Incredible !ndia

Yay! Wi-fi finally! That has been a bit of a challenge since we got into Delhi Tuesday afternoon but let me just say that India is incredible!

Taj Mahal in Agra yesterday was unbelievably gorgeous! Maybe what's unbelievable is that we're really here! I still think our pictures look like someone's photo-shopped them! Ha!


Delhi today was unlike anything I've ever experienced. Busy. Noisy. Exotic. People in garb representing a multitude of beliefs. Oh and did I mention hot? And wet? Our guide told us the weather had just broken so we were lucky. The rain showers helped cool us down, so yes that means we've pretty much been in wet clothes all day!

Here are a few more images of Delhi and Agra, yet I can't begin to capture the vibrancy of this country.





We've been busy every minute and are excited to get to go to Shanti Bhavan tomorrow. I bought my kurta and punjabi today And Kathy bought a beautiful saree so we're all set!

Walking London

Today we pretty much WALKED to all the sights we'd seen from the tour bus yesterday. Which makes it a really good thing to be resting with feet up in our Celtic Hotel room right now.

This morning we took a little spin with Kelaine & Richard to see Wembley Stadium where Wimbledon is being played right now. It was just up the hill from their house, a cute, ritzy little village with a rather major sporting event!

Then we met Tam for coffee at a little spot in Wimbledon near the underground station. Turns out his flat is just a few stops south. What a fun time we had visiting and catching up! Afterwards he walked us to the station & assisted in finding our train to our hotel in Central London.

After depositing our bags at our hotel we took off walking to Trafalgar Square, down Whitehall to No.10 Downing Street, to Westminster Abbey, past Big Ben, over the Westminster Bridge, along the South Bank of the river Thames, under the London Eye, and to the Globe Theatre where we hoped to purchase tickets and watch some Shakespeare. Which was sold out! So we had pizza, a salad, and a glass of wine before walked over the Milenium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral. What a magnificent sight! What an incredible city!


We called upon the tube to take us back to Russell Square and a chance to reflect and relax. So tired! So worth it!

A Victoria Day

We made it to London yesterday with ontime flights and the miracle of actually finding each other without the benefit of cell phones at enormous Heathrow airport! After depositing our luggage at Kelaine &Richard's in Wimbledon & then heading into central London, we walked across the Westminster Bridge, cruised on the Thames & took in a West End musical - The Wizard of Oz.

And that pretty much set the pace for today!

Victoria Station by noon, a bus tour, a long meander through Hyde Park, and being wowed by the Prince Albert Memorial! Queen Victoria loved him and grieved for him a lot to build that! Not to mention the gloriously ornate Royal Albert Hall right across the street! After lunch at a pretty much perfect little bistro called The Hyde Perk we headed for the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was definitely our theme for the day - Buckingham Palace even sported the Queen Victoria Memorial in it's front yard!

And at dinner Richard helped satisfy our curiosity by answering our British Monarchy questions. He also found this super nifty and helpful website on British Royals.

Having trouble uploading photos. Hope to get that solved soon!

My Itinerary

Here's a brief overview of this trip:

June 23 - Chicago to London
June 24-27 - London
June 27 - London to Delhi
June 28-July 1 - New Delhi
July 1 - Delhi to Bangalore
July 1-25 - Shanti Bhavan in Tamil Nadu, India
July 25 - Bangalore to Chicago

Click here for the current time in the United Kingdom
Click here for the current time in India

One More Week

So much already done (plans made, tickets, hotels, typhoid shot, malaria meds), so much left to do.

Like packing! With a goal of "packing light" I'll be leaving from Chicago where the temperature today is approximately 82 degrees, then heading to London where it's been in the 50s and 60s, and then to Delhi where the five-day LOW is 84 and the highs are in the high 90s and even 100s! After that I'll be in rural India where the climate is temperate. Hmm, exactly which clothes should I take?

But I will get it figured out tomorrow. And then probably change my mind the next day! Good thing there aren't really too many days left!

India: Shanti Bhavan

I am heading to India in a few weeks to teach at a very special school called Shanti Bhavan. The school was recently featured in a segment on ABC World News. Click the link below to watch the short video and catch a glimpse of life in southern India.

Consolidating Blogs

With the recognition that remembering a different URL for each of my blogs is terribly confusing for readers, I decided to consolidate everything and create just one travel blog for my past and (hopefully) future international travel escapades.

So from now on, this will be the only URL you'll need: http://nancyslattery.blogspot.com/ Hooray!

And if you'd ever want to go back to the other ones I've written, a link to each one is here for you if you click on View My Complete Profile.

Of course, all of this is just plain hopefulness that anyone really cares besides me! Ha!