Mysore & Brindavan Gardens

After a 3 hour ride to Mysore we arrived at yet another relations house for lunch,chatting and coffee. My parents caught up on gossip and family while Mya and I toured the compound and hung outside.

During the drive we saw some fun things:

There were a lot of bullock carts you don’t want to get stuck behind one!

Pay and Use toilets, which we have not yet had to use, thank goodness

Cows, just hanging out walking wherever they would like. Cows are sacred in India since they  can provide so much for a family. Because of this they have the right of way!

Here is another street vendor selling all sorts of fruits

We stopped at St Philamina Church, which holds a relic from Saint Peter.It was originally built in 1843 but  was refurbished in 1933. For all you Catholics I did a little research from Wikepedia znd came up with this:

Saint Philomena is a saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church. She is said to have been a young Greek princess martyred in the 4th century. The remains of a teenage girl no older than 14 were discovered on May 24, 1802 in the Catacombs of Saint Priscilla at the Via Salaria in Rome. Accompanying these remains were a set of tiles bearing a fragmented inscription containing the words LUMENA PAXTE CUMFI, words of no known meaning in any language. The letters were rearranged to read PAX TECUM FILUMENA, which in Latin translates to Peace with you, Filumena.^[2]Various vessels, including one allegedly containing blood, were also found in the tomb. From these discoveries, it was concluded that a Christiannamed Filumena (Philomena) was buried in the tomb and the vessel containing blood was thought to be her relic, an evidence of a martyr's death.

On lighter note, we drove by a Bollywood movie being filmed on location. The crowds were beginning to gather and the music was blasting. The crowds were flocking to the set.

While visiting my aunts house we took a picture of a typical Indian kitchen. 

This is fresh tamarind and chilies that she has srt out to dry in the sum. The meals are made with the freshest vegtables and along with the spices are very tasty. 

At the front every Indian house, every morning a design is drawn in chalk. This is to wish good luck on the house, occupants and ward off evil spirits. The artwork is called Rangoli. This is a simple everyday design, sometimes you see them made with brightly colored fours of turmeric and vermillion

Finally we made it to Brindavan Gardens. The  is world famous for its symmetric design. It is one of the most beautifully laid out terrace gardens in the world.  Modeled on the design of the Shalimar Gardens of Kashmir in the Mughal style, the garden  has a number of terraces,fountains, running and cascading waterchannels, water chutes, lush green lawns, flower beds, shrubs and trees. Today, the Brindavan Gardens is world famous for its beauty illumination of a musical fountain. There is also a huge dam that is built across the River Kaveri. The river is one of the major rivers in India and considered very sacred by Hindus.

The hotel rooms were beautiful, Maya especially liked the mosquito nets!

There are stools made out of giraffe skin in the hotel!

Here is a picture of My father and I enjoying a drink on the veranda. It was a drink we both needed!

My internet connection is spotty at the hotel, so some of my post may be later than usual. Please bear with me. Next week when we leave for our train trip, there in not any WIFI on the train. I will have to try and get on line at lunch time at the hotels we lunch at. Until the next time, I will leave you with a picture of one of the many temples that are seen by the roadside everywhere you go.