our first two weeks

I can't believe two weeks have gone by and this is our first post about the trip! Well we've been busy and we've hardly had a chance to get on the internet (except to cancel our energy bills!) until now, so there will be a lot of ground to cover.

The first 10 days were in England. London was fun. We did the Eye (giant ferris wheel), the Tate Modern, got lost in Camden Market, took our photos in front of Big Ben and all those things you have to do when a toursit in London. My 3rd cousin's Matt and Olly were sweet enough to put us up even though I totally played the family card on them. I'd only met them and their brother Richard twice before that! But we had a blast they're also musicians and a lot of fun-- thanks again guys!

After 5 days there we moved on to spend the rest of our time with my grandparents (mom's side) in the ever so quaint town of Woodbridge, a seaside town 1 1/2 hours NE of London by train. They drove us around everywhere since we decided not to save money and not rent a car of our own. Woodbridge is filled with picturesque and pristinely preserved buildings from the 1500's, and hobbling retirees who like to visit all the shops. We visited the seaside, Hernando saw his first castle, we drank many cups of tea, and enjoyed the rides through the narrow country lanes.

We also saw my Grandad, my dad's dad the Baptist minister give a service. It was my first time seeing him in church and it was how Hernando met him. Yes we arrived late to the service and sheepishly tried to sneak in unnoticed but the 10 other people in congregation all turned to see who these news strangers were interrupting the service. I also felt questionably dressed, I only have my ugly but oh so comfy grey sneakers and I didn't match at all, like OMG. I'm glad we went Grandad is 94 and I don't know how many other opportunities I may get. Though he is actually the most sprightly 94 year old ever, he looks at least 20 years younger. He always says he doesn't know how much longer he has, though almost gleefully. He can't wait to join Nana, God, and Jesus in Heaven. I don't know that I will joinging the Baptist church anytime soon though. Maybe a Hindu temple, they are vibrant and colorful... Though I guess Grandad would say that I'm just a doomed pagan. Oh yes-- in Hernando's sweet attempt to converse with Grandad he kept wanering into no go zones. I wanted to sigmal to him to stop but could only sit back and watch the show. At one point he unwittingly got Grandad to admit that my cousins are pagans, which means that we also are pagans. Yikes.

So we left Woodbridge and more than a day later with a 5 hour stopover in Bahrain we found ourselves in Delhi, India. One thing's for sure, we ain't in Woodbridge anymore. Delhi has to be the utter opposite of Woodbridge. Big, hot, dirty, smelly, and utterly chaotic. That' not to say we haven't enjoyed it! We've seen some sights and I have so much more to say but we need to catch a bus to our next destination-- Manali! Will write soon!