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Cafe' Coffee Day (and Barista) has cornered the market here for the
quick or lingering coffee with friends, business associate, or just a place to
hang out…

Slightly different than the Bucks' at home (please … not in
the coffee as you can customize it anyway you want and there is just as much,
if not more sugar in the 'specialty drinks') in that they have full service
here – a nice added touch – and there is a station where you can literally
charge any type of cell phone.

Maybe the novelty of if will wear off in a while but getting a
samosa or chicken tikka sandwich with my latte is a great treat…. the other benefit is it is open until midnight… I know this because I am still waiting for our laundry to be delivered (originally we should have had it by 8 pm so we could pack for our flight at 4 am but that is another story for another blog) and it is almost midnight and the Cafe' is still swingin'.

Samoas with Coffee

Darren went to the store on the way home from work yesterday and picked up some canned tuna, onions, bread, tomatoes, "pizza cheese" – think white velvetta – and some "mayolite".  We were missing a few very important ingredients – mustard for one, pickles and celery.  Darren said he would have bought some colemans mustard but it was 600 rupees (about $16) and didn't think it was worth it – I agreed.   

Frig

Another thing I love about India is that their trucks are actually pretty to look at – veritable art works on wheels…I am actually thinking they deserve a bit more time so these are the ones I have shot thus far and will continue to add….

Lotus

Peacock

Latch

We have been doing a lot of driving erh…riding around the city getting documentation complete.  It has proven to be a great opportunity to capture images as we move through the neighborhoods and helps pass the time.  Here are a couple I have taken over the past few days that I really like… 

Scrubies

Rear View

Temple

Darren and I spent his birthday finding homes….and….we put an offer on a penthouse apartment with 3 bedrooms/3 baths today.  The bottom floor has the kitchen, living room, dining room, and 2 bedrooms and bathrooms.  The upstairs has the master suite.  The apartment is in a really good neighborhood and small building which is just fantastic.  There is 24 hr security, AC in every room, dedicated backup power and an elevator.

There is a balcony on each bedroom and we have exclusive use of the terrace (roof) – encircles the entire upstairs (the master bedroom, bathroom and bonus room) which will be great for holding parties, growing vegies, and sitting outside to read a book (once we get an huge umbrella) .  We are super excited but there is still some negotiation that needs to take place.

Here are a couple of photos that I took today – they aren't the greatest quality and obviously before it has been cleaned.

Living Room and Dining Room (rt is kitchen, lft is spare bedroom)

 

Upstairs Bonus Room (out to Terrace)

Roof Terrace

Stairway to Downstairs

Spare Bedroom

Ok, so our new service apartment did not have a stove, freezer or a H2O purifier so literally 20 minutes after I posted the previous blog, we moved again – to the room upstairs and currently there are some nice gentlemen re-configuring our kitchenette and buying a new refrig/freezer combo.  This is the new kitchen, minus the new fridge ….something is still needing to be done about the gas line.

Service Apt Kitchen

Do we dare unpack!!!???

So we have moved out from underneath the airplanes midnight to 6 am flight path (ie -  the Inn Bangalore) and into our new, much smaller, but so much more quiet, service apartment.  It has been a bit of a hairdo (there was some negotiation that needed to take place after we were put in the wrong room, BUT, we are very excited about the possibility of sleeping through the night now.  

This has a gym on the roof – which we need to start taking advantage of BECAUSE as there is a BASKIN ROBBINS two blocks away from us YIPEEE.  Anyone of you who knows me will understand the significance of this supremely good omen.  But we did pick it because of the quietness – REALLY, I swear.

Anyway, this is what we will call home until we can find some place to rent.

…..basically a thali lunch (veg) – accept for a chicken curry appetizer in the top  portion of the leaf and WOW was it good!  The meal consisted of sambar (my new favorite thing in the world – basically a tomato and random other vegatable spicy soup that seems to be served with every meal in Bangalore), a veg curry, yogurt, buttermilk, another sauce – name escapes me now, english peas in sauce, yellow dal, and another veg curry with a papadam and roti…..missed the MASSIVE pile of rice that was laid on my banana leaf a few minutes after this. 

While they gave us both a fork and spoon, I decided to go local and use my hand – right of course.  While this was not the first time I had done this, I was reminded that eating with your hand is in many ways better than using a knife and fork because it adds a fourth dimension to your food experience.  I have yet to master the tearing of roti or naan with the right hand only but that, I am sure, will just take practice.  The meal was finished off with a bowl of water and lime to clean the hands.  What a great – and o my god, filling – lunch!!!

IMG_2861

Ok, so there are fruit carts everywhere here and the displays of fruit are incredable….my mouth starts watering when I see them.  According to many locals we have spoken with, the supermarkets are selling the same stuff as the street vendors but the street vendors fruit is more fresh…not sure but they are very appealing anyway. 

The other night, Dar and I had the best mango ever.  The pineapple we bought, while much smaller than in the US, was also super good.

IMG_2863

It is great when what you see is what you get – cause at least
then, you know what you are dealing with.  This is decidedly not so in the
arena of service apartments in Bangalore.  

After starting off our move to this fair city in a service
apartment that was directly underneath the landing/flight path for the airport,
Dar and I decided a switch as in order – me, jet-lag and sleep deprived is not
pretty no matter how you cut it.  Add to that 90 plus heat and you all
know I am … well it is better left alone.  It didn't help that (dare I
admit that I am not as bold as some may think – or I like to think – I am)
nothing  - read grocery, bookstore – was in a close comfortable walking
distance.

And so we decided to move…. 

As I am prone to do, I set off in research/project mode to find
us a new BETTER place to stay…. after a 1/2 a day, I came up with a great
list and was so excited because, I had found at least 6 places that were better
equipped, cleaner, in better locations, and were more importantly near things
to explore.

I emailed the list in all it's ignorant glory over to the gal
who is guiding us through our move.  After about 30 minutes I got a call –
she would take to service apartments the next day.  My joy and researching
prowess was short lived when the next day when she took us to places that
weren't on my list.  After asking her why, she said sure, I can take to
you 3 of the your places but I would not recommend the other 3.  Since she
didn't elaborate, I said, "Ok, why".  After a long pause she
said, lets look at the first three as those are the best and then you can see
if you want to look at the others. Ok, Great, fine, lead on….

What was blatantly obvious after looking at the 1st one of my suggestions
was that the owners of service apartments failed to put the actual apartments
pictures on line.  Instead, what they had done was place …oh, I don't
know…4 star hotels suite pictures on their web pages to get you to come in
and take a look.  This was a cruel and crushing blow for yours truly who
at this juncture was getting to the end of her rope.  

We eventually settled on the recommendation of our gal in a
shiny silver silk salwar kameez…and are content as we are in the neighborhood
we will more than likely move to but I have a feeling the saga of life in a
service apartment will continue….