Saturday, July 30, 2011

I have a few minutes before needing to grab the bags and head to the car to go to the airport so I thought, "hey, why not write a lil bit". I figured what better time to write about some of the interesting things I'm learning about Bangalore. Sandalwood is a major export here. We went into a government owned store that sells items that can be bought for gifts, your home, as souvenirs, you name it. Not all cities have them but I can tell you that Bangalore and Mumbai have them. Most often it's the tourist cities that will have them. Anyway, we went earlier today to one and the scent of sandalwood was astonishing inside. It smelled so lovely, a tad strong, but a nice smell to be a strong one I'd say. The level of incense in the store blew me away also. There was a counter, entire section of the store, that had so much incense in different forms from sticks to cones to sachets and more. My nose went crazy!

I also noticed, while being here this week, that there is a large Christian community. I was a little bit surprised. I didn't notice this as much while in Mumbai back in January/February. I know there are some but it seemed as though each corner had a church that was Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Assembly of God, or something else. The ones mentioned though you saw more of. There is a large Catholic community here. There are even Catholic schools and there's a Sacred Heart Church, which as anyone who is reading my blog is the name of the church I grew up going to.

Lastly there is a large military presence here. It actually makes it feel quite a bit safer. There is an aeronautics base here called HAL, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. They test and build aircrafts for military use. They even help with the building of the F18 which is a jet used by the U.S. AirForce.


I thought I'd also post a few photos on here that I took to be creative, funny or just informative. 






Alright, it's time to head out to the airport. See you soon Austin!

Here we come Austin (and Don)

We will be heading back home tonight. It's Saturday morning here. Honestly, here at the hotel, breakfast is included and is my favorite meal of the day! So see, I love breakfast, and apparently can be a morning person, but I just need someone to prepare it for me. Haha! 

This blog will host what all I can think to write about the remainder of our stay here this week, since my last blog. I'll be posting photos of our three choices of where we would like to live. Our real estate agent is negotiating them for us. Hmmm.. I think I'll start there. I'm sure you're all excited to see them, as much as I am excited to show them to you. So here goes: 

Choice #3 - at Palm Meadows in Whitefield - Unfurnished

That's Malini our real estate agent, standing in front of the house.

 Entrance into the house.

Looking out the entrance from inside the house.

Beautifully etched cabinet in kitchen.

Slightly blurry but it's the washer and dryer in the utility room.

Cabinet storage for giants (in the living space, ground floor).

By the way, in India and basically the rest of the world (outside the U.S.) people call the first floor the ground floor and the top floor is the first floor. So there ya go. Tidbit of info to carry with ya.

Storage space in garage. Yes, garage! It's the only house out of our choices that has a closed in garage.

View of outside of house, looking towards balcony.

 View of dining area. No, the fridge will be moved closer to the kitchen and yes, that is weird.

View of kitchen. Yes, it actually has an oven! Most houses here do NOT have ovens. The oven actually has a rotisserie in it too. Two of our house choices have ovens.

 Closet in one bedroom. 

Staircase to upstairs.

Living room on ground floor.

Upstairs family room. Near the family room is another room that is the study. 
I don't have a photo of that but what a great place for me to work. 

View of balcony from inside house.

Closet in Master bedroom.

Bath in Master bedroom. 


View of balcony from family room.

Guest bath upstairs. Entry from guest bedroom and family room.

Closet in guest bedroom.


Choice #2 - Prestige Ozone in Whitefield - Furnished

Living room.

Dining area and table (a bit blurry)

Back patio and garden area.

Garden area.

Guest Bedroom

Guest bathroom with shower (can add curtain)

Storage cabinet near dining table.

Kitchen (no oven)

Dishwasher and clothes washer, they'll add the dryer later.

Cabinets and microwave in kitchen.

Balcony from Master bedroom.

Other direction of balcony from Master bedroom.

Master bedroom.

Master Bathroom

Vanity in master bath.

Family room upstairs.

Looking downstairs into dining room and living area.

Looking downstairs into living area.

Couch in family room.

Looking out onto balcony from family room upstairs.

TV in family room upstairs.

One view from balcony.

Balcony off of family room.


Another guest bedroom.

Vikas, inspecting the closet storage in a guest bedroom.

Guest bathroom

Desk in master bedroom.


Couch in family room.

Vanity in guest bathroom.

Another view of guest bedroom.

Hot water geyser. Heats water as it flows through to give you hot water for sink and shower.

View onto patio from dining room.



View of front of house #2.


View of front of house #2.


Choice #1 - Prestige Ozone in Whitefield - Furnished

Small outdoor patio and yard.

View towards dining area, stairs and kitchen.

Powder bathroom in near entrance and living area, ground floor.

Living area

 Entrance

Small nook for dishes, etc... 

 Kitchen

Kichen (oven) 

 Utility area with sink and clothes washer.

Cabinets in utility/kitchen 

 Pantry

 Guest bedroom #1

 View to backyard from bedroom #1

Bedroom #1

Bathroom view from bedroom #1

Closet storage for bedroom #1

Vanity for bathroom in bedroom #1. 

Closet storage in bedroom #1. All closets have lighting when doors open.


View of family room from stairs, upstairs 

slightly blurry, family room with flatscreen TV

Couch in family room

Chandelier in family room (the main rooms all have them)
Guest Bedroom #2

Guest Bedroom #2

View of bathroom from bedroom #2

Master bedroom (wood floors)

Master bedroom closet


Master bedroom


Master bedroom


Master bathroom

Master bathroom, fancy schmancy shower :)

Lighted stairs

Chandelier in dining area

Chaise lounge chair by patio window in living area

View of dining area

Garden on front step

Garden on front step

Front of house choice #1

Front of house choice #1

View from front of house

Garage (sun is making photo seem faded)

Ok, I know that's a lot of photos and if you made it this far then, thank you! I think we did well for the few days we had to find a place to live. Now let's hope the rest all goes smoothly. Things are still being negotiated by the real estate agent. We are also still not 100% sure which we really want but we think this is ordered the way we want it. I'm sure any of the homes will suffice. They are all very nice. 

I've taken many more photos and there's a lot more to write about but our day is coming to an end here. We need to get ourselves all packed up, have some wonderful dinner and get ready to head to the airport. I won't lie, it'll be good to get back to my bed and my cute lil poochie, Max. 

Then it will be time to focus on a last couple of projects for people, packing for the relocation and plenty of rest. I'll see many of you soon and if not, I'm sure I'll comment on your posts on Facebook or something. Take care everyone and remember to check for more posts in a few days. I have more photos to show. Good morning Austin!