Neemrana

Last minute we decided to go on a road trip to get out of New Delhi and to take advantage of a three day weekend.  Well, what an adventure!!!  We booked the second to last room at the Neemrana Fort: a converted palace in Rajasthan that Delhi-ites commonly go for quick getaways.  It is only 120km from our house (about a 2 hour drive).  We packed the car, grabbed Desmond, and off we went.

Driving there took a little longer due to the lack of signs.  We ended driving an extra 20 kms.  Upon arriving we walked up many steep ramps to reception, which also didn’t have much signage.  We checked into our room and found that there was no A/C.  That was why the room was available on short notice!  Oh, and might I add that the stairs going up were like a maze.  Ok, no problem; it was one night and the evenings are cooler in the desert. 

We dropped off our stuff and went to lunch.  I quickly noticed how child un-friendly the place actually was.  I mean, most of India is not child friendly and we have been able to make it work, but this place was full of steep and narrow stairs next to steep drops.  Desmond did not have much freedom to roam!  After an excellent lunch we looked for the pool, which is one of the draws for people.  What we found was a green and murky basis of water…hmmm.  It was full of people playing in it and lounging around, so we decided to a nap and then explore as the sun goes down. 
The hotel was kind enough to find us an additional fan (after I initially asked them, they said they had none until I showed them 2 that were not being used-that made a huge difference).  After Desmond and Daddy slept for an hour, we set off to explore the Fort.  Since it was 115 degrees out, there was no wind or breeze at all, we had no A/C, and we saw people swimming and playing in the pool, we decided to let Daddy take Des to join them.  Aunt Becca would have been shocked at the state of it.  Given pregnancy, I decided to watch and sweat it out.  After a short swim they showered and we explored more.  We found a few patches of grass where Desmond ran around and he was as happy as a lark.  He climbed stairs (holding hands) all over the place.  We all exercised quite a bit that afternoon.

Before dinner, we watched some a group perform live Indian music and dancing and had a drink in the A/C room near the hidden reception.  Dinner was very good (the meals were one of the highlights).  I did ask if there were any cancelations because the temps were still high that evening, but they said no.  Then, after I told them I was pregnant, they found a room.  It was small and with only a single bed and it would not have been ready until well after Desmond’s bedtime.  With an exhausted toddler, we decided that it was not the best option.   In the end the evening was pleasant and the fans made the room cool enough to sleep.  Of course Desmond took up most of the bed trying to stay cool!

The next morning we ate breakfast and explored more of the Fort.  Daddy went zip lining, and Desmond and I played in the grass and shade.  Originally we were going to spend the morning in the pool but we decided one time in the green water was enough.  Desmond ended up playing in the shower for awhile and then took a nap.  By time he woke up, Daddy was back and we headed home. While it will not go down in the books as favorite get away, we enjoyed the adventure.

Special note: Driving in India is unlike driving anywhere in the US. Probably in the world, for that matter. I am thankful that I was not driving and that I decided to sit in the back seat with Desmond because even then I am sure my blood pressure was elevated! It is like playing Frogger and chicken at the same time. Cars/trucks drive in the middle of 2 lanes, switch lanes without blinking, or drive on the WRONG side of the highway. Trucks would cross the highway without even looking to see if you were about to hit them. Thank goodness for good brakes! Of course let’s not forget to mention that you share the road with other cars, trucks, rickshaws, bicycles, walkers, and many cows. Our personal favorite was 2 cars who stopped on an 8 lane highway while cars swerved to avoid them in order to have a conversation!!! Poor Daddy was exhausted from the drive so we spent the rest of the afternoon at the clean embassy pool where he relaxed and took a short nap and Desmond and I played in the water.

An example of the stairs, these started our trek to our room

The end of the day, tired desmond

Trying for a family pose...best we could do.

Dinner time, waiting for food

I love Daddy! Kisses!!

Daddy all ready for ziplining!

Fort from above

Desmond Starts School

So maybe Desmond is not old enough to be actually in school but they have a pre-pre-preschool here that he attends every day. He the youngest kid in his class but is so well adjusted that the teachers are thrilled to have him there. He takes his school very seriously (like daddy) and insists on wearing his backpack down to the car every day! He loves being there and is learning all sorts of news things, like coloring and playing with other kids. As we all know, Desmond loves to talk and he is learning new words every day which always amazes me. Check out some first school day and Indian dress day pictures.

Des and Daddy at school

Family shot, Desmond is checking out all the toys

Bye bye mommy and daddy, don't worry I have lots of toys to play with

Getting ready for school, its Indian Dress day

Look at me, I hope I look cute

Excellent, Tina put the hat on as well...

Ok enough pictures, I have my backpack on, lets go!

