Our next stop was Jaipur, in Rajasthan, the pink city of India
because of the beautiful pink limestone used for the buildings. The Johari bazaar is a world famous bazaar
for precious jewelry and our group took full advantage, once again dropping
more than intended on jewels including several magnificent rings.
Other highpoints in Jaipur were visiting the Amber Fort
including an elephant ride to the top and a visit to the exquisite Samode Palace filled with intricate inlaid marble work.
We toured the flower market in Jaipur and had a cooking
class and dinner at Shahpura House, a private royal residence. The owner cooked his grandmother’s favorite
Butter Chicken in her special pot over a very hot fire and told us stories of
growing up and spending time with her cooking. 
We had a delicious dinner by candlelight and left with fireworks exploding
overhead in celebration of a local wedding ( maybe for us as well ?). We had a 2nd cooking class outside
of Jaipur at a farm where they cooked vegetables they had grown and made a very
spicy chili sauce. And, we had a 3rd cooking class in
Agra the next day with a local family who had invited an astrologer to tell our
fortunes which were all good, of course!
Our guide, Arif, a young man who
was intelligent, humorous, honest and a good listener was the best guide of our
trip, which made Agra extra
special. Shopping here for inlaid marble
tables was amazing and watching the artisans at work was a real treat.
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