So This weekend we had an awesome family trip to Udaipur ....... Even though this was my second trip to this magnificent city...... the magnitude of royalty, the spectacular colors, the scenic landscape, the rich culture and art, the mouth watering food and the inherent beauty of the city has left me awestruck.
I have always been fascinated by palaces, museums and all things artsy.. so I really enjoy visiting historical places and getting to the know the story of the place, so when we had to decide on a location for our small weekend trip, Udaipur was undoubtedly my first choice.
I made sure that we stay at a heritage hotel, so we booked this place which used to be an 18th century Haveli and is now converted to a hotel. The interior of the hotel was so eclectic with Moroccan style colored glass windows and lamps, had mosaic glass ceilings and rajasthani tapestry and wall paintings... it was an absolute treat to my eyes and I couldn't help but capture some pictures.
So our trip started with the visit to the famous city palace, we hired a guide to take us around the palace and museum. As he was telling us about the story of the palace and the lifestyle of the kings and Queens of those times.. I was completely transported to the era and I could totally imagine all that happening right in front of my eyes. It was magical.
After the museum tour, we went for a boat ride in the Pichola lake that took us around the lake palace and on to the jagmandir, which is an island temple. The boat ride gives a good view of the entire city and made me understand why they call this place the "Venice of the east"
The Jagmandir island had a cute lil' restaurant where we had our lunch.
We spared a moment to click a quickfie (quick selfie :p .... i made this word) .
In the evening, we went to catch a traditional Rajasthani dance performance at "Bagore ki Haweli". We relished in the music and dance, watching the costumes and colors was a delight to the eyes. We were blown away by the skills of the performers. It also had a puppet show, which was a total entertainer.
The day ended with some shopping around the small street shops all around our hotel at gangaur ghat. These shops are filled with tourists and have some amazing stuff like old postcards with miniature handmade paintings, silver jewelry and other handmade artifacts. Bargaining is a must do at these places though.
Since the area is filled with tourists from all over, the food joints offer a variety of cuisines here. You will find small french cafes and German bakery s in small nooks and corners and since there is a shortage of space, there is an array of roof top restaurants to choose from and most of these offer decent quality food and a nice lake view.
For the day, My lil' sister Nainy wore a pretty white dress. I made her wear this hat and pose for me, so I could put it on the blog :p .....
Since the post is getting too long .... i ll save the rest for the continued post.. please stay tuned and leave your comments, i love listening to you :).
