Leisurely Sunday to Palampur. Our driver arrived this morning at 8 to take us to Palampur..about and hour's drive. We visited the tea gardens..acres and acres of tea plants. In all of my years of drinking tea..I have never seen a tea plant. It looks very much like a short boxwood bush with larger leaves. Although the factory where they dry, crush, sort and pack the tea was closed...there were some workers there doing odd jobs and they saw us peering in and without hesitation invited us in for a tour. The process is simple..pick the leaves, lay them to dry on racks for 24 hours and then put them in a hopper where they are dried further and fluffed. Next, they are sorted for quality and packed to be sold. That's it! I bought one precious box that was packed just last week and I look forward to serving it at home.

By 10 am we had arrived at a church of note..St John in the Wilderness, an Episcopal church left from the days of British occupation. As we approached, I could hear a familiar tune coming from inside and as I got closer realized it was "How Great Thou Art"..but sung in Hindi! That was cool! The congregation was barefooted...all of their shoes left outside...we were invited to come in, but decided to continue on our journey instead. Our driver was very thoughtful and planned to take us to all of these obscure little places, so we drove back roads and visited pottery studios and small art museums while seeing the beautiful countryside. Lily and I were told to go the "The Lounge" for lunch..a very nice restaurant...but our driver insisted that we go to "the hotel..the hotel have very nice restaurant"...ugh..I thought..he's not playing along. What hotel anyway? Bummed... until we reached the hotel...ahhh, ok, I see! A gorgeous hotel set on manicured grounds, the road leading in paved with handmade bricks. Down a path, up some marble stairs, we were led to a dining room and for a moment was unsure if we were even dressed appropriately for this finery! When we entered the dining room, Buddhist monks were enjoying lunch and the cool air from the whirring ceiling fans felt like heaven. For a moment I felt like it might even be heaven! White tablecloths, hotel silver and fine china. No, not necessary but delightful nonetheless. Our Sunday lunch consisted of butter chicken, cold drinks, handmade chicken fingers, spring rolls and cabbage salad, finished with big bowls of chocolate ice cream. We luxuriated in the moment and savored our food and the impeccable service. After leaving the restaurant, we traveled to the zoo to see lions, leopards and bears...it was pouring rain and hailing so we donned our rain coats (no one there was even wearing a jacket...they were getting soaked, but they did not care!)...so we made our visit there brief.

We arrived home and spent some time drawing and reading. The crew from Amritsar arrived back home safely and we are now heading into our final 3 days here. There is a soft rain falling outside and Lil is enjoying her leftovers from lunch. Good-Sunday-ness.