Today we have taken a quick trip to Vijayawada for a bit of shopping and to check email quick so Matt and I can make return travel arrangements.
I have been having a fantastic time in Chiluvuru, it has definitely been encouraging in that old relationships have been rekindled and new ones have begun. I have dearly missed this village, it's people, the clinic, and it's staff... their hearts are big and full of love for others, it is very encouraging. There really aren't words to describe how I feel about coming back, but as I've felt before, it is definitely a home-coming, a piece of my heart will always be here.
I will not go into detail about all the people I've visited and interactions I've had, but I would like to say that we got to the village in time on Sunday to join the church in worship that evening... it was a fantastic worship experience for me, just being among such fervent worshipers... they sang without reserve, prayed aloud as if no one was around, and GopauRau (sp) delivered a passionate message, which we frantically followed by reading the passages as Revethi translated the references to us...
Amama has been feeding us well, probably too well... I haven't eaten this much in a long time... Going to need to diet when I get back... But the food is amazing! Another example of being spoiled with fantastic food...
This morning we visited one of the clinic's doctors who had a hip replacement last night, he is doing well and is hoping to be back at work in three weeks time. We have also stopped in Vijayawada to check internet quick and do a bit of shopping for spices to take home!
Well, don't want to keep Nagesh waiting, so I should probably be going... just wanted to let you know everything is going great in Chiluvuru, it's good to be back, and I'll be sad to leave on Thursday.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
Blessings,
John
Monday, June 14, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
A great time in Hyderabad!
This morning, for the first time in forever, Matt and I finally got the chance to sleep past 5:30! It was amazing! I woke up a little earlier than he, so I went down and had some breakfast, the highlight for me of course being the tea (chai) and coffee! I forget if I said this yesterday or not, but one thing is for sure, and that is that I am getting so spoiled on this trip with all the fantastic Indian food I get to eat!
We had a fantastic day with Padma today, a nephew of Doc's, who showed us around many of the city's historical sites and took us a few places to shop! We started out the morning with looking at the Buddah On The Water, which I found out actually spent close to 2 years submerged in the lake after it fell over during transport... also, it's the largest sculpture of one solid piece of rock! Pretty darned impressive if you ask me...
The next stop was the Burla Temple, which is set high up on a hill above the city giving it a great view as well as giving the city a view of its pristine white walls and spires... boy was the cement hot though! Here not only did Padma take us through, but he explained in more detail the basics of the Hindu belief, very interesting indeed.
Then we headed to Golkanda Fort, built about 600 years ago by the ruling Muslim Sultan of the time... he explained a few points of interest there, the easiest to explain being the echo chamber communication system and the water reservoir system... Also, this Muslim Sultan married a Hindu queen, so he had a temple built at the center of the fort for her to worship in... I thought that was something; while hindus and muslims were fighting it out in the north, this Sultan took a Hindu for his Queen, amazing... but the view from the fort was very impressive as well, also being at one of the highest points in the city, so we could see almost everything, including the old fort walls (which have since been disregarded and development has extended inside the historical site...).
Lunch was amazing... simply consisting of butter naan and a butter chicken curry, it really hit the spot! And wasn't too much either, to weigh us down in the hot sun and thick, humid air... but as we were leaving it was raining outside! Felt amazing! We then headed to CharManar (I probably butchered this spelling...), an old center of commerce for Hyderabad, built by a Sultan in honor of a lost love. The structure at the center, CharManar, was the most impressive, acting as somewhat of a gate, a centerpiece, call it what you may... but in any case we climbed it! Not as high as the temple or the fort, but it was a good view of the surrounding area nonetheless...
We finished the afternoon with a bit of shopping... for family and for ourselves as well! Matt and I each purchased a couple of more traditional Indian shirts, and we look good in them! :)
After saying goodbye to Padma, we spent the evening relaxing back at Rau's with his family... drank tea, played cards, called home (I think mom especially appreciated that!), and watched some World Cup action! It was a good night, time to relax and pack before our early train departure for Tenali, where Nagesh Babu and Kotisu will be meeting us. We once again feel as if we're leaving too early, but we have enjoyed our time here! Also very much looking forward to spending time in Chiluvuru... it's been 5 years, it'll be good to go back.
