Camels and the Taj...

We feel so lucky to have been able to go tour Northern India. It never would have happened if my sister had not come for a visit. What a wonderful trip it was and a fabulous way to commemorate our 20th Anniversary (on December 30, 2014)!!

We were able to leave the kids in the able hands of Brooklyn and Camry and spend 5 days up north with my sister and brother-in-law. What a feast for the eyes!

I am going to mostly just show you our experience through pictures...so here we go!

I really love when I get the opportunity to fly. It never ceases to amaze me when that huge plane lifts off the ground and rises above the clouds. It was a beautiful sight...

So...first things first...this is my sister, Carol. I was SO excited to see her. Way more excited to see her than to see anything Northern India had to offer.

As we got into the car to start our tour, she said, "Oh...I have got a treat for you. A real food treat!" And she pulled out a ziploc bag from her purse with a SALAD inside. UNBELIEVABLE! Only my sister could figure out how to transport a fresh salad halfway across the world. It. was. Heaven.

Oh the joy of spinach and red leaf!!

Our first stop was Agra and the Taj Mahal. I had been told by many people that I HAD to see the Taj Mahal and now I know why they all said it. 

It really is breathtaking.

 We had a great tour guide who was very knowledgable--it turns out he grew up and still lives in a house just outside the south gate of the Taj Mahal. He took some great shots for us...including this one. When my daughter saw this one, she assumed it was a photo I had gotten off the internet.

 There were many new and wonderful sights....elephants and camels and amazing architecture.

This was a deep and intricate step well that was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It is really hard to sense the scale but if you look at the top right of the photo, you can see some men up there. This thing was deep and so very intricate. All the rooms were places that the Royal Family could come during the hot summer months where the rooms would stay cool from the breezes off the water.

This was my favorite place....Jaipur. It was an ancient city in the middle of beautiful hills with a wall all along the tops of the mountains like the great wall of China. Every morning we would hear different calls to prayer being broadcasted. It was like being transported back in time!

This was our hotel in Jaipur. A beautiful old building right by this old section of the fort wall. It had a beautiful lawn and our rooms were right at the front with 2 huge window seats overlooking the entire city. There are peacocks on the top of the wall every morning and a huge group of monkeys came through one afternoon.

The Water Castle in Jaipur. Lon took this beautiful photo!

My sister and I on our elephant ride up to the Amber Fort. I was not overly excited before we went to go see forts...but let me tell you, this was GORGEOUS!!! We loved it.

I loved all the doors and have been collecting photos of them to do a cool print once we get home.

The Palace of the Winds...this is actually just a huge facade that was a place for the women of the Royal Family to sit (each had their own window) so that they could watch parades and festivities in the street without being seen by the public.

A completely crowded shopping bazaar in Delhi. Lon had to do some deep breathing to overcome his claustrophobia while my sister and I shopped for scarves.

 While we were in Delhi, we attended the wedding reception of our Tour Guide's cousin. It was the first time I have ever been cold here in India! ; )

It was a great trip and a great way to celebrate our 20th anniversary.

Who knows what the next 20 will bring?!?