I love blocks and cars!

Watching a video with Daddy after school, quite time

Sec State Clinton Comes to Visit

On July 20, 2011, Marcus and I took Desmond to meet Secretary Clinton.  I am not sure it would be something we would repeat.  We waited 2+ hours inside and 1++ hours outside in the 115 degree heat for her arrival.  When she came, she made a very nice speech, took a picture with the kids and then left.  I was standing right next to her and said hello but didn't shake her hand as I was under the impression she was going to shake hands afterwards.  So, I was happy to have Desmond with us for the picture or else we would of been there for many hours just to see her and not actually meet her.
Desmond was a trooper! Only at the very end did he finally let us know he was hot, hungry, and tired... with a dirty diaper.  He barely made it to the crib before passing out for his nap.

https://still4hill.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/hillary-clinton-remarks-to-staff-and-families-of-embassy-new-delhi/

Here is an article that was printed the next day, scroll all the way down and you will see another picture. If you read the comments, they are commenting on how cute Desmond is!!

The Official Picture

Spain Part II

Marcus and I have been delayed in updating our blog because we have been so busy working on our bid list.  We should know the identity of our next post by mid August.  Very exciting.

Of course we had an amazing time and created some great family memories.  We left Denia and drove up the cost to Barcelona, stopping on the way in Taragona (a Roman spa town which was the home of Julius Ceasar) for a quick bit to eat and some sight-seeing.   We sat with a view over the Mediterranean and an ancient amphitheatre. 

After arriving in Barcelona, we enjoyed a nice dinner with Art, Patty, and Mark.  We found a gem of a tapas bar whose staff were very fond of Desmond. 

The next morning, we flew to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.  For three days we walked through old medieval neighborhoods, stopping in cafes, more tapas bars, and old churches.  The streets, especially after the rain, made us feel like we were travelling back in time to medieval Europe.  We also drove out to Costa del Muerte, which is the continental counterpart of the west coast of Ireland.  Lots of quaint fishing villages and breathtaking coastline.

We then returned to Barcelona for some hardcore sightseeing.  Without a doubt our favorite spot was the Sagrada Familia.  Gaudi’s unfinished Roman Catholic Church is something everyone should see regardless of your religious persuasion.  When completed it will surely be one of the world’s architectural treasures.  Amazingly, it has been a work in progress for over 100 years.  They say that it will take another quarter of a century to complete.   We enjoyed walking up and down the hilly streets and eating at different restaurants every night.  Desmond enjoyed walking around as well and became an expert hand holder by the end of the trip.  Lots of parks and funky buildings.  A very pedestrian friendly city, and one in which anybody would love to live. 

The two weeks of visiting old friends and sightseeing was much needed.  We enjoyed it thoroughly.  While we had a great trip, we were both happy to return home (Desmond could have probably stayed and checked out Barcelona longer).  Desmond was amazing on the flight home; we could not have asked for a better performance from him.  I think we’ve set the foundation for a good traveler. 

Now for Desmond’s next adventure---pre-pre-school….

But mommy, I dont want to smile right now... I want to play

Amazing views!

Cat nap on the plane

I LOVE the parks in Spain, can we please stay??

the art in Glacia was crazy, you saw everything

Yay, Suarez!

Desmond Loved the water... he wanted to play in every fountain.

Road trip, beautiful views

Yumm, I love pasta.

We climbed up the hard way, I didnt think we would ever get down.. we found the easy way down.

Whew, made it! On top and its windy!

Exhausted!

Look at me, this is fun. 

Desmond enjoying the view.

Spain Part I

Spain was amazing; I think we both agreed that in the future we could spend an extended amount of time there.  We spent the first week in Denia with our friends and the second week traveling around.

Week one – We took a night flight to Barcelona and Desmond was pretty fussy.  I suppose we should have of kept him up so that he would have slept on the plane.  I was pretty exhausted by the time we got to Barcelona.  Then we waited for our friend Mark to arrive so that we could drive 4 hours to Denia, our destination for the week.  The drive down was really pretty and relaxing, and there were hardly any cars on the road (unlike Delhi).  The only issue we ran into was Desmond’s epic meltdown from being extremely overtired.  I am sure Mark was thrilled to be in the car.

We stayed in these great condos right next to a large pool and series of waterfalls.  Desmond and his buddies, Thea and Logan, loved to play in the water and swim around as much as possible.  But I think that the “boys” enjoyed playing with the kids’ toys more than they did in the pool.  We hit Denia several times for dinner:  tapas, fish, paella, lamb, and, of course, sangria.  It didn’t get dark until 10pm so the kids were up much later than normal, but that allowed us to stay out a little later.  Even then we were still done early compared to the locals.  It was great.  Des would go to bed around 9pm and wake up at 9am and we got to sleep in.

