For Greg's birthday weekend we took advantage of the holidays (thank you India for celebrating both Ghandi's birthday and Dussehra!) and escaped the noise and stimulation of Delhi for the relative peace and quiet of the Indian countryside. Our weekend started bright and early Thursday morning when we had to meet our bus to the train station at 5:00 am. We had our first experience with the Indian railway system, with a 6 hour train ride north, then a crazy 1 1/2 hour car ride up the twisty, curvy side of a steep mountain. After all of this travel we were definitely ready to relax, and our hotel couldn't have been more suited for a quiet weekend.
We stayed at the Rockeby Manor hotel, a quaint boutique hotel that is a converted residence. The gardens were beautiful, we had our choice of nice walks to take to see the surrounding forest, and the food was lovely.
We see cows all the time in Delhi. They are frequently spotted walking down the road, lounging in outdoor shopping areas, and hanging out in the medians on major highways, but somehow seeing these guys on a crazy-steep hillside still managed to surprise us!
Ryan with his "moo" face, reminds me a bit of myself as a kid.
We stayed at the Rockeby Manor hotel, a quaint boutique hotel that is a converted residence. The gardens were beautiful, we had our choice of nice walks to take to see the surrounding forest, and the food was lovely.
We see cows all the time in Delhi. They are frequently spotted walking down the road, lounging in outdoor shopping areas, and hanging out in the medians on major highways, but somehow seeing these guys on a crazy-steep hillside still managed to surprise us!
Ryan with his "moo" face, reminds me a bit of myself as a kid.
We stayed in the Log Cabin, a recent addition to the hotel with three rooms, its own sitting room and kitchen area, its own small library and reading nook, and its own butler! That's right, we had our own staff of 1 dedicated to making us coffee, chai or hot chocolate whenever we wanted, start our camp fire for us in the evenings so we could roast marshmallows, and shoo away any lookiloos who wanted to get a peek at our own private garden.
These beautiful dahlias were growing all over the terrace by our log cabin.
We spotted these two dogs every time we took this walk, they seemed to like hanging out at the church and were very friendly.
One of the walks we took quite a few times had signs every so often with interesting quotes about nature... Ryan got a kick out of taking pictures of every single one. I won't include them all, but here are a few.
I was most impressed that Ryan was able to read all of these signs, sounding out the longer, harder words. We talked a bit about what the sayings meant as we walked.
deep discussions
John Muir in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Me and my big, big kid.
cow on a cliff!
two very furry dogs hanging out in an old cemetery
Ryan and Conor both thought it was ironic that these two signs were only a few hundred yards apart.
a beautiful house we saw on our walk
our home for the trip, the "log cabin"
Two pictures from our walk, wildflowers and a beautifully crafted stone wall.
Hanging out in our garden at the log cabin.
We ate most of our meals at the hotel restaurant, which was lovely. This sign on the wall inspired Conor and Ryan in this mock- romantic pose!
Last day, Conor was exhausted...
I don't think Ryan was actually trying to make Conor fall off, but he sure seems interested in watching him.
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