Palaces and pots

Today turned into a relaxed day, starting with the City Palace, so much better preserved than the previous palaces we’ve seen. Jaipur was a planned city, built in the early 18th century, and the palace dates from 1699.  Along with numerous buildings, courtyards, galleries and offices, it houses the royal family.

Here is a touristy shot of me at the palace with two of the royal guards.  Notice my beautiful scarf, a present from Sujata and Amy on our first evening.

Inside are gorgeous spaces, including these beautiful blue rooms.  You can see why this is also a wedding venue.

Other rooms featured mirrors and jewels. Here you can see the group taking pictures like mad, we couldn’t stop ourselves!

Another view

In this room (above) a guide turned out the lights and showed us what it would look like by candlelight.

In the courtyard are beautiful gates, each dedicated to a different season and each beautifully decorated. This is the green doorway dedicated to Lord Ganesha.

And this is the lotus gate.

The peacock gate is especially  intricate.

After lunch and a much-needed liedown we headed to a pottery center with a plan to watch a master potter at his craft. Unfortunately, he was away that day, much to Sujata’s disappointment, and we would not have a chance to paint the pots ourselves.  Nevertheless, we rallied enough to do some shopping and I bought a big vase that when carefully wrapped was big enough to fill half my suitcase.  I loved the colors and the shape…Sadly, the TSA unwrapped it and it arrived in pieces, but I did manage to bring home intact a floral tile and a small head of Durga.

On our way back we had another tourist opportunity, this time to get a picture of the Hawa Mahal or “The Palace of Winds” or “The Palace of Breeze,” built in 1699 and recently restored. Women in purdah could look out of one of the 953 small windows and watch the world go by unseen.

A day filled with colors, sights, shapes, beauty!