Udaipur

At this very moment, Missy and I are sitting on the roof of our guest house, which overlooks the Old City and Lake Pichola, talking to two Australians who are traveling with their fifteen year old and eight year old children. They pulled them out of school for six weeks because they think they can learn more this way. Ummm...where is this mentality with American families?



These Indian cities just keep getting better and better. Udaipur was simply divine. This city has exceeded my already high expectations. So that I don't repeat myself, I will get the usual highlights out of the way: chai, chai, chai, bonding with the locals, nap, food, chai.

Now, for the special Udaipur highlights...drummmmmmmmm rollllllllll please.

We spent the better part of a day in a hookah bar and cafe reading magazines, listening to Indian music, and getting music lessons from the owner.



We had dinner at the Lake Palace Hotel, in the middle of Lake Pichola. FYI - the James Bond film, Octopussy, was filmed at this palace. This entire town is covered in the fact that Octopussy was filmed here, but noone can tell you which actor played James Bond. I had to use the Google machine to find out it was Roger Moore. What an experience! We caught the sunset on the water, had our first glasses of Indian wine, and I had my hundredth moment of "I am one lucky lady".





Udaipur is a city full of romance, and even though we are three girls traveling together, we definitely picked up on the vibe. Love is in the air! Honeymooners strolled on bridges, newlyweds made out in front of us and ruined our sunset ;), and every cafe has cushions and aphrodisiacs to put you in the mood.

The City Palace on the top of the hill in Old City is really one of the most beautiful buildings I have set foot inside. And believe me, I have traveled a good amount and seen my fair share of palaces, museums, and churches. City Palace is mesmerizing. Apparently, many wealthy Indian families rent out the courtyard for their weddings...SWOON.

Monsoon Palace sits on the top of a hill and offered the most memorable sunset of my life. We were taxied up to the top and got to spend two hours just watching the sun go down...THIS IS THE LIFE.



Udaipur is really a city you experience rather than see. I feel like we have done so much in two days, but when I think back, most of it was eating, drinking, and relaxing. Tomorrow we are off to Mt. Abu for a full day of hiking to burn off the milkshakes we've been downing.