Pondicherry

We had Friday the 2nd off for Gandhi's birthday and since it was also my birthday Brad and I went to Pondicherry, a former French colony three hours south of Chennai. We had heard lots of great things about Pondicherry, so we were excited to see it, but I arrived sicker than a dog (sicker even than an Indian street dog. sick!) and so I spent the night either huddled over the toilet or curled up in bed, crying about having the worst birthday ever and planning my escape back to Iowa.
But I woke up the next morning feeling fine, which was a weird but pleasant surprise and we headed out early to make the most of the weekend.
Things started out great. We had breakfast on a balcony overlooking the sea and then went to wish Gandhi a happy birthday and look at some sand art sculpted in his honor. Later we wandered around town, enjoying the fact that we could actually walk from place to place, and did some shopping.
As it turns out there isn't a whole lot to do in Pondicherry besides shop and eat, but Pondicherry is not dry and we were looking forward to the novelty of ordering a beer at any old restaurant, not just a hotel bar. So when we sat down for what was to be the first in a series of leisurely vacation-weekend drinks we were devastated by the news that the entire COUNTRY was not selling alcohol for the entire DAY!
I have to admit it took us a while to get over this disappointment. A nap, at least, helped, a little.
Later we went the opposite direction out of our hotel and saw a cheerful sight: an elephant! This elephant, who I will call Rosie, stands outside of a temple and gives you a blessing on the head when you give her food. It was awesome. I went twice.
Then, we got another excellent surprise when I casually flipped my Pondicherry pocket guide to the pharmacy section and saw this entry:
Sun Pharmacy 88 Chetty Sreet
Now, most of you probably know this, but for those of you who don't: My parents, Steve and Deb Straw, have owned and operated their own pharmacy, Sun Pharmacy, for over 25 years in Johnston, Iowa. So, upon reading that little entry we hopped a rickshaw straight to Chetty Street. I thought for sure the people inside would be thrilled to hear my story, but they only just tolerated me taking pictures.
Those two bright spots were topped off with an excellent, but wine-free steak dinner. It was painful, truly, to read the French wine selection on the menu. And no, I'm not above bribery. It didn't work.
We headed back home on Saturday so we could get some things done around the house and just be lazy, but before we left town I felt justified in buying myself a really nice birthday present to make up for the miserableness of the actual day. Brad also found something he liked. I think now that we might have been experiencing joint-temporary insanity over Indian antique furniture, because we just paid our bill and believed the man when he said he'd deliver it to us by Friday. I'm coming to my senses now and feeling slightly anxious, so keep your fingers crossed that our new/old table and hutch arrive sometime within the next three months.














I took this picture, trying to show the bangles on her feet and then this family asked me to take their picture too :)





It actually kind of reminds me of the old store!

Yes, I know it looks like he's giving us the finger, but we think, hope that he's just holding the doors shut and that this is not some secret "f-you, you're never going to see this furniture again" kind of message.