Incredible India, indeed!

Sorry to have been entirely delinquent since Venice. Rome, Sienna, the French countryside, and Paris were all amazing! I could not have wished for a better honeymoon with the love of my life.

Rather than going back and trying to narrate the past few weeks in detail, I will just start from where I am today, which is INDIA! This is my second day here, and I am already in love with this spectacular place. Got into the airport yesterday about 4:30am and after wandering around confusedly for a while, took a cab to my hotel in Hyderabad. (I am staying at a hotel the orphanage recommended for my first two nights here, as I needed to run some errands and settle myself before I head to the home tomorrow.) At about $80 per night, the hotel is very spendy by India standards, but it is LUXURY all the way. And a three-course meal from room service is only about $12! Amazing after coming straight from Paris, which may actually be even more expensive than Manhattan.

So, I got into the hotel about 6am yesterday and slept until about 2pm. I was so nervous about venturing out into the world for the first time when I woke up. I put it off as long as possible, having no idea what to expect. The hotel gave me the address of a mall where I could buy some traditional Indian clothes and told me the best way was to take an auto-rickshaw. I didn't even know exactly what that was, and they are insane! Like little tiny go-carts, open on both sides, and everyone drives like New York on crack! Seriously, I cannot believe how people drive here, but they are all so calm about it. I kept closing my eyes really tight, bracing myself for the impending crash that somehow never came! I actually did see one scooter run into another, and the two guys laughed it off and kept going, no hard feelings! (It was actually pretty fun, and overall, I felt significantly safer than I do driving in Minnesota during the winter.) Tons of scooters and rickshaws, along with a smattering of cars and beat-up old buses. I have never heard so much horn honking in my life! A constant stream of honking. I think they rely on that instead of using mirrors or checking before they switch lanes. It was a really fun way to see India for the first time, being in the open air but still having my own little space. I saw a family of 5 on a SCOOTER no bigger than regular little motorcycles! Two tiny kids on front, then dad driving, then mom at the very back, riding side-saddle with a baby in her lap. Whoa! And not nervous at all! And today, I saw lots of people riding camels, right on the highway, along with the traffic. Spectacular!

All the people here seem very nice and VERY eager to please. They are all trying to make a buck from us rich white folks, so I have to be careful not to get overcharged for things, but there is a really genuine kindness to the people here in spite of that. I feel very welcome. I had the same driver yesterday and all day today. His name is Arvand, and he either waits for me at every stop, or I call him on his mobile when it is time to pick me up. My own private driver, helping me run all over the city! I feel safe using the same person - he seems nice and trustworthy and is quite a good driver given the circumstances! I think he is trying to get as much out of me as possible, but I am glad to pay and help him make extra money. And still, it is a bargain. All told, I spent $12 today on my own private driver who took me all over Hyderabad for seven hours! Less than the cost of a taxi from the West Village to Midtown!

I bought my first sari today, which was quite a process. First I had to go to a fabric shop, and then they told me they didn't actually make the saris, so they sent me to a tailor. So I bought this beautiful silk for about $16 then had a tailor make it into a blouse and wrap for about $10 more. I had to go to the tailor three times altogether, but I finally have it, and they helped me try it on and show me how to wrap it. I also ordered four traditional suits called salwar kameez, which I am going back to pick up in the morning. These are knee-length tops with loose-fitting pants, and the shops will custom make them. They showed me countless fabrics and then let me choose the exact cut I wanted. Altogether, the four complete outfits will be about $35. What a bargain! (I am shopping like a maniac, both because I want to wear traditional Indian dress while I am here, and also because I love spreading a bit of wealth around.)

Also got an Ayurvedic massage today. THAT was an experience! Gone are the days of my very discreet massages with the beautiful Denise Ozdemir of Duluth! These ladies strip you down and rub you ALL over! (Seriously.) You have two masseuses at a time, and they watch while you awkwardly maneuver out of your sweaty clothes, then they tie on a loincloth (as though that provides any kind of relief from embarrassment whatsoever)! Then you have to sit on a stool while they rub your head first by pouring hot oil all over your head and massaging it into your scalp. (I don't know about you, but the LAST thing I want to do when completely naked in front of two strangers is SIT DOWN - the most unflattering position on earth.) Then they have you lay on a wooden table and they pour more oil all over you, until you're as slippery as a seal. And they work in perfect synchronicity, one on each side. It felt great, but I had to focus quite hard on not giggling as I kept comparing this zany experience to my traditional American massages. This was no holds barred, people! Seriously, they must have rubbed my butt alone for a good ten minutes. I kept trying to be all mature and think about the human body as natural and beautiful, but I just kept laughing when I thought about the fact that two women were rubbing my greased-up bottom! I hope to grow up soon.... Anyway, the massage was followed by a steam, where you sit on a stool in a wooden box with your head poking out through a hole in the top. Once you are soaked with sweat, they lead you into a shower so you can hose it all off. A very slippery experience with all the oil! But also quite nice. Altogether very relaxing, an hour's worth of treatment for about $20 (this was a very fancy spa). They also gave me the name of a place to get a pedicure, which I need as I will be wearing sandals while here. (SO hot already, and it is only January!) I go in for my pedicure tomorrow morning, cost $4.

