Back on the big day…

So proud of little P. Lou

I’m sure you’ve all heard of Instagr.am by now, its on the go photo journaling at it’s best. I use my iPhone snap away, add a filter (or not) and post. I of course took photos on my Nikon on our trip last week during Spring Break to the desert, but these were all pretty fun ones. I don’t nearly share all of my IG photos on FB, I don’t want to overwhelm people with “hey look what I’m doing now!” But I figure if people are on Instagram then they want to see lots of photos.. anyhow here is my little photo journal.

Above we stopped to say hi to the roadside dinos, below lunch in Hipster Heaven at the ACE

I just love the evenings in the desert!

mirandashanti is my profile name on Instagram, hope to see some of your photos on there too.

Such a pretty place to snap a few pics.

We took a quick weekend trip to Arizona a couple of weeks ago to visit my good friend Jill and her family. Jill and I swam together and even though we don’t talk on a regular basis we can always just jump right in without missing a beat – I love that! I also love that our kiddos get along and we all had such a great time visiting their beautiful home. Jill arranged a couple of great activities for us, the first of which was horseback riding. Now the experience was great, but it didn’t quite live up to the website description of informative  guides and delicious bbq. When I asked for a helmet for the girls they looked at me like I was crazy, could I really be the first one to ask for a helmet for my six year old who was being hoisted solo onto a full size horse?! Charlotte handled her horse really well even when he got a little rambunctious. Despite the fear of my eldest being thrown into a saguaro cactus we had a fun adventure.

Our next cool adventure was our first architecture tour as a family. We toured Frank Lloyd Wrights Taliesin West which was his winter home and architectural school. It was freezing,threatening to downpour, and we had 3 kids 6 and under with us for an hour and a half tour – we had low expectations to say the least. Amazingly we all lasted the 90 minute plus tour and the kids were perfect! True to form Charlotte was front and center most of the tour and actually seemed to enjoy it! A very informative guide left us hoping for more of these types of tours soon.

Thanks for the hospitality Olsons! Until next time Az.

Happy Birthday Mom – We LOVE You!

I am remiss not to have mentioned it before but it really took a village of help in order for me to be able to get away from home and the kiddos for 11 days. My husband took this on without question, have I mentioned lately how fantastic he is? I also had several friends and family who helped take care of the girls while I was away. They were taken such good care of and had so much fun I don’t even think they really missed me all that much! So a HUGE thank you to Sarah, Nancy, Erin, Ali, Kim, all the giggling polka dot ponies who took Charlotte in for camp and of course Greg!

From Agra we kept our driver with us and he took us to Jaipur. The road has recently been re-done and it was good to get out of the cities and see a bit of the small towns along the road side. On the way our driver shared with us the 3 keys to driving in India;. a good horn, a good break and good luck! During the 3.5 hour drive I made a list of all of the things I saw: camels pulling flat beds of goods and or people, trucks with packed overflowing with goods, a truck bed with several tractors, brick making in fields, crops – mustard, beets, potatoes and more, tractors going the wrong direction on the highway, there were small towns or villages every 5-10 miles, bulls tied up in front of homes of businesses, cows roaming, bamboo scaffolding rickety holding up buildings in progress, dung patties a plenty, toll stops every 30-45 minutes, at the rest stop that had decent bathrooms we also did some shopping, many motorcycles with 2-4 people on them (generally men wear helmets- woman and kids do not), hut style houses, some brick homes – some colorfully painted and plastered, roadside restaurants with outdoor seating, as we got closer to Jaipur there was lots of stone work for sale – carved decorations you might see at the gates and in gardens and home of the wealthy, many people carrying sacks on their heads, roadside markets with fruits and other goods, herds of goats and a few herd of sheep, the nicest buildings seem to be the schools, little speed bumps to slow traffic as you approach and pass through each town, some cars jam packed with people – we saw one car similar to an Isuzu jeep that had 20-25 people in and hanging on the back of the car. Quite a lot to look at!

Driving into Jaipur we noticed that the roads were better kept, there seemed to be city service that were improved from our previous cities in terms of trash collection and cleanliness as well. Once in the city we made our way to our hotel which was a lovely old palace converted to a hotel. It is one of the few nice hotels within the city walls and I would highly recommend it. The Samode Haveli was quaint and charming and the service was great. We ate several meals at the restaurant there and were very pleased, they even had live music at dinner to add the the atmosphere. I had to laugh as Nadia and I actually got table side Indian tech support logging onto the wi-fi network on our phones.  After a quick check-in with tea, we dropped off our stuff and were out to see some of the sights with our guide Gautam Jopat, yes he’s on facebook and we would highly recommend him! We started at the Jantar Mantar a world heritage site with ancient clocks and instruments to tell the seasons and astrological signs. From there it was a short walk to the City Palace where there is actually a royal family living there. It was honestly not the most exciting site, but we’d seen some pretty spectacular ones so not too surprising that it paled in comparison. There were many workers preparing for a wedding there that evening, but unfortunately we were not asked to attend. We did a bit of shopping and returned to the hotel for a nice shower and dinner.

