At Tiiu and Dale's Place in Bangalore, Karnataka

I had a great visit in Bangalore with Tiiu and Dale! We arrived on Monday evening and ordered in food and had an early night as we were pretty tired from the weekend in Varkala. We began Tuesday with a delicious breakfast of coffee and dose at a little Indian restaurant. I then hired a cab for the day and went exploring the city of Bangalore. Tiiu had created a list of all the sights of Bangalore and the driver took me around for 8 hours. Our first stop was to Bangalore Palace and then it was on to Vidhana Soudha (the state of Karnataka's government buildings, Cubbon Park, Shiva Temple, Tipu Sultan's Palace and then I had a leisurely stroll through the Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens. After I was picked up it was over to UB City Hall where I started at the Cafe Noir, a little French Restaurant where I had a bottle of water, a sandwich and an iced coffee. A great restaurant! I had a look around the shops but it was only window shopping as it was incredibly expensive. I then went off on my own for a stroll down some of the streets of Bangalore. After meeting up with the driver I visited the Iskcon Temple. This is the Hare Krishna temple of Bangalore. It was a national holiday so it was incredibly busy! I wasn't allowed to take photos inside the temple but it was absolutely incredible and quite interesting to watch the people parade through the various temples as they prayed to the founder of the Hare Krishna organization. It was very interesting! It was late by the time I arrived back at Tiiu and Dale's and it was over to their friends for a sushi dinner and a game of cards! Another early night as I was quite tired! Yesterday I had a leisurely day exploring the downtown core of Bangalore. I began with a coffee and a sandwich at a coffee shop and then I wandered along Commercial Street, MG Road (Mahatma Ghandi) and Brigade Road. I spent hours looking through shops and market areas and was able to find some clothes that I purchased. This shopping was much more reasonable. I then found a bookstore that Tiiu had recommended and found a book that I had been looking for by Seth Vikram (A Suitable Boy). I was quite happy with my purchase and look forward to reading it as I travel through the South of India. I then went to Woody's for a South Indian vegetarian meal of marsala dose. It was delicious! Another great day! I am currently at The Stonehill International School where Tiiu and Dale teach. I have had a little visit with some of the people they work with and the kids they teach. I will be off in an hour to the train station where I will be catching a train to Mysore! It has been a wonderful visit with Tiiu and Dale. Thank you so much for everything you have done that has helped me settle into India! I cannot express how grateful I am for your kindness! Many thanks!