~ Qutab Minar ~ the World tallest brick minaret

I had printed out this top 10 to do lists for Delhi and Mumbai, and the Qutab Minar was one of the 10 things to see in Delhi. So on our last day in Delhi, we just had this monument left and another trip to the mall to get some last minute shopping and the food court for all the food that was left on the list... more abut that later.

Qutab Minar, is the tallest brick minaret in the world with a height of 72.5 meters (237.8 ft)! It is an incredible example of early Indo-Islamic architecture. It was buiilt in 1206... do you register that?? 1206!! But the reason remains a mystery... I like that :-) gives it that mystic.. nice when you walk around there, although for the girls it was just another monument that mommy had to see! LOL Later they will appreciate that they have seen so much of the world... I mean only THIS year the girls (and us of course) will be traveling on 5 continents!! Which other 8 year old can say that?!





Some believe that it was made to signify victory and the beginning of Muslim rule in India, while others say it was used to call the faithful to prayer. The tower has five distinct stories, and is covered with intricate carvings and verses from the holy Koran. It is surrounded by several other ancient and medieval structures and ruins, collectively known as Qutub complex.





As you can see by now I really LOVE LOVE those lacy windows, at every site I made the girls pose in front of it :-)



While we wandered around this gorgeous site, the girls were telling me they wanted to go into modeling again. They used to do some gigs in New York City and now they wanted to start again... so funny especially Jezz was into it today... you will see :-)
Too funny! (Jezz is wearing the yellow top, look at her poses, the feet, the hands, she is really into it, while JJ is just standing there a bit... trying to do her best, but not with the full motivation Jezz is doing it...)







































And after all these poses Jasmine gave it her best.... LOL, these girls are the funniest!! haha



Really incredible beautiful this site, worth going to when you are in Delhi!!
This was almost my last post... tomorrow the long awaited topic of my trip to Incredible India!

Are you seduced to go now??
Do it... you will like it as much as I do!
Ciao, Mireille xx

Just another girl...

2 posts today although I had this planned for Thursday but since it is International Day for Street Children today, I will get this out now... Raise your Voices for Street Children. See this link here as well. Help spread the word so that governments need to listen. Post it on your FB page or on your blog!

This hit home for me, because just on my trip to India I came across many street children, see my story below..

While we were done looking at the Humayun' tomb and going back home we were stuck in a traffic jam and this girl came so close to my window looking with these huge eyes at me and then she started to do tricks... in between all these cars, hardly any space but she did a cartwheel, and bending her body through this iron ring... like a snake girl. She was very bendy and JJ and Jezz were amazed with her flexibility.... suddenly they were NOT interested in their Nintendo DS but watching this girl doing tricks for money... I wonder how long it will take before the tricks and bending her body will change in some other body bending... :-(

She must have been only a year or 2 older than JJ and Jezz, and my heart felt heavy for her... so I opened my window and gave her some rupees. Immediately her brother or another little boy came to my window and also wanted to do some tricks for me... but then the car started moving again... and we lost sight.







Unfortunately there are too many of these street kids around in India... in the world for that matter!
I wish I could help them all!

Just another girl, but those eyes keep me haunting! sigh...
Help, do something to spread the word! Let's be LOUDER TOGETHER!!

Have a happy day,
Mireille xx

Humayun's Tomb ~ UNESCO world heritage

We went to another gorgeous site here in Delhi... I mean there is no ending to beautiful monuments here in this city! After being so giddy in the Lover's... uhh Lodi gardens the girls are now totally cheeky, making jokes and funny faces the whole time. They are probably soo bored with seeing these sites that mommy really wants to see and photograph that they kind of found something else to keep themselves occupied... Oh well, it is fine with me as long as they are still happy! LOL

(this picture is not mine, the rest are)


Humayun's tomb is known as the first example of the monumental scale that would characterize subsequent Mughal imperial architecture. Commissioned, it is believed, by Humayun's senior widow, Haji Begam, or by her son Akbar, the tomb is the first to mark the grave of a Mughal emperor; Humayun's father Babur, who founded the dynasty, had requested out of piety that he be buried in a garden. Humayun's Tomb is now one of the best-preserved Mughal monuments in Delhi.