So at the end of my first two days, I totally LOVE India. I ride around trying not to let my mouth hang open. I am just amazed by how exotic and real it all is. So much going on, so many dichotomies, such fascinating people. The smog is tough (like constant second-hand smoke) and the poverty is devastating, but it is truly a magical place. It is everything I was expecting - difficult and challenging, but spectacular. I can't wait to head to the orphanage tomorrow afternoon and meet 150 new children! WOW! Could I be any luckier?

Buon Anno from Venezia!

I think I have said "I LOVE ITALY" at least 30 times since we arrived in Venice on Monday. I keep telling Matt that Italy seems to be able to hear the secret whispers of my soul, and it actually answers them. It is spectacular. We head on to Rome tomorrow and from there, Tuscany, so I can only imagine how much more amazing the Italian leg of this trip can possibly become. So far, Venice is utterly magical. Like no place I have ever been.

Why I Love Italia
By Travelin' Mae

1) Pizza - Need I say more?
2) Pasta - The Spaghetti with oil and garlic here in Venice was seriously one of the top 5 meals of my whole entire life. Such a simple dish that I make all the time at home, but this was like eating gold.
3) Wine - It is literally cheaper than the water here. We spent New Year's Eve drinking wine on tap, sold in recycled water bottles, at the low low price of €1.50 per liter! Also, we think it is extra special that it is socially acceptable to drink wine any time of day, anywhere. Seriously.
4) Cheese - As Matt and I rode in on a train from Munich, through the beautiful Italian countryside and all its many vineyards, we spent a lot of time in the fabolus dining car, eating wonderful cheese and bread and drinking great wine. In the DINING CAR. On the TRAIN. Just imagine how good it is now that we are on land.
5) As we dined on the world's best pasta on 30 December, the Home Alone 2 soundtrack was actually playing. For those of you who know me, you know that there are few things I love better than Christmas music, and that this soundtrack is pretty much tops of all Christmas music as far as I am concerned. In fact, I played it myself on my iPod on Christmas Day. And here we were, FIVE days after Christmas, in Italy, dining on amazing pasta and wine, and listening to the magical sounds of Macaulay Culkin's wacky adventures. Ahhhh....
6) Mary Poppins on TV in Italian. Supercalifragilisticexpialidogo!
7) Gelato, Tartuffo, and especially Sorbetto. Somehow it is both creamy AND tart in the same moment. Delicioso!
8) The centuries-old villa we are staying in happens to be next to a bakery, so every morning around 5am, the greatest smell I have ever smelled in my whole life comes wafting into our room. Magic!
9) Post boxes - little, red, and freaking adorable. They make mail fun again!
10) Siestas - They respect the need for daily naps, minimum 2 hours long. Everything shuts down from about 1 till 3. Sweet Dreams!
11) Cappuccino - Delicious, and no Starbucks in sight!
12) Venice itself - so magical. And yes, we actually rode a gondola, which was spectacular.
13) At midnight on New Year's, it actually started snowing. For reals. Big, fluffy, dreamy snow. Sigh....
14) Everything sounds beautiful in Italian.
15) Purple is apparently the new black here, and not only do the Italians promote it, they embrace it fully. Everyone is in every imaginable shade of purple here.
16) Really cute Coca Cola cans - skinny and tall. I didn't expect it, but I am finding Coca Cola to be one of the comforts of home I am leaning on a lot here. Better than McDonald's, I figure.
17) Really great Chinese food. Yes, I am as surprised as you are. It was the only place open on New Year's Day, and it was GREAT. And lots of excellent vegetarian options, even egg rolls. Best Chinese food I've ever had is in Italy. Go figger.
18) So very romantic....

Grazie, Italia!