We spent one day at the beach and Desmond had a blast playing in the sand and surf.  He and the girls shoveled sand from one area to the next.  Maybe next time they will start building castles.  We hired a babysitter one night and went out with adults only, which was really nice and relaxing.  And finally we spent one day at the Aquarium in Valencia.  Very impressive for older kids and adults.  Desmond was still a little too young to understand what was going on but he had a blast running around like a crazy man for many hours and crashed hard on the way home.  In fact I think almost everyone crashed on the way home.

The mornings were spent playing tennis and the evenings were spent hanging out over some beers.  The days that we did not go out were spent by the pool.  The boys and Patty did go out one day to go bowling, which turned into bowling/ McDonalds/go-karting/who-knows-what-else adventure. We won’t make any further comments about it.

Marla, Taylor, and Logan left Friday morning and Art, Patty, and Mark left Friday afternoon.  Bob, Dana, Thea, Marcus, Desmond, and I spent the evening in Denia and found a great street with beautiful trees that was blocked off from traffic with lots of restaurants.  Thea and Des ran around while we watched them, and we enjoyed a nice meal before heading home.  Marcus, Desmond, and I left the next morning for Barcelona… Part II in a few days about the second half of our holiday.

We would like to make a special note to Mark, Art and Patty.  We saw them while we were in DC and did not mention it in the last blog.  It was great to see them in DC and even better to spend some time with them in Spain.  And another shout out to Jessie, Fernando, Gabriel, and Elias for having all of us over for dinner.  It was extremely kind of you to organize something.

We would also like to thank Bob for organizing the Spain trip.  He did a great job, and we were thrilled that we were all able to get together.  We hope that this will be repeated.

Des pondering life and the amazing view

Ahh family shot

I'm swimming with the eel! pretty cool

Out cold!

Des and Thea working hard...

Mark, Marcus, and Art

Beautiful views!

Our trip back to the the East Coast

I know it has been awhile since our last post and I will promise to try get better at sending more updates. Desmond and I just returned from a nice 5 week holiday to NJ and met Marcus for 2 of those weeks, one week in DC and one week in NJ.

Desmond and I flew back to NJ on our own and it was a very interesting trip. We left India at 1am (India time) and arrived in Chicago at 5am (Chicago time). Des was amazing on the flight, we probably watched Shrek at least 15 times being the only cartoon available but I didn’t care because it made him really happy. Unfortunately we had a 4 year old scream on the plane for a good part of the trip so out of the 15 hours, Desmond probably only slept 4 – 5 hours, which meant I was also awake.

We arrived to Chicago on time, made it through customs with no problems and settled in nicely for a long 6+ hrs lay over. After about 45 minutes of running after a hyper baby I decided to check out the admiral’s club to see what it was all about. I wasn’t about to run after des for 6 hours and I knew he wasn’t about to take a nap so, we bought a day pass. Afterwards the guy looked at me and said I looked like someone who just got off a long flight and needed a shower, I said yes! He directed me to another terminal. When we got there, I did one loop around the entire club and right before we settled in, I saw playroom! A huge child friendly room with no one in it – we moved in! Desmond ran around like a crazy person for about 4 hours and I just sat and watched him. Life was good.

We packed up and went to catch our flight, only for it to be delayed for an hour – apparently they didn’t have a crew. Finally we boarded the plane only to learn it was delayed a 4 more hours. So we unloaded and then learned our flight was canceled. At this point I was so over tired that I am in tears, Desmond has not slept in 13 hrs (not even a nap!) and we are stuck. So I re-book, get a hotel room and we pass out until the next morning. Everything was smooth sailing from there! I was glad to see mom and dad at the airport!!!

Our first week in NJ was rough, Desmond had a rough time adjusting to sleeping in American (clean) food, but he came around in a few days. I also had to be in Philly right away for a class I was taking and he didn’t like me being away all day. However, during our 3 weeks there, we settled into a nice routine of playing, playing and wait, more playing. Desmond went to the park almost every day, play outside in the grass, and went on many walks. He was also very spoiled with love (and cartoons) with Grandma and Grandpa. He also had a lot of‘new’ toys to play with. His favorite was the cart, which he would wheel around the house.

We also were lucky to spend some time with Great Grandpa/grandma, Uncle Ray and Aunt Barbara. It was great to see them. And we got to see Uncle Bryan, Aunt Caren, and cousin Caitlyn, Zachary, and Addison. Desmond had a blast playing with his cousins!!!