If you think it looks a bit like the Taj Mahal in Agra, that's because it was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal's creation. The tomb was built in 1570, and houses the body of the second Mughal emperor, Humayun. The tomb is part of a greater complex that's set amongst beautiful gardens. Which you have to walk through before you see this magnificent tomb!









JJ and Jezz are totally in the mood to goof around, so I am snapping around to get some funny shots of them :-)
(BTW Wendy; The outfits are from Naartjie)







To make this picture less static I asked them to jump up and down, it brings more vibe to an otherwise such a formal picture.. they had no problem with that :-)





Inside the tomb now and everybody was kind of whispering and quite, since there are a few dead bodies laying there... the girls totally couldn't hold themselves together, but in a whisper tone they were making funny faces and joking around... these kids crack me up!







The gardens around the tomb were so beautiful, it was such a great monument!!



The grave of Emperor Humayun is located in the central mortuary room of the tomb. Apart from this, a number of other Mughal luminaries, such as Hamida Begum (Akbar's mother), Dara Shikoh (Shah Jahan's son) and Bahadur Shah II (last Mughal Emperor), were also buried herein.





I love how the light falls through the lace stonework..



Some local tourist enjoying the site as well... always so dressed up in those great colors!



And a last look back before we get out... and the girls can't stop being cheeky and jumping of joy... to leave this place haha!



I tried to be at each monument each day around sunset since the lighting is the best to take pictures, and indeed it did not disappoint me, the light in India is just amazing so soft and glowing, just Incredible!!

Try to do the same if you go to Delhi, hit the tombs, forts and minars in the afternoon. It will be a huge difference having the sun coming from an angle and have this golden light shine upon the sites instead of the 12'oclock bright and harsh lighting... the effect will be so different and not so magical!

Go and visit India you will not be disappointed!! And if you have been what was your favorite place of all?
Mireille xx

Temples, markets, gardens and lovers...

And a colorful cow thrown in for fun as well...

All this we saw on the first day when we arrived in Delhi, amazing how much beautiful sites it has in such a close range! You can see from the girls clothes that we are still on the same day...

Normally if you don't have a private driver you could never see all this in one day, we were lucky that Charu had 'given away' her driver to us for these 3 days. We were so lucky!!

We saw this magnificent temple. The Bahai Temple is commonly referred to as the Lotus Temple, as it's shaped like a lotus flower. Made out of white marble, the temple belongs to the Bahai Faith, which proclaims the unity of all people and religions. When we arrived there was just a session starting so we sat into the temple and listened to the speakers and singers, it was so serene!! Even the girls were impressed :-)





When we walked towards the temple this big group of older ladies wanted to take a picture with us, so we did. Jasmine was being pinched in her cheeks and everybody told me how lovely the girls looked... so cute and colorful these ladies were!



Next stop was Dilli Haat. This huge Delhi market has been deliberately made to feel like a traditional weekly village market, called a haat. Small thatched roof cottages with a village atmosphere give it great ambiance. The market offers and exciting blend of handicrafts from all over India, food, and cultural and music performances. Although we didn't see any of the performances, we arrived just as the market opened. So some vendors were still unpacking their stuff and everybody was inviting us to their store, because it is good luck to sell the first item as soon as possible, that means the day will be good for them!





We bought some bangles and 2 of these floor cushions like you see below, the round ones with all the hand stitched mirrors and funky bright colors for the girls room. I wanted to shop more, but the girls were NOT in a mood at all....



We stopped by the Lodi Gardens or as the girls call it: Lovers Gardens, because under every tree and behind every corner we saw a couple in love, kissing, holding hands... it made the girls completely giggling and giddy the whole time :-0

I can see why everybody comes here, because the gardens provides such a serene retreat from the city life, and is a place to come if you are feeling tired and worn out. The vast gardens were built by the British in 1936 around the tombs of 15th and 16th century rulers.

Not only young couples but also joggers and joga practitioners enjoy this park... and of course tourists like us! And it was so breathtaking beautiful, the light was perfect for picture taking, so I truly enjoyed wandering around these gardens!

Mohammed Shah's Tomb.





The girls goofing around, makes great pictures :-)



Bara Gumbad tomb and mosque.









Sheesh Gumbad.









The girls were a bit giddy after seeing so much sites in a day... and were goofing around all the time! At least they had fun!





More to come from Delhi! Such a scenic city!!
Ciao, Mireille xx