Unbelievable

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so we will post some of our pictures of Old Delhi. I think that we, and especially I, have seen a lot of the world but we couldn't have imagined anything like this. The thing about it is it is chaotic, crowded, dilapidated, dirty (yes,there is garbage on the streets) but we agreed it is the most amazing place we have ever been.

We started our day at the Red Fort which was the home of Shah Jahan and where he lived when he was building the Taj Mahal for his deceased wife.
I felt a little sorry for him when I heard how much he loved her and mourned her death, however, he had 200 women in his harem at the Red Fort!! Lauren was so popular here - she had so many people wanting pictures of her and with her. It wasn't just cute guys her age - it started with a woman of about 40 who kept telling her how beautiful she was, then it was a group of girls who were probably high school age, then there were little girls and little boys. She was quite the celebrity!!

We then took a rickshaw ride from there through Old Delhi which as I mentioned is incredible. It is mass confusion with cars, trucks, rickshaws, tuk tuks, and people everywhere but it all works and everyone seems to get where they are going. Honking the horn is an important part of the driving experience and, honestly, manhattan is pretty quiet compared to Old Delhi.
Our guide was surprised when we wanted to stop and get out and walk around! We went into a spice store and bought spices - Lauren will be making many delicious Indian dishes when we get home - LOL. Our rickshaw driver took us up to the flower market where I don't think they have seen too many foreigners and especially Americans.

Next we visited a mosque where Lauren and I had to wear robes to enter as it is an active mosque. It was a good spot to look over the streets of Old Delhi and see what is like without being in the middle of it.

Time to leave this part of the city and time for lunch at where else but McDonalds! Lauren was a happy girl!!!!! You have to know that they don't use beef here as it is basically a Hindu country so she had a great chicken sandwich with fries - I had a McVeggie which is not offered in the U.S.

Now, on to shopping!! How long does it take for Lauren to find a traditional Indian sari type dress? A loooooong time but she looked incredible and it was really fun. They will pull out hundreds of dresses for you to look at till you find exactly what you want. I kept wondering who had to fold them all up and put them away!

We saw where the President of India lives which after being in Old Delhi was a little hard to make sense of. Also, stopped at a Catholic church where we were lucky enough to see a wedding - a little different than back home but the bride did have a wedding dress on as opposed to the traditional sari.

Back to the hotel, out for an Indian dinner and then to bed at 9. Laurens hours have certainly changed - in bed at 9 and up at 4AM!! We do our blog, check emails and texts and wait till the restaurant opens for breakfast!! That is where we are heading now - fresh croissants here we come!!!
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Location:Old Delhi