Around week 4 we headed to DC. Marcus was in DC for a training so we got to stay with him. We were able to see Grandpa/ma Carpenter and Aunt Becca, it was awesome to spend quality time with them. We were also very lucky and were able to meet our friends Oliver/Miranda and Declan – they were doing their East Coast Family tour and carved out some time to spend with us . We spent the week, visiting with friends and family and eating. We had an amazing time!

Then we went to LBI for a few days and spent some quality R&R on the shore reading and playing. Desmond loves the sand and the water (even though it was freezing!!). We were able to see more family and get some great sleep (with the widows open!).

Our time home quickly came to an end and we while we had a great time, we are back home in India. We are back to working and Desmond is still playing. Next adventure, Spain!

Pictures from our East Coast Trip

On the farm in NJ!! My own tractor

Happy Mother's Day Grandma, I love you!

Hanging with my bud Declan

Story time!

Watching the marines practice..I am practicing too

My boys, passed out from traveling and playing

Hanging with Grandma Carpenter

Not sure how I feel about this horse mom

Heading back to NJ, very early in the morning

Got my new backpack, ready for school! how many more years to go?

I lOVE the beach!

Part II Grandma and Grandpa come to India

Second half of the trip:  after a brief recovery from Kerala, I started my job as an Embassy RN at the medical unit while Grandma/pa stayed home with Desmond (and our new housekeeper).  On the way to work, our driver told us about a better job he accepted while we were away on holiday.  The new job pays him much better, pays for meals and lots of overtime, doesn’t require work on Saturdays, and gives him a “prestige” job that gives him long-term stability.  Basically, we couldn’t match it as we only have 1.5 yrs left.  So I started my first day in tears convinced I was making the wrong decision BUT everything has worked out and I really enjoy the job.  Grandma and Grandpa were able to spend some real quality time with Desmond. 

Midweek, we left Desmond at home with our new housekeeper and headed to Old Delhi, a must see.  Upon arriving, our driver, Haris, negotiated a price for a tour Old Delhi on a bike taxi.  First stop:  Red Fort.  I have never been to the Red Fort, and it is much bigger than I expected.  We could have had spent a day there.  One hour later our taxi brought us through the streets of Old Delhi, where we were supposed to stop at Jama Masjid, a mosque, but it was closed for an hour for prayer.  Instead we went to Karim’s, a very famous restaurant in Old Delhi.  I think they were a bit nervous given the appearance and “localness”, but they left impressed and full.  I was proud of their sense of adventure. 

The next day Haris took us to Agra so that they could see the famous Taj Mahal.  Again we decided to leave Desmond at home.  These day trips are very busy and he would rather run around then be confined to a carrier.  We had a great trip, and it only took about 3 hrs to get there.  We stopped once to take a “chai break” before arriving at Akbar’s tomb.  There we hired a tour guide for the day, and he did a great job explaining all of the history of Akbar’s tomb, Taj Mahal, and Agra Fort.  I think my parents were very impressed with the Taj; Grandma kept saying she couldn’t believe she was actually there.  We stayed at each place for about one hour and then had lunch in a very nice restaurant.  As Marcus and I always do with new restaurants, we ordered the veg options to be on the safe side.  All of the food we ordered was amazing!  After lunch, we did a little shopping and then headed home.  The ride home took a little longer and I think we were all tired but had an amazing day. 

Saturday rolled around and little Desmond turned ONE!!!  I cannot believe our little boy officially a toddler.  We had an amazing day!  Desmond had a little Monkey themed party with all of his little friends.  It was really hot that day but it cooled off enough for the party.  Desmond enjoyed playing in the water table with his girlfriend Erica (she has a few boyfriends though being the only 1 y/o girl at the embassy).  He also enjoyed pulling monkey piñata strings with Marshall and Joshua and his other friends.  Finally, he ate (tasted) his first birthday cake:  one shaped like a smiling monkey!  We were so happy to have our friends with us and even happier to have Grandma/pa there to celebrate, especially as they were there at his birth.

Additionally, Grandma and Grandpa took Desmond to Lodi Gardens and the playground one day with our driver.  And they when to Qutub Minar all by themselves on the last day, what an adventure! They were very happy that they went to all three places.

Sadly, the three weeks came to end.  We tried to convince them to stay longer but they needed to return home (I think they were ready for a salad!).  They were adventurous and tried everything we put in front of them. We had amazing time with them and we hope that they return next year =)



Desmond and Haris on the slide at the playground




Old Delhi




Old Delhi




Taking a rest in the bike taxi




Akbar's tomb




The Taj




Taj Mahal




Corny I know, but I love these pictures!




Happy Birthday Desmond!!! Excellent cake!




I made Monkey Cupcakes... a lot of fun



Yummm cake!!!!



Monkey Pinata! Pulling the strings instead of a bat...