Well, Matt and I are going to watch some more of the England-USA game, but it's getting late, and the Americans aren't looking too good at the moment, so we may call it a night soon enough... but the Argentina game was great!
Pray for safe travels on the train tomorrow! We probably won't have internet access in the village, so you may not hear from me until Hyderabad on Thursday, but we may be making a trip to Vijayawada on Tuesday!
Blessings,
John
We had a fantastic day with Padma today, a nephew of Doc's, who showed us around many of the city's historical sites and took us a few places to shop! We started out the morning with looking at the Buddah On The Water, which I found out actually spent close to 2 years submerged in the lake after it fell over during transport... also, it's the largest sculpture of one solid piece of rock! Pretty darned impressive if you ask me...
The next stop was the Burla Temple, which is set high up on a hill above the city giving it a great view as well as giving the city a view of its pristine white walls and spires... boy was the cement hot though! Here not only did Padma take us through, but he explained in more detail the basics of the Hindu belief, very interesting indeed.
Then we headed to Golkanda Fort, built about 600 years ago by the ruling Muslim Sultan of the time... he explained a few points of interest there, the easiest to explain being the echo chamber communication system and the water reservoir system... Also, this Muslim Sultan married a Hindu queen, so he had a temple built at the center of the fort for her to worship in... I thought that was something; while hindus and muslims were fighting it out in the north, this Sultan took a Hindu for his Queen, amazing... but the view from the fort was very impressive as well, also being at one of the highest points in the city, so we could see almost everything, including the old fort walls (which have since been disregarded and development has extended inside the historical site...).
Lunch was amazing... simply consisting of butter naan and a butter chicken curry, it really hit the spot! And wasn't too much either, to weigh us down in the hot sun and thick, humid air... but as we were leaving it was raining outside! Felt amazing! We then headed to CharManar (I probably butchered this spelling...), an old center of commerce for Hyderabad, built by a Sultan in honor of a lost love. The structure at the center, CharManar, was the most impressive, acting as somewhat of a gate, a centerpiece, call it what you may... but in any case we climbed it! Not as high as the temple or the fort, but it was a good view of the surrounding area nonetheless...
We finished the afternoon with a bit of shopping... for family and for ourselves as well! Matt and I each purchased a couple of more traditional Indian shirts, and we look good in them! :)
After saying goodbye to Padma, we spent the evening relaxing back at Rau's with his family... drank tea, played cards, called home (I think mom especially appreciated that!), and watched some World Cup action! It was a good night, time to relax and pack before our early train departure for Tenali, where Nagesh Babu and Kotisu will be meeting us. We once again feel as if we're leaving too early, but we have enjoyed our time here! Also very much looking forward to spending time in Chiluvuru... it's been 5 years, it'll be good to go back.
Well, Matt and I are going to watch some more of the England-USA game, but it's getting late, and the Americans aren't looking too good at the moment, so we may call it a night soon enough... but the Argentina game was great!
Pray for safe travels on the train tomorrow! We probably won't have internet access in the village, so you may not hear from me until Hyderabad on Thursday, but we may be making a trip to Vijayawada on Tuesday!
Blessings,
John
Friday, June 11, 2010
Already having fun in Hyderabad!!!
As I'm writing this, Matt and I are playing with Rau's granddaughter Kaavya, who is visiting him from Baltimore along with her mother and brother... We're having fun! She's beating us in cards, but as older brothers with little sisters, we know that there's something fishy going on :) But it's a good time! We've been welcomed here with open arms, and have enjoyed the warm hospitality!