The next morning was our elephant ride!! This was another highlight of the trip, I took a video which mostly features the shrill excitement in my voice as we got on and started our ride. Way too embarrassing to post here but I have to say is was quite a fantastic experience! Disclaimer the elephants are checked out by a veterinarian each morning and are only allowed a specific number of trips and the elephants seemed well taken care of and happy. (I did feel a little guilty about it after the fact) Mid-ride there were people running on top of these walls that were about 6 inches wide and 30 feet off of the ground taking photos and then they developed them and had them ready by the time your were done touring the fort. Also while I was taking a couple of shots with my iphone the neighbor elephant driver asked for my phone and took a couple of pics for us too! These were taken by Gautam for us with my camera:

The elephants took us on about a 10 minute ride up to the Amber Fort. We once again had a very informative tour and enjoyed all the lovely details. The screens you see in many of the forts and palaces were built so the women could see out without being seen. The patterns so pretty and the view from the top of the hill just gorgeous. There is an ancient wall built on the surrounding mountains which we were told is second in length to the great wall of China.

One of my favorite shots above from the trip, this lady was taking a break from sweeping in the Amber Fort. We saw many people sweeping, in the monuments, on dirt roads, the thing is we didn’t really see them sweeping the dirt into a container to be removed – just sweeping with handmade brooms.

After our tour we went to lunch, then went to a fabric store where we saw the block printing in action which was neat – I bought a new beach blanket and some napkins and placemats with an elephant print of course.

After a bit more shopping we headed back for an afternoon of relaxing at the hotel where Lisa and I took a private yoga class which was great. Another nice dinner at our hotel before waking early to catch our flight for the last leg of our trip.

Of course one of the main reasons one travels to India is to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. On our third morning we woke up very early to embark on our train ride as recounted in my overview of our days in Delhi. After a very pleasant train ride we made it to our hotel to check in early and have some time to relax. We had made a reservation at Esphahan at the Oberoi Amarvilas which is the nicest hotel in town. So we got all dolled up and had a nice dinner at the swanky hotel. The Oberoi is truly a spectacular hotel there!

The next morning was the big day to see the Taj! Everyone had told us the best time to go is early in the morning when it first opens so we awoke early met our driver, Rarjeesh and guide Sopash (Bharti or Paurvi please correct me if you think these spellings are off!).  After our first half van/tut tut ride we made it to the line around 7 am, we only had to wait 20 minutes through the security line and we were in. Ok you hear so much about this spectacular monument, but truly is does live up to the hype in real life. It brings tears to your eyes when you walk through the gate to see it for the first time (yes Anne and Andrea tears!).

Did I mention it was Valentine’s Day?! A perfect day to see this monument that emperor Shah Jahan built for his *favorite* wife. Really the buildings he built surrounding for his other wives are like dirty tents in comparison! Our guide was so informative and taught us the history of it all. Built in perfect symmetry it truly is awe-inspiring. The minarets create an illusion like they are slightly tilted inward, but actually they tilt slightly outward so if they were ever to fall they would not fall on the main building. People used to be able to go up in the minarets, but they have them closed as too many broken hearted would jump to their deaths from them. It was a misty morning and although is sort of added to the mystique of the place it wasn’t the best for photos, but hey we got some pretty good ones anyhow!

Apropos for Valentine’s Day two love bird eagles were nestled up.

We were allowed to go inside but you weren’t supposed to take photos inside and do to the hazy morning it actually quite dark inside. The detail from the inlaid precious and semi-precious stones to the intricate Koran writing, marble carvings were so beautiful. We had to wear little shoe covers, but we were allowed to touch the building which was pretty cool.

After much wandering and photo taking we moved on to our next destination the Red Fort. Here we had another good tour as well.

Since of course we do belong at the swankiest place in town we headed back to the Oberoi for cocktails at sunset with entertainment and a view of the Taj Mahal, pretty surreal and very fun!

And the slideshow of one of the spectacular days of our lives!

Namaste! Since returning from India Monday night everyone has been asking me for photos, well the problem is I of course took a zillion and with extreme jet lag I’ve had a hard time getting to the photos. So I decided to break the trip down into smaller parts so I didn’t have to go through all of the photos at once. First up Delhi. We had only planned to spend one day and night in Delhi, but flying with my lovely companions who all work for British Airways and hooked me up with one of their friends benefits (HUGE thanks Debra!!!) we ended up leaving a day early to get better seats. Let’s take a moment to appreciate these better seats shall we – business class is fantastic! The food! The ability to stretch your legs when flying 20+ hours is the best! I was so spoiled and the problem is I will never be able to afford these seats on my own, sigh. Thankfully I fully appreciated them on this trip.

