Pondicherry

Brian had Saturday and Monday off so we traveled to the eastern coastal city of Pondicherry. It is a tourist hotspot--we saw more white people there than we've seen in 6 months:) Pondicherry was settled by the french in the 1700's which is what makes it such an usual place in India. There is french architecture, french cuisine and french speaking Indians. It is a very charming seaside city--it felt a little bit like walking in New Orleans when looking at the buildings.
The roads that led to Pondy were TERRIBLE! wow. We were warned, but I don't think I could have warned my body enough. Brian and I both felt battered by the time we got there:) It is a 7 hour trip to go the same distance that it takes to drive to San Antonio or Lafayette, LA from Houston (approx 4 hours). This is due to crater size potholes, slow trucks and other moving objects, crazy drivers passing cars while playing "chicken" with oncoming traffic to do it, a 2 lane highway and ofcourse, the inevitable in India for us...getting lost:). What made the trip feel shorter was the beautiful scenary of the mountains, countryside and small roadside villages made of straw huts all along the way.
While there we had french and italian food/seafood in open air restaurants, walked the promenade (seadside) in town, went to the beach to swim, shopped, played at the park and took naps!!
Our room was great--we stayed at a guest house, similar to a B&B in the U.S. but cheaper. The best part about it was the shutters that made the room pitch black even in the daylight. We slept in and took long naps--beautiful! The guest house served croissants and tea for breakfast out in the courtyard.
C'est Bon!