This morning was our earliest yet, getting up at 5am to shower, pack, check-out, eat a quick breakfast, and catch our taxi to the airport! We got there about two hours ahead of time right about 2 hours ahead of time, which turned out to be a little sooner than we needed too... because although the Indian security was different than we were used to, we got through in about half an hour, check-in included! So we took our time, picked up some coffee (passing up KFC, Piza Hut, and McDonalds... ugh) and sat down in front of a tv that was showing the Lakers-Celtics game! Live!!! :)
The kingfisher flight was very impressive, not only was the airplane nearly brand new, but the service was also fantastic! It was only a 2 hr flight Delhi to Hyderabad, but they still served us breakfast! (which if you've been counting was breakfast number three already...)
The Hyderabad airport is very nice! A great improvement from the last one! We did have to catch a bus into the city though, that was kind of the pitts, but it was worth it... When we got to the Keys High School stop, Rau was there waiting for us! He took us directly to a resturant, not that we needed to eat any more haha, but in any case, we did!
Along with my Thumbs Up (FINALLY!!!) we had a traditional dish from the Hyderabad area, Biryani, it was fantastic! I am going to learn how to make it! Then we went back to the house to rest before taking a visit to Sister Theresa Marie at the Tender Loving Care Home...
This was a very meaningful experience for me... talking to her, she was very glad to hear about meghana, and very excited that I remembered to bring pictures of the whole family! She is a proud mother, has scrapbooks of all the children that have gone through the orphanage. But keep her and the children in her prayers, because although she celebrated getting many children out to Indian and European homes, with 28 children living at the orphanage, 17 are matched with parents and have been waiting for years to go the the United States, waiting on the government to give them the ok... it is very sad, but she is working hard at it!
I've been thinking a lot about home lately... mostly because it took me by surprise how much at home I felt coming back to India... it was definitely a sort of homecoming... I thought back on the phrase "home is where the heart is..." and I realized that one thing I've been blessed with is many homes... not only is my heart in Hesston, but with those I love in northern Indiana, India, and now in places like the Netherlands and Germany too... So many places, and I think I genuinely feel at home everywhere...
Then as I was doing my devotions, I was thinking about how that applies to my spiritual life... if my heart is with the word of God in Christ Jesus, than is it enough to say that my heart is there? I don't think so... It must show in my actions... but how? How do I do that as I, with a full stomach and plenty of Rupees in my pocket, ignore the tiny hands tapping at the window while stopped in city traffic? It's a hard subject to think about, a whole lot for a 16 hr day... I guess more on this later.
Tomorrow Padma, Doc's nephew, will be picking us up and showing us around Hyderabad! Looking forward to it... would appreciate the prayers!
Goodnight all, it's way past my bedtime :)
Blessings,
John
This morning was our earliest yet, getting up at 5am to shower, pack, check-out, eat a quick breakfast, and catch our taxi to the airport! We got there about two hours ahead of time right about 2 hours ahead of time, which turned out to be a little sooner than we needed too... because although the Indian security was different than we were used to, we got through in about half an hour, check-in included! So we took our time, picked up some coffee (passing up KFC, Piza Hut, and McDonalds... ugh) and sat down in front of a tv that was showing the Lakers-Celtics game! Live!!! :)
The kingfisher flight was very impressive, not only was the airplane nearly brand new, but the service was also fantastic! It was only a 2 hr flight Delhi to Hyderabad, but they still served us breakfast! (which if you've been counting was breakfast number three already...)
The Hyderabad airport is very nice! A great improvement from the last one! We did have to catch a bus into the city though, that was kind of the pitts, but it was worth it... When we got to the Keys High School stop, Rau was there waiting for us! He took us directly to a resturant, not that we needed to eat any more haha, but in any case, we did!
Along with my Thumbs Up (FINALLY!!!) we had a traditional dish from the Hyderabad area, Biryani, it was fantastic! I am going to learn how to make it! Then we went back to the house to rest before taking a visit to Sister Theresa Marie at the Tender Loving Care Home...