Cast of characters: Most of my friends and family know Lisa who is a crazy Brit whom I met through our local moms group about 6 years ago. She was my roomie and the planner of the trip – she did a great job finding us nice hotels and organizing us. She has travelled nearly the world over and India was left on her list of places she wanted to go. I have always wanted to see India so this is how we ended up on the other side of the world. Nadia is lovely and fun, another savvy traveller and lived many of her years growing up in South Africa.  Narine is the sassy blond who is commonly referred to as Princess Narine. She was born in Armenia and is picky eater like me – so we bonded over fear of Indian food! Although we didn’t know each other well before the trip we got along great and have some stories we will never forgot. I felt like such an American travelling with these three dual citizens, in fact no one could figure out where we were from with all the slight accents going on.

Ok so after our never ending plane flights we arrived in Delhi at 5 am or so, thankfully we were able to hop on a bus with the flight crew to our hotel and thus were eased into the culture shock a bit. After a nice nap at the hotel we asked the concierge for an idea on where we should go – since we hadn’t planned to spend much time in Delhi we hadn’t done a ton of research. Thankfully he had the perfect recommendation the Surajkund Craft fair that was taking place for two weeks. We hoped into the first of many insane taxi rides and immersed ourselves in the culture. I have to say I am quite proud of us for jumping right in. This fair had rides, singing, dancing and artisan booths – thousands of Indians were there and we only saw a handful of westerners. We got our feet wet with a little bargaining but mostly just soaked it in. I’m glad we started in Delhi as it was probably my least favorite of the spots we visited and if it hadn’t been for this fair I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. Delhi is dirty and has a distinct smell but the culture is rich and vibrant! It is hard to describe a trip like this in words so here are some photos and then a slideshow at the bottom.

Many people asked to take photos with us, so we decided to ask as well.

Some people would put herbs around the eyes of babies and kids, thought to  improve eyesight. Lovingly we referred to them as eyeliner babies.

After our exciting adventure we went back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner. We went out to dinner with a couple of the pilots from our flight to an Indian restaurant called Punjab Grill right around the corner, I had some Veggie Biryani which was not too scary or spicy and we had a nice visit.

On our second day in Delhi we hired a guide and a driver which is really a must. It is a crazy crowded city and we would have never been able to navigate on our own. Our guide Sunil was very nice, spoke great English and was knowledgable. We started at the Qutab Minaret for a very nice tour (pictured above), next we went to the largest Mosque in India called Jama Masjid – we donned slippers and cover ups to go in – such fashionable ladies! Next we took a quick stop at the Presidents house and drove by the government offices and ministries. We saw the park Rajghat where Ghandi was cremated and there is a little memorial to him there. After a busy morning we went to lunch at a pizza place called Flavors (I know! Pizza in India, but it was good and at least we didn’t go to papa johns or dominos)

After our lunch we did a bit of shopping then visited Humayun’s tomb, which was the pre-curser in architecture to the Taj Mahal.

It was a full day and we headed to bed early in anticipation of our early train the next morning. Oh and what a morning it turned out to be! We arrived at the Delhi train station around 5:20 only to be told that our e-tickets weren’t good enough to let us in the building, and of course being so early in the morning the office was closed! UGH, we threw our luggage on the top of a rickety cab and made our way to the tourism bureau, of course they couldn’t print us boarding passes with less than an hour to go before departure, double ugh! We begged pleaded and then finally decided to go back to the station to make our way in. As we got out of our cab we were mobbed by porters wanting to carry our bags for tips, being in such a frantic hurry at this point we let them and what do you know no one was even at security asking for boarding cards. So with much frenzy we made it on the train with a few minutes to spare, haggled with the porters over their tip, and sat down – still nervous they would ask for boarding cards when they came for tickets. Well of course we had been given the run around and our e-ticket was just FINE! It was a harrowing morning but safely on the train which was quite pleasant (Bophal Shatabdi) we were happy to relax on the way to Agra.

And of course the slideshow, the one of Lisa looking grossed out is after our first public Indian bathroom experience.

That was the after – this is the before:

Until now she has pretty much done all of the same activities as her sis and she LOVES it! Everyday she asks do I get to go to gymnastics today? So sweet.

We had a random impromptu photo extravaganza with some friends last week – the results are perfect. Such personality I may need to incorporate some of this madness into a photo session with clients – paint, flowers, each person do their own thing.

Maybe we should have broken out video to get these kids into the next Wes Anderson flick.

With my big adventure rapidly approaching we made Valentines a bit early, we decided to include little photos for the kiddos friends this year and put my Jonathan Adler Christmas present to use.

Happy Valentine’s Day Friends!!!