A great way to end a trip like this is to take a few days to rest and relax. And I did so in Delhi with my friends Tim and Sally Roemer. Tim is the U.S. Ambassador to India and he, Sally, their four kids and their dog have settled in at Roosevelt House, the Embassy Residence. Built in the 1960s by the designer of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Roosevelt House has been updated a bit in the past six months to accommodate a family of six. Mr. Khan and 21 other people maintain the Residence, and I very much enjoyed the service they provided - feeding and driving us around as well as washing a load of dirty clothes!
Sally and I took walks with the dog in Nehru Park, talked ourselves through a yoga routine, and caught up on our lives. We enjoyed my last shopping opportunity at Dilli Haat, a wonderful crafts bazaar with beautiful handicrafts and jewelry, where we perfected the fine art of walking away from vendors to get a better price!
Tuesday, January 26 was Republic Day in India, and we spent it sleeping in, taking a walk and seeing many families enjoying their day off in Nehru Park. At lunch, Tim told us of his experience that morning when he had taken a run back from the Recreation Center in the compound, ventured into the street between security gates and was subsequently chased by his security detail in their jeep! In the afternoon, we walked around the grounds of Roosevelt House, checking out the vegetable garden that is the source for the soups and salads that we ate. We climbed on the roof of Roosevelt House and took in the view of the Chancery and gardens.
Johnny, Sally's driver, took me to the airport to catch my flight back to Paris on the 27th, and the airport was quite a scene. The fog was so heavy that no flights had taken off or landed during the night. Ergo, there was a massive backup of planes. I boarded my Air India flight, got settled, and heard the pilot announce that we were...56th in line for take off! Fortunately, the flight was delayed for only 90 minutes and we made some of the time up on the way to Paris.
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