This was a very meaningful experience for me... talking to her, she was very glad to hear about meghana, and very excited that I remembered to bring pictures of the whole family! She is a proud mother, has scrapbooks of all the children that have gone through the orphanage. But keep her and the children in her prayers, because although she celebrated getting many children out to Indian and European homes, with 28 children living at the orphanage, 17 are matched with parents and have been waiting for years to go the the United States, waiting on the government to give them the ok... it is very sad, but she is working hard at it!
I've been thinking a lot about home lately... mostly because it took me by surprise how much at home I felt coming back to India... it was definitely a sort of homecoming... I thought back on the phrase "home is where the heart is..." and I realized that one thing I've been blessed with is many homes... not only is my heart in Hesston, but with those I love in northern Indiana, India, and now in places like the Netherlands and Germany too... So many places, and I think I genuinely feel at home everywhere...
Then as I was doing my devotions, I was thinking about how that applies to my spiritual life... if my heart is with the word of God in Christ Jesus, than is it enough to say that my heart is there? I don't think so... It must show in my actions... but how? How do I do that as I, with a full stomach and plenty of Rupees in my pocket, ignore the tiny hands tapping at the window while stopped in city traffic? It's a hard subject to think about, a whole lot for a 16 hr day... I guess more on this later.
Tomorrow Padma, Doc's nephew, will be picking us up and showing us around Hyderabad! Looking forward to it... would appreciate the prayers!
Goodnight all, it's way past my bedtime :)
Blessings,
John
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Last post from Delhi!
Good evening from New Delhi!
This morning was an early one... woke up around 5:30 for a fantastic shower, and then ate breakfast before leaving at 6:30 for Agra! Jet Lag hasn't been too much of a problem for me... I've been using the "just stay up until local time to go to bed" method :), which may mean little to no sleep one or two nights, but then it's a quick turn-around!
But in any case, the 3 1/2 to 4 hour car ride wasn't half bad! Our driver was a pretty nice guy, and he does a lot of work for the hotel doing this same route to the Taj Mahal so he stopped a few different places along the way for us to take pictures. Matt slept a lot of the way, but I just sat and took in my surroundings... I really did miss India, although there are parts of it that are still just as hard to swallow as they were before...
The Taj Mahal was fantastic! Take my word for it, the textbook and postcard pictures do it no justice... it is a magnificent structure! Every bit of it, down to the gates, courtyard, gardens, and even inlays/carvings in the marble are in perfect symmetry... the king even had a building built opposite the Mosque on the left to keep the symmetry! The only thing out of balance is the King's tomb... as he was meant to be buried in a second mosoleum across the river (black marble, smaller, in the shadow of his wife's), but he is now buried at her left side, out of symmetry.... kills my OCD...
We then ate lunch at a sister hotel to the Ajanta, a little more expensive than we were hoping but very good all in the same! And Matt got his milkshake! After lunch and before heading back our driver took us to a small factory where they use traditional handcrafting methods to make marble everything... and I mean everything! It was amazing to watch them carve, cut, and inlay... it's a beautiful process in it's simplest form... hard to believe that that much work was put into the Taj! Also, these workers are direct descendents to workers from the Taj... pretty sweet.
The ride home was a little longer, our driver picked up his brother from work on the way... and judging by how he dropped him off a block away from the hotel, don't think he was supposed too :) But yeah, as for the driving, it was a lot crazier than the airport ride yesterday, more like what I was expecting, but we didn't hit anyone or get hit by anyone! We did have a lot of close calls though... what would India driving be without a couple of those anyways? Never have gotten in even a fender-bender though, or seen one happen... I guess for the mom's I should probably shut-up now huh? :) We're safe, I promise!
Getting back to the hotel, we were pooped, so we chilled in the air-conditioned room for awhile before heading down to supper... I am going to miss indian food, that's one thing for sure... 3 meals a day is spoiling me! Now it's internet time, then packing time, and then bed! Wish we had some more time in Delhi, actually, more time in India as a whole would be great... but we've been saying that about everywhere we've gone! I guess that's good to want more, we're not over-staying at least... maybe next time I should take 6 months instead of 2... or maybe a year! :P
Hmm... a Thumbs Up sounds great right now... still haven't had one yet, the hotels don't carry them... maybe I'll peek around the corner of the street here for a bit and try my luck!
