Adventures Continued...

          Family time did not end with our vacation in Mysore.  We had to show them all of the sights and sounds that Bangalore had to offer.  Kris and I have had little to no time to sight see around Bangalore, so we were excited to go around the city and see some new things too.
          The day after we returned from Mysore I sent everyone on an adventure to Commercial Street.  This is a huge, busy, shopping area with many crowded vendors and shops.  Kris had to work, and I stayed at home with Molly who was running a fever.  They ventured out in a couple of rickshaws and amazingly came home safe and sound!

This is a view down one of the side streets near Commercial Street

The rickshaw driver even let dad ride in the drivers seat with him.  

Enjoying the rickshaw rides!

So many shops to see.  It can get quite overwhelming. 

Once they made it home from Commercial Street, Roopa took the ladies saree shopping.  The store we went to had walls and walls of sarees to choose from.  It was almost impossible to narrow it down.  Jill and Arlys managed to choose one.  I, on the other hand, will need to save up some money for my saree. Apparently I am too tall for some of the lesser expensive sarees and I will have to pay more money for one with more fabric.  I will get one some day!  

They lined up to show us all of their beautiful sarees.  It truly was a shopping experience that I will never forget.  

They draped each of us with a saree so that we could see what we would look like with one on.  I would compare it to shopping for a wedding gown.  You don't know if it's "the one" until you try it on and stand on the pedestal in front of the large mirror.  Then you oooh and aaaah and say that's the one.

The night ended on such a good note with Sam and Jill singing us a song that they had written for John.  This was their baby gift to us and I will cherish it forever.  I can't wait until they get us a copy that we can listen to over and over.  Thanks Sam and Jill for all of the time and energy you put into writing this!  We loved it!

The next day Sam and Jill went with a friend to see an art museum in the morning and then met up with the rest of us for lunch.  We had lunch with Jude and Roopa at an Indian buffet.  Then if was off for more shopping to the Harley Davidson Store and MG road. We finished off the day with Krispy Kreme donuts and a metro ride back home.  It was another busy, busy day!

It was fun to try so many different Indian dishes.  

Dad was in hog heaven at the Harley store.  He managed to find his souvenir here :)

MG road is another huge shopping area.  The ladies found some fun scarves to bring home as souvenirs.  

Papa and Nana treating Molly to some Krispy Kreme donuts.  YUMMY!!

Our last big tourist day with Sam and Jill was Saturday so we decided to go to Lalbagh, which is a beautiful botanical garden located in Bangalore.  I was pleasantly surprised by how large and green it was.   It was very refreshing to see such a large garden with so many unique, huge, beautiful, old trees.    It was also very quiet and less crowded than anywhere else in Bangalore.  So we packed a picnic lunch and made a day of it.  It was hot of course, but the trees provided a lot of shade to keep us somewhat cool throughout the day.  

This is a garden that is full of bonzae trees

So many large, beautiful trees.

This particular palm was just so amazing up close. 

We sat under this pink tree for our picnic lunch.  I don't remember the last time I had a picnic lunch!

This tree was at least 200 years old!

Lots of orange blossoms on many of the trees in the park.

It was so nice to see this part of Bangalore.  I hope to be able to take Kris there some day too.  

We walked around the park for as long as our legs could tolerate.  Then on the way home I let Sam, Jill, and Arlys check out KR market.  This is an extremely busy, crowded, narrow market where there are tons of vendors selling a variety of goods.  I did not dare to venture into such a densely populated area with 2 kids, so dad offered to stay with me and the kids in the car.  We only allowed them to venture out for 30min because, once again it is too chaotic of a place to have children.  In that 30min they saw so many interesting things.  I would like to go back there without kids and see it for myself some day.  

Can you see Sam in this picture?

The night ended with a home cooked Indian meal made by Roopa.  It was absolutely delicious!  Thanks Jude and Roopa for your hospitality!

Well that wraps up week number 1 with the fam!  Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Sam and Jill Sunday night, but we had such a great time with them.  They went full speed ahead for the entire 8 days they were here.  It was so much fun to see them soak up all of the culture that India has to offer.  They truly did not let a moment be wasted while they were here.  Stay tuned for week number 2 of family time.  We did slow down a bit after Sam and Jill left, but none of us minded:)