We've had some company of late, which means we've been exploring even more than usual. Sara and Roberto are here from Seattle, Alex and Nikki came from LA, and Miles arrives the 24th to finish out the month of December. Samantha and I decided to stay home while Andy took Sara and Roberto to Old Delhi. This meant that she and I had time to piece together another blog post, in between napping and playing with her new toys from Aunty Sara.
As with any of our posts, we begin with Samantha.
Surrounded by her toys.
Eating her toys.
Noticing the photographer.
Wow!
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Qutab Minar
Samantha, me, & Sara at Qutab Minar
Roberto & Sara
Sara at sunset
Back on the metro headed back to the Defence Colony, Samantha made another friend.
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On early am Shatabdi Express Train to Agra & Taj Mahal.
More train.
Roberto & Sara at Agra Train Station rickshaw parking lot. I found it very organized.
In upscale rickshaw to Taj Mahal.
Us outside the building described by our tour guide as "the veil" to the Taj Mahal. We heard different statistics from tour guides, but somewhere between 20,000-35,000 workers lived in this area building the Taj in the 17th century.
"Veiled" building ceiling.
The Taj Mahal.
Our tour guide Amir, hails from a multilingual family of tour guides. He told us that he and his twelve male family members aim to "capture" all of the tourists. His primary languages are Hindi and Arabic, but he learned English and Spanish to cater to American, South American, and Spanish tourists.
Clowning Around.
I've got the whole world in my hands, or at least the Taj. Our tour guide insisted on these photos, and I love that we got Andy on the bench!
Have always wanted a photo like this one too.
And the ever popular Samantha making friends.
I wanted to clandestinely take a photo of these ladies.
A panorama. The building at left is a mosque open to practitioners.
The group again...
Samantha woke up for our tour once we were inside the Taj.
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Interior of the Agra Fort where Shah Jahan (the man who commissioned the Taj) lived under house arrest for eight years.
Interior of Agra Fort.
Same day required an outfit change by sweet Samantha.
12 hours later back at Agra train station to return home to Delhi.
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On a recent evening walk to the park, this beautiful horse rested on the side of the road. His owner, a band member for the weddings, was napping in the park.
Chilling out at Khan Market.
I had to put a photo in of our newly decorated living room. All purchased at a hot sale last weekend.
And by night...
And with friends at lunch.
Roberto.
Good morning!
Sara thought some of you would appreciate seeing me do the mundane things.
Waiting for the metro.
Rahul with Samantha at his family's home in Darya Ganj, Old Delhi.
House guests Nikki & Alex. They are tabla players from Los Angeles.
Preparing for festive coffee hour. Sara gave me the bright new red wrap and Samantha the candy cane dress!
After our weekly coffee hour, one of the other expats offered to drive us by the Parliament building. I thought the carved bushes on right were cooler to look at than the buildings.
Back at home enjoying Andy's food.
Modeling new Xmas outfit from Sara.
Samantha opening her first engraved xmas tree ornament. You guessed it, from Aunty Sara!
In Daddy's arms.
Another new outfit from Aunty Sara.
My new favorite flower from the local market.
Sara covering up for warmth and pollution protection on our rickshaw rides.
Looking cool in artsy Hauz Khas.
Sci-fi Delhi.
Graffiti everywhere in the world. This time in Hauz Khas. It makes me miss Venice.
Boo.
Lunch at Gunpowder. Best food yet in India.
Narrow streets of Hauz Khas.
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Here's a video of our first clapping communication with Samantha.
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