Take care all, we're alive and well, having a blast!
Blesings,
John
This morning was an early one... woke up around 5:30 for a fantastic shower, and then ate breakfast before leaving at 6:30 for Agra! Jet Lag hasn't been too much of a problem for me... I've been using the "just stay up until local time to go to bed" method :), which may mean little to no sleep one or two nights, but then it's a quick turn-around!
But in any case, the 3 1/2 to 4 hour car ride wasn't half bad! Our driver was a pretty nice guy, and he does a lot of work for the hotel doing this same route to the Taj Mahal so he stopped a few different places along the way for us to take pictures. Matt slept a lot of the way, but I just sat and took in my surroundings... I really did miss India, although there are parts of it that are still just as hard to swallow as they were before...
The Taj Mahal was fantastic! Take my word for it, the textbook and postcard pictures do it no justice... it is a magnificent structure! Every bit of it, down to the gates, courtyard, gardens, and even inlays/carvings in the marble are in perfect symmetry... the king even had a building built opposite the Mosque on the left to keep the symmetry! The only thing out of balance is the King's tomb... as he was meant to be buried in a second mosoleum across the river (black marble, smaller, in the shadow of his wife's), but he is now buried at her left side, out of symmetry.... kills my OCD...
We then ate lunch at a sister hotel to the Ajanta, a little more expensive than we were hoping but very good all in the same! And Matt got his milkshake! After lunch and before heading back our driver took us to a small factory where they use traditional handcrafting methods to make marble everything... and I mean everything! It was amazing to watch them carve, cut, and inlay... it's a beautiful process in it's simplest form... hard to believe that that much work was put into the Taj! Also, these workers are direct descendents to workers from the Taj... pretty sweet.
The ride home was a little longer, our driver picked up his brother from work on the way... and judging by how he dropped him off a block away from the hotel, don't think he was supposed too :) But yeah, as for the driving, it was a lot crazier than the airport ride yesterday, more like what I was expecting, but we didn't hit anyone or get hit by anyone! We did have a lot of close calls though... what would India driving be without a couple of those anyways? Never have gotten in even a fender-bender though, or seen one happen... I guess for the mom's I should probably shut-up now huh? :) We're safe, I promise!
Getting back to the hotel, we were pooped, so we chilled in the air-conditioned room for awhile before heading down to supper... I am going to miss indian food, that's one thing for sure... 3 meals a day is spoiling me! Now it's internet time, then packing time, and then bed! Wish we had some more time in Delhi, actually, more time in India as a whole would be great... but we've been saying that about everywhere we've gone! I guess that's good to want more, we're not over-staying at least... maybe next time I should take 6 months instead of 2... or maybe a year! :P
Hmm... a Thumbs Up sounds great right now... still haven't had one yet, the hotels don't carry them... maybe I'll peek around the corner of the street here for a bit and try my luck!
Take care all, we're alive and well, having a blast!
Blesings,
John
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Arrived in Delhi!!!
After a couple of long flights and a 4 hr layover in Dubai we've arrived in Delhi! A driver came and picked us up from the airport and brought us here to the Ajunta Hotel, and luckily they have a great internet cafe right downstairs!
Flights were pretty simple... no big stories... oh, except that I got bumped between Dubai and Delhi, into business class!!! It was great! Kind of a suprise and I felt a little out of place sitting there in my kahki shorts and Holland Jersey, but it was alright :)
This evening Matt and I set out on a quest for an ATM, but to no avail... the only one close to our location is currently out of comission... just our luck! We should be able to find one tomorrow though...
The driver I had all lined up for us never returned my confirmation email, so I sent him another email telling him to not worry about coming and set something up with the driver here at the hotel... it should work out better this way anyhow; same price, same deal, but now we can just use our debit cards to pay and add it to the hotel bill rather than handing out a wad of cash...
