July 2016 - India - Jaipur

Jaipur, the "pink city", was definitely our favorite area of India that we visited. The city was so gorgeous and colorful and ornate. We visited some more palaces outside the city. Mike and I caught a few moments to visit the Palace of the winds and wander through the markets nearby.

We were also completely taken with our accommodations. We stayed in an old palace turned hotel. The grounds and gardens were gorgeous. The food and service, again amazing. I wish I had pictures of our suite, which reminded me of the Alhambra meets India.

We fit in a couple quick shopping trips to nicer malls and shops. Our friends had given us tips of where to go for nicer items. So, besides a few market purchases, we also came home with some new place mats, a gorgeous indigo king bedspread, and some fabulous Indian clothes for the boys. 

Probably our favorite experience overall was visiting Elephantastic, just outside of Jaipur. We spent a whole morning and lunchtime there. It was an incredible feeling to be so close to those gorgeous animals. We spent the morning first feeding the elephants, being near them, and learning about them. Then we went for lunch at someone's home. After that, we were able to paint the elephants with all organic paints. It was quite the production! Finally, we sprayed them down to clean them and let them drink, and then we got to ride them. 

Incredible!!!