as a nuisance:
5 Comments
Patty
8/22/2012 01:54:44
Thanks so much for doing this blog! I will live vicariously through you. What a start to a great adventure!
Reply
Eddie
8/22/2012 15:37:28
All the pictures look great! That glass building looks pretty cool. Hope everything is playing out nicely.
Reply
pamela scheffler
8/23/2012 07:54:38
Thanks Patty and Eddie,
Reply
Michelle Herman
8/29/2012 01:57:19
So fun to read your blog and see photos, especially of Nitin! Do you have a cook yet?
Reply
Mela
9/4/2012 16:16:49
Kinda, sorta on the cook. She came by yesterday with a letter insisting on over double what we'd agreed to pay her on Monday (and I know what we're paying is fair-generous). I think we worked it out and she made dinner (first time!) last night that was simple but good. But this morning her daughter called to say she was sick and wouldn't be here today. Not sure if she's coming back?
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Click Title (or "Read More") to read the full text
|