Then we grabbed some food from the side of the road, a couple of street vendors that made us a couple of plates of pretty good curry! ..just kidding, not that stupid :) Don't want to have to end the trip early! We ended up just eating at the hotel resturant, pretty descent! Hope that sets a good tone for the tour tomorrow, a little nervous about how that's all going to work but it's all about being flexible right?
Keep us in your prayers as we traverse the crazy streets of India! :)
Bessings
John
Flights were pretty simple... no big stories... oh, except that I got bumped between Dubai and Delhi, into business class!!! It was great! Kind of a suprise and I felt a little out of place sitting there in my kahki shorts and Holland Jersey, but it was alright :)
This evening Matt and I set out on a quest for an ATM, but to no avail... the only one close to our location is currently out of comission... just our luck! We should be able to find one tomorrow though...
The driver I had all lined up for us never returned my confirmation email, so I sent him another email telling him to not worry about coming and set something up with the driver here at the hotel... it should work out better this way anyhow; same price, same deal, but now we can just use our debit cards to pay and add it to the hotel bill rather than handing out a wad of cash...
Then we grabbed some food from the side of the road, a couple of street vendors that made us a couple of plates of pretty good curry! ..just kidding, not that stupid :) Don't want to have to end the trip early! We ended up just eating at the hotel resturant, pretty descent! Hope that sets a good tone for the tour tomorrow, a little nervous about how that's all going to work but it's all about being flexible right?
Keep us in your prayers as we traverse the crazy streets of India! :)
Bessings
John
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Last afternoon in Paris!
Found a little cyber cafe to check a few details about the trip, so thought I'd let you know that we made it through the night! :)
Yesterday's trip to the Normandy Memorial was fantastic... while we didn't get any further than Caen, see the beaches, or the cemeteries, the Memorial Museum is absolutely a must-see, but devote at least 4-5 hours for it... not only is there Normandy information but everything from build-up to the war and then all the way up through the cold war era to the bringing down of the Berlin Wall... Absolutely fantastic! Also an interesting exhibit on the world environmental issues and media... very well done.
This morning we lazily left the Hostel and made our way to the Notre Dame Cathedral, always an amazing stop! It was gorgeous, and of course Matt had to take a funny Quasi Modo picture haha...
Then it was off to the Catacombs, a very eerie place indeed... look up pictures on the web or something because it's hard to explain... 20 meters under ground level, below the metro and water lines, are these catacombs... and throughout history they became graves... over 5,000 people are down there... eerie indeed...
Now I've got to reserve my train ticket east for when I get back from India, then it's off to the hostel to pick up our things and we're on our way to the airport to catch a plane! Have had a fantastic time in Paris as always, just sad to leave with so much more we could do... but looking forward to India!
Blessings,
John
Yesterday's trip to the Normandy Memorial was fantastic... while we didn't get any further than Caen, see the beaches, or the cemeteries, the Memorial Museum is absolutely a must-see, but devote at least 4-5 hours for it... not only is there Normandy information but everything from build-up to the war and then all the way up through the cold war era to the bringing down of the Berlin Wall... Absolutely fantastic! Also an interesting exhibit on the world environmental issues and media... very well done.
This morning we lazily left the Hostel and made our way to the Notre Dame Cathedral, always an amazing stop! It was gorgeous, and of course Matt had to take a funny Quasi Modo picture haha...
Then it was off to the Catacombs, a very eerie place indeed... look up pictures on the web or something because it's hard to explain... 20 meters under ground level, below the metro and water lines, are these catacombs... and throughout history they became graves... over 5,000 people are down there... eerie indeed...
Now I've got to reserve my train ticket east for when I get back from India, then it's off to the hostel to pick up our things and we're on our way to the airport to catch a plane! Have had a fantastic time in Paris as always, just sad to leave with so much more we could do... but looking forward to India!
Blessings,
John
Monday, June 7, 2010
Bonjour from Caen, France!
