Jama Masjid- Mama.

Day 2 of Delhi started out at a Muslim mosque- Jama Masjid (1658).

For modesty, we ladies donned these very attractive and great-smelling robes before we entered.

That is one long broom atop one tall ladder.

We got to climb the narrow winding staircase of one of the minarets. (All of the Wagners got slightly nervous on the climbs up and down.)

The gang at the top.

A view of the square.

We got kicked out at noon as the call to prayer started.

Next, on to my favorite part- the Chandni Chowk, which is the famous street market in Old Delhi, where you can probably find anything you'd ever want.

Like the section where the guys clean out your ears.

Later on, past the eunuchs (there are still eunuchs!) and the auto parts, we came upon the electronics section.

If I haven't stressed this before, the blog is getting the very pared down version of everything. I could go on and on about this (and more). The mosque and Chandni Chowk may have been my favorite part of the trip.

Next, we saw the outside of the Red Fort (1648). Maybe this picture will make it in the Paulding Progress!

To round off maybe my favorite morning of the trip, we ate samosas off the street by our hotel. These may have been my favorite food yet.

Delhi Day 1- Mama.

The first stop in Delhi was the Baha'i Temple. Designed to look like a lotus flower, it was really a fantastic place.

If not fantastic for the building, then for the tons of school groups visiting and all the kids excited to see Americans and practice their English. We were celebrities.

Next up was the India Gate- India's version of the Vietnam wall.

Our last stop of the day was Humayun's Tomb (finished in 1571). I have the exact same shot of the building on a bag of basmati rice I got at Trader Joe's.

Pretty impressive for a guy who died when he accidentally fell off his balcony.

The Wagner girls.

Aunt Jenni took this great shot.

Not only is it amazing that there are so many amazing buildings built hundreds of years ago, but it's amazing that in India they are still doing work using bamboo scaffolding. This guy was building some around this dome. and I'm pretty sure he wasn't wearing any safety harness.

Having been awake since 4am, Jenni and I were feeling pretty silly by the evening. So we set up a fancy senior picture photo shoot.

This is Aunt Jenni's Indian Tourism shot. Mendhi, shawl, bag, and shoes.

Kolkata > Dehli.- Mama.

Is there really anything surprising that can't happen on a street in Kolkata?

I was crossing the street to go to the Reliance Fresh- our local snack haven- and ran straight into a parade.

I think this parade was a demonstration for something.

If you pay attention, I might have been as much of an attraction as the parade itself.

We headed out to New Market to do some shopping and site-seeing. And it was a great time to institute our new rules for traveling in a group.

1. Don't travel alone.

2. But no more than 5 people in a group. If you can't fit in a taxi, it's too many people.

3. If you split up, make plans where and when to meet. If you don't make it back to the appointed meetup, take a taxi back to the hotel.

These rules served us particularly well in Kolkata, especially after one afternoon of constant waiting around at the mall.

That night we went to a festival that night. It was kind of like a really big craft show mixed with the county fair minus a swimming pig. We did eat lots of snacks, watched people, and bought handicrafts.

Then we successfully negotiated an auto-rickshaw ride back across town with a great driver who wasn't quite sure where we were going, but was pleased to get us there.

We headed to the airport bright and early Friday morning to fly to Delhi for the next leg of our trip. If you look closely past the wing of our Spice Jet, you can make out the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains in the distance.

The wedding reception- Mama.

On Wednesday night, we gussied ourselves up again (with only a minor sari draping emergency)and headed to the reception.

As usual, John and Kingkini looked fancy and fabulous.

Aunt Mary and Mrs. Roy looked amazing in maybe my favorite saris of the whole trip.

John was still a goof with his much shorter mother-in-law.

Kingkini's mom's side of the family, who took great care to take us around the city and make sure we didn't get into too much mischief.

I loved this little girl and we had a good time playing together. This is also a good representation of how Indian's dressed their little girls- very over the top western dresses. But don't forget it's the middle of the winter, so don't forget to add a sweater. I don't think aunt Jenni has forgiven me for not bringing back one of these dresses for Juner.

Aunt Jenni and I. She bought this sari in India and was super pumped about the peacocks. My sari actually came from South Carolina and a friend who traveled to India in college.

The gang sure does clean up.

Even the outside of the hall was amazing. From the floral arch that read "Kingkini weds John" to the lines of lights, this is totally how I'm going to decorate the house for Christmas next year.

The fruit market- Mama.

Maybe my favorite part of Kolkata was just around the corner from our hotel- the morning fruit market.

Everyone gets up very early and heads down to buy fruits, vegetables grains, milk and even chickens for the day. you honestly never have to leave your street.

Within two blocks of our hotel, we checked the internet, bought new memory cards for the camera, loaded up on snacks at the Reliance Fresh, got our eyebrows threaded, bought new socks, and probably anything else we could have imagined to do. Aunt Mary Ellen even got Henry an Angry Birds t-shirt at a shop across the street. What else could you need?

Also within 2 blocks? The welcoming home of Kingkini's parents. Kirity took us out to the market to show us around. I think this was a jack fruit.

You've never seen so much produce in your life. Dare I say, this may have even put the Madison Farmers' Market to shame, and it was just some little daily street market.

Who am I kidding? No one there was selling doughnuts and cheese curds. (Though on the last day we did find a shop named the Big Boss where we ate some awesome food- non of which I can remember the names of now.)

Since Indians are up at the crack of dawn, but don't eat breakfast until 9am, we had to wander down tot he market to find some sustenance to tide us over until the dosas were served.

Here's out chikoo guy. These little fruits had the texture of a pear and tasted like brown sugar. And the awesome staff at the hotel kitchen would always wash them and cut them up for us.

Another fan favorite was the coconut. For about 10 rupees (about 20 cents), this guy would hack the end off a coconut and hand you a straw.

When you were done toasting the morning and sipping out the delicious coconut water, you gave it back.

Then he'd cut the coconut open, fashion a spoon out of the shell and you'd eat the meat inside. I wish I had a machete that sharp.

And to indulge us tourists, the morning ended with a bike rickshaw ride. Along with the auto rickshaw, this was a fast way to get around because you could squeeze down back alleys. Though once our rider had to get off and kick the axle back on the carriage. I hope we didn't break it.