My last weekend in India has been all about food. It actually began on Friday when we went to Breakthrough for lunch. Sam volunteered there three years ago, so we had to go say hello. It was a lot of fun. We hired a driver to take us there. On our way we saw the usual cows, dogs, traffic and poverty. We also saw camels! People were riding camels along the road as if they were a common means of transportation. No biggie.
At Breakthrough, Sam reunited with some old friends, and she showed me what this amazing adventure and team building camp was all about. They made us go through this tunnel. It's pitch black and you have to crawl through, up and around, until you finally come to the end. It wasn't so bad, but I can't imagine being in there alone... or having a fear of small, dark places. After the tunnel, we had lunch, we learned to make chipatis, pet a dog and went on our way. Later that day, we had the fellows from TFT come by for some Indian banoffee (we had to improvise some of the ingredients), and we said our goodbyes. We gave them an external hard drive as a gift. We knew it was something they could seriously use, and they were extremely grateful. I really hope that we were able to contribute to the future of their organization. They have amazing hearts, and want nothing more than to reach out to Bangalore.
That evening, we went out for a final farewell dinner at the Oberoi (me saying goodbye to the best hotel in the world). Good company, delicious food, beautiful scenery, and serenading music. It was perfect.
On Saturday, we attempted Commercial Street again....and this time, we conquered! It wasn't nearly as crazy as the last time, and we got everything we needed. We even stopped for a big greasy paper masala dosa. Mmmmm. Tom had pizza. We relaxed for the rest of the day, and had dinner with Dad, Rob and Tom. They polished off the steak, and we finished off our Indian leftovers.
Up until now, the food was great....but nothing...and I mean NOTHING compares to the breakfast we ate on Sunday morning. I could write a blog post just about this food. We went to the Leela...another fancy hotel. It was about 20$/person for an unbelievable buffet. Breads, pastries, donuts, french toast, bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon, fresh fruit, yogurt, jams, custards, bacon, sausage, omelets to order, fresh waffles and pancakes, mango smoothies, freshly squeezed OJ, the best tea, coffee and cappuccinos, plus a whole slew of Indian food (which I passed on). You could order anything, and they'd make it. All inclusive. And it was honestly the best of the best. We stayed there for 2 and half hours. Amazing. Mom and Dot are going to die.
We fasted for the rest of the day, and had enough room to squeeze in a scrumptious Italian dinner. Bread, salad, soup, pizza--- you know, something light! We ate to tune of Lucky Ali, Indian superstar; Meaghan's estranged husband. We watched the concert for a little while because Tasmia (Meaghan's daughter) was singing back-up! It was a late, but great night, and we crashed as soon as we got home!
Today is all about packing, pondering and last minute shopping. I'm flying home tonight, and I'm feeling bittersweet..... what an adventure. I've learned a lot, and maybe on my 18 hour flight, I'll be able to figure out why God sent me here. I'm going to leave the rest of the blogging up to Sam, as she continues her India journey in Ooty and Kerala.... the jungle will be quite the adventure, I'm sure!
At Breakthrough, Sam reunited with some old friends, and she showed me what this amazing adventure and team building camp was all about. They made us go through this tunnel. It's pitch black and you have to crawl through, up and around, until you finally come to the end. It wasn't so bad, but I can't imagine being in there alone... or having a fear of small, dark places. After the tunnel, we had lunch, we learned to make chipatis, pet a dog and went on our way. Later that day, we had the fellows from TFT come by for some Indian banoffee (we had to improvise some of the ingredients), and we said our goodbyes. We gave them an external hard drive as a gift. We knew it was something they could seriously use, and they were extremely grateful. I really hope that we were able to contribute to the future of their organization. They have amazing hearts, and want nothing more than to reach out to Bangalore.
That evening, we went out for a final farewell dinner at the Oberoi (me saying goodbye to the best hotel in the world). Good company, delicious food, beautiful scenery, and serenading music. It was perfect.
On Saturday, we attempted Commercial Street again....and this time, we conquered! It wasn't nearly as crazy as the last time, and we got everything we needed. We even stopped for a big greasy paper masala dosa. Mmmmm. Tom had pizza. We relaxed for the rest of the day, and had dinner with Dad, Rob and Tom. They polished off the steak, and we finished off our Indian leftovers.
Up until now, the food was great....but nothing...and I mean NOTHING compares to the breakfast we ate on Sunday morning. I could write a blog post just about this food. We went to the Leela...another fancy hotel. It was about 20$/person for an unbelievable buffet. Breads, pastries, donuts, french toast, bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon, fresh fruit, yogurt, jams, custards, bacon, sausage, omelets to order, fresh waffles and pancakes, mango smoothies, freshly squeezed OJ, the best tea, coffee and cappuccinos, plus a whole slew of Indian food (which I passed on). You could order anything, and they'd make it. All inclusive. And it was honestly the best of the best. We stayed there for 2 and half hours. Amazing. Mom and Dot are going to die.
We fasted for the rest of the day, and had enough room to squeeze in a scrumptious Italian dinner. Bread, salad, soup, pizza--- you know, something light! We ate to tune of Lucky Ali, Indian superstar; Meaghan's estranged husband. We watched the concert for a little while because Tasmia (Meaghan's daughter) was singing back-up! It was a late, but great night, and we crashed as soon as we got home!
Today is all about packing, pondering and last minute shopping. I'm flying home tonight, and I'm feeling bittersweet..... what an adventure. I've learned a lot, and maybe on my 18 hour flight, I'll be able to figure out why God sent me here. I'm going to leave the rest of the blogging up to Sam, as she continues her India journey in Ooty and Kerala.... the jungle will be quite the adventure, I'm sure!
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