Okay. Never. I mean, seriously. Never, did I think I'd visit the Taj Mahal. Also. Seriously. Never. I mean never did I think I'd be living in India! So, ya know! Anything is possible, right?! Haha!
We woke up bright and early. So early, we saw the Butt Crack of Dawn! (Now that's early!) ;0) I don't understand it...I mean, why you would go any other time of day to see the Taj Mahal. By waking up at the Crack of Dawn - We avoided two key elements. Heat & Lotsa Folks. Totally worth rolling out of bed with Mr. Golden Sun if you ask me!
We woke up bright and early. So early, we saw the Butt Crack of Dawn! (Now that's early!) ;0) I don't understand it...I mean, why you would go any other time of day to see the Taj Mahal. By waking up at the Crack of Dawn - We avoided two key elements. Heat & Lotsa Folks. Totally worth rolling out of bed with Mr. Golden Sun if you ask me!
Entrance Gate to the Taj Mahal!
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| Each one of those little ivory shaped domes stands for "one year" of building....so how long did it take to make the Taj Mahal!?... 22 years!     
Pretty Much in Shock at this Point!
 Yep, me and Princess Diana both had our happy little hineys sittin' smack dab on the SAME BENCH! Ain't a word of it a lie!   Okay. The next picture you are about to see is absolutely the most ridiculous thing EVER!! It is of my ballerina friend, Cara. For all you parents out there that keep sending your children to dance lessons and every time you drop them off you wonder if it's really worth it....WELL! Maybe, just MAYBE! Your child will do something like Cara one day! ;0) Talk about a once in a lifetime opportunity. A once in a lifetime location. Perfect timing and some serious dance skills and VIOLA! 
I know!! Seriously, right?! I told you it was the most RIDICULOUS thing ever!!
II wonder if I tried to practice this everyday for the rest of my life if I could look like Cara!? Yeah, right. Who am I kidding, I could never look this cool! ;0) Nice Job, Cara! I'm sure your parents don't regret those dance lessons now, do they (they probably never did!)
 All together now!! JUMP!!    Nothing was left to "chance" in the building of the Taj. Everything was made with exact precision and carefully calculated.   to see the Great Taj Mahal   I absolutely LOVE this picture.    Hmmm...to enter or not to enter!?     (This guy literally curled up the ends of his moustache for this picture! Haha!)
After our trip to the Taj we went back to the hotel and loaded up on lunch and a few more rays in the pool & then we were off to The Agra Fort. Also referred to as the Red Fort.
Appropriately called the "Red Fort" due to its red sandstone walls
Literally, people from all over the world coming to see the beauty of India and the Red Fort.
The Agra Fort
Yikes. Grumpy. Grumpy. GRUMMMMPY!!!
"Nobody puts Baby in the corner"...I mean Cara! ;0)
Jack & Cara were actually in corners on the opposite side of the fort. The acoustics are such that you can whisper and the person in the other corner can hear what you are saying.
Amazing Architecture
Amazing!
 
Peek-A-Boo.....I see the Taj!!
Katie should have charged for pictures (like the locals do!) She would have been Rich, RICH, R-I-C-H!!!
Beautiful Inlayed Jewels, Gems & Stones
At this point in the tour, we were all getting really, REALLY hot & tired. It was becoming increasingly harder to focus and pay attention to what our guide was saying. I was basically counting the minutes until we were back in the air conditioned car but ALL of our ears perked up when our guide told us that next we would be going to see the "mating place". Oh wow! Mating place. This should be interesting!?
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"The Mating Place"
The first thing that crossed my mind was, "Hmmm. Not a lot of privacy." This wasn't what I was expecting at all. That's when our guide started to laugh at us as he realized we had all lost it "in translation". He had said, "Meeting Place" and us goofy Americans got all excited b/c we thought we were going to see an ancient "Mating Place".....Oh boy! LOL!
The Indian Dr. Doolittle?!
He offered for us to hold and feed his little furry friends but I quickly declined as rabies vaccinations were not part of our trip itinerary. Already did that in Thailand with Matt & David. No need to repeat.
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| One quick stop to the Ladies Room
Then we hopped in the car and said good-bye to Agra as we continued on our journey to Jaipur. So much to see while looking out the windows: cars, auto rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, cows, camels, pigs, people, trash! "Too much of chaos" as Salome would say!
Roadside trash
Busy Indian Roads
 FULL Load!!
Our last stop of the day was to Fatehpur Sikri, an abandoned capital of the Mughals. Again, amazing architecture and by far the most emotional day for Katie and I. We had encountered several hawkers throughout our trip. They are very good sales people and will stick by you with hopes of selling you something. You continue to either bargain with them until you get the price that you are willing to pay or you continue to tell them, "No" until they leave you alone.
At Fatehpur Sikri we ran into our first "children" hawkers. It was absolutely heart breaking telling these children "No". The younger ones weren't quite so interested in actually selling you anything but they just liked walking and talking with you. At one point, I had an adorable little girl walking by my side & it didn't take long before a boy several years older than her came up beside us and aggravatedly yelled something at her as he smacked her upside the head & nearly knocked her to the ground. I quickly whirled around and snapped at him, "Don't you dare touch her!" I could feel the lump form in my throat & the tears moistening the sides of my dry and dirty eye sockets. How DARE he smack her?! I don't know if he understood what I said, but he definitely understood my tone and he quickly went away and left the little girl alone. We then proceeded to walk together up to the gate of Fatehpur Sikri. (If nothing else I think he sensed I was a "no sale" after he mistreated that little girl).
At first I couldn't understand what she was asking me. She just kept repeating the word. Finally it clicked...CHOCOLATE! I did not have any chocolate to give her but I had bubble gum and within a moment of pulling the gum out of my bag - I had probably no less than 15 children clamouring around me. Literally, crying and begging for gum and even after I had given them all a piece I had a couple little heartbreakers that with big wet eyes looked up and insisted, "Ma'am. You forgot me. You gave me nothing." Oh Geesh! How do you decline that?! So they got TWO! ;0) I finally had to tell them I didn't have anymore and I rushed to catch up to Cara, Jack & Katie.
When I caught up, Katie was having a moment of her own. The poverty. The sweet & simple ways of these children. It was overwhelming and Katie was struggling to fight back her tears. When the tears finally began to fall the children said to her, "What happened? Did someone hurt you? We are nice people. We won't hurt you. What happened?!" Which of course just made her cry even more. Ack. Wow. That was such a sad situation. 
Some of the Hawker Cuties
Fatehpur Sikri
Very Common Symbol in India
All I ever knew of the swastika was Hitler. Perhaps the most controversial symbol in history, right? It is an ancient symbol and it is a religious symbol in Indian culture & is especially popular amongst Hindus. It basically means something like well-being, luck, good fortune. You see it used in Hindu temples & buildings like Fatehpur Sikri as well as doorways, clothing & jewelry in India.
  
Inside the mosque
  Barber Shop at Night  Still so much to see in India. Even at night. It's like a country that NEVER sleeps! :0) 
LONG day of travel & sight-seeing!
After a long day of sight seeing we finally made it to our final destination for the night, Jaipur!
We were hot, sticky & TIRED! Time to order up some room service so we can venture out again tomorrow!
The shirt says it all!
What can I say?! I loved our first big day of travel so much I decided to sweat in the shape of a heart! HAHAHA!! It definitely was a hot & sweaty day but totally worth it & so thankful I got the opportunity to experience it all. The good, the bad, AND the ugly! :0)
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