First of all... this keyboard is set up very strangely so forgive any typos I miss!!!
I think the last you all heard from me I was still in Rome... well, before we left on Friday we went to the Vatican, a fantastic experience! I think the highlight was climbing the Coupla, or the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica... What a view!
Our train ride to Paris was interesting... we'll call it a new experience :) We shared a very small and uncomfortable 2nd class couchette with 4 other grown men; an Austrailian (the only other who spoke any English), a man from Moracco, and two Indian-Italians... the trip began getting interesting as soon as one person in our car couldn't produce a passport to the conductor and then tried to pay him off... yeah, interesting... then to top it off, the train was 2 hrs late into Paris! So, we dragged our tired selves through the metro and walked to the Hostel hoping for a shower, only to find that we couldn't get to our rooms until 4!!! So to kill the next 4 hours, we dropped our bags off in storage and took advantage of the Free Admission Day at the Louvre... a great time!
Returning to the hostel around 4, we promptly took some very refreshing showers and headed back out to the Eiffle Tower to meet our guide for the Segway tour! That was a lot of fun too... neither Matt or I had ever ridden on the new Segways before, it was an absolutely georgous evening, and we met a couple of Kenyan girls who grew up in Michigan of all places! So after the tour was over, the four of us went to the Latin Quarter for some Indian food and ice cream! It was a great night...
Then we woke up this morning and caught the train to Caen, where we were hoping to find some cheaper alternatives to a guided tour to go see the Normandy beaches... at the moment it's looking pretty bleak but we'll at least see the Memorial and have another story of adventure! Can't say we didn't try!
Decided to stop here at this internet cafe because it's cheap and was suprisingly convinient... something we can't say about Paris! Our hostel wants I think a euro for 5 or 10 minutes! Oh well, this just means you probably won't hear from me again until India!
Speaking of which, we're getting really excited for it, leave tomorrow evening after some more sightseeing in Paris, arriving in Delhi Wednesday afternoon local time!
Keep us in your prayers, we're alive, safe, and having a blast!
Blessings,
John
I think the last you all heard from me I was still in Rome... well, before we left on Friday we went to the Vatican, a fantastic experience! I think the highlight was climbing the Coupla, or the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica... What a view!
Our train ride to Paris was interesting... we'll call it a new experience :) We shared a very small and uncomfortable 2nd class couchette with 4 other grown men; an Austrailian (the only other who spoke any English), a man from Moracco, and two Indian-Italians... the trip began getting interesting as soon as one person in our car couldn't produce a passport to the conductor and then tried to pay him off... yeah, interesting... then to top it off, the train was 2 hrs late into Paris! So, we dragged our tired selves through the metro and walked to the Hostel hoping for a shower, only to find that we couldn't get to our rooms until 4!!! So to kill the next 4 hours, we dropped our bags off in storage and took advantage of the Free Admission Day at the Louvre... a great time!
Returning to the hostel around 4, we promptly took some very refreshing showers and headed back out to the Eiffle Tower to meet our guide for the Segway tour! That was a lot of fun too... neither Matt or I had ever ridden on the new Segways before, it was an absolutely georgous evening, and we met a couple of Kenyan girls who grew up in Michigan of all places! So after the tour was over, the four of us went to the Latin Quarter for some Indian food and ice cream! It was a great night...
Then we woke up this morning and caught the train to Caen, where we were hoping to find some cheaper alternatives to a guided tour to go see the Normandy beaches... at the moment it's looking pretty bleak but we'll at least see the Memorial and have another story of adventure! Can't say we didn't try!
Decided to stop here at this internet cafe because it's cheap and was suprisingly convinient... something we can't say about Paris! Our hostel wants I think a euro for 5 or 10 minutes! Oh well, this just means you probably won't hear from me again until India!
Speaking of which, we're getting really excited for it, leave tomorrow evening after some more sightseeing in Paris, arriving in Delhi Wednesday afternoon local time!
Keep us in your prayers, we're alive, safe, and having a blast!
Blessings,
John
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)