The Weekend Routine

As our first “settled” Saturday at the apartment, we tried to set our “regular, in-town” routine which is looking to take something of the following form:

1. Sleep until 9am or 10am, respectively (in our defense, we both worked late on Friday, Lindsay to get caught up after missing work on Wednesday and me thanks to a repeating bi-weekly Friday night (U.S. time) meeting (I know you’re reading this, meeting scheduler, and yes, I could have been out dancing or, at the least, enjoying a Kingfisher!)
2. Make breakfast, either “nearly organic” eggs or pancakes
3. Hit the gym (this is a key step, not just for the obvious positive health impacts but also the unlimited hot water)
4. Go out to lunch (we tried the Marriott Courtyard this week, a brand new hotel in Gurgaon that had really good thin-crust wood-fired pizza of maximum crispiness but really slow service)
5. Go food shopping, stopping at “The Meat Shop” (really good chicken breasts not pumped full of hormones), “Spencer’s Express” for produce (note, Spencer’s in India isn’t like Spencer’s found across malls in America), and “Needs” to round out the groceries
6. Back to the apartment for a couple hours
7. Out to dinner (apparently, our lives revolve around sustinence)

During “Step 6” this week, we hosted our first apartment visitor – Loes, our Dutch neighbor, whom Lindsay had picked up a book for in the states and that arrived as part of our air freight. She gave us some encouraging news about her successful nanny search, which delighted us beyond belief.  Confused?  Read on.  Her nanny nannies in the morning, has two hours off from 1 – 3 (that’s where we come in), and nannies again in the afternoon for Loes and Pierre. Three days a week in that 1 – 3pm timeslot, we’re hoping she can fill that gaping hole in our life as a cook. We don’t “need” a full-time cook based on our work schedules, but having someone come in three times a week to cook a couple meals each time might be exactly what we “need”. In addition, if this supernanny plan works out, “Step 5” will likely change to “hang out by the pool.”

“Step 7” this week took us to Delhi, the first time I’ve entered the capital since arriving in January. Out of nowhere as soon as we crossed the border, our driver RK who hadn’t spoken proactively in days, started pointing out the sights, including the tennis stadium hosting a Davis Cup match, the Hyatt Regency (not sure why this was a landmark), and the Prime Minister’s house. After arriving at our destination, the Claridges Hotel, later than expected due to the heavy traffic caused by numerous diversions due to Metro construction (and the fact that there are just a lot of vehicles in Delhi), we were warmly greeted by Hunt and Diane Harris, longtime friends of the family, who were two days into an 18-day Indian journey.  It was great to see familiar faces, get caught up on where their travels are taking them (a lot of places in Rajasthan we haven’t been), share tips on which Indian wines are palatable (Sula = Yes, Grover = No), and receive the couriered package of vitamins and Valentine’s cards sent along by my Mom. We ate at a restaurant in the hotel and had a very enjoyable evening, though I can only imagine how exhausted Hunt and Diane were after arriving on Thursday night, having two very full days of touring Delhi, and the prospects of an early morning flight to Varanasi. They were, however, gracious enough to listen to us babble on about our first four weeks.

Our Sunday routine is still taking shape but will likely look somewhat similar to the steps listed above for a typical Saturday.  The schedule today includes a trip back to the gym and likely a trip back to the bagel shop we found last week (OK, so Loes and Pierre told us exactly where it was and met us there last Sunday). Lindsay still doesn’t feel 100% so I suggested that a bagel with cream cheese might not be the best solution. Based on her reaction, you would have thought I kidnapped her puppy (that is, if she had a puppy). Bottom line, sounds like I can remove the word “likely” from the sentence above about the bagel shop.