“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”

Free weekend commences! After an early breakfast we were surprised to find a luxury van waiting to transfer us: 3 full, comfy seats and air conditioning with separate controls for the second and third seats.

We set off into the daunting Indian traffic on a new 4 way highway. First stop: temple town of Kanchipuram, where Stephen expertly guided us through three Hindu temples (Ski Akanbaranathar, Karlasanther and Devorajuswarnie), explaining the dizzying details of carved representations of various gods and goddesses in sundry incarnations.

Next stop: shopping for silk scarves at the sari shop, where we again experience Stephen’s incredible patience. I think we spent hours there. Just when we all thought we couldn’t possible allow ourselves to purchase another scarf the proprietor would whip out another stack in an entirely different style. Once again we ‘ooohed’ and ‘aaahed’ and grabbed and justified purchases (“How much do you tink this would cost at home?”)
*****
Off to a great lunch at a local hotel – buffet this time, a wonderful, superabundance of choices allowing no opportunity for moderation.

We settled in for the “2 ½” hour drive to Pondicherry, town of heavy French influence. We are thankful for the expertise and finesse of our drive. En route George regaled us with selections from his boundless repertoire of travel trials and tribulations.

We arrived at our jaw-dropping accommodations: Shalimar Guest House, located between Pondicherry and Auroville, owned and operated by a French woman and her Indian husband. It was built in the French style, surrounded by a lush and lovely garden and is stunning. It is immaculate and beautifully and elegantly decorated with Indian textiles and artifacts, marble floors and wide verandas. What a change from our guest house, and a nice change of pace. Madame served cold beer before we headed off to town for the evening.

We explored the French part of town, complete with palatial looking gendarmerie, and walked along the beach, imagining what the streets might look like if only the power hadn’t been cut.

The day concluded with a great meal together at a French/Indian restaurant, where George treated us to a lovely bottle of locally produced white wine.

All in all a wonderfully enriching, soul restoring day spent with terrific travel mates.