Glimpses of Mumbai: Day 4 and 5

So although Mumbai is 9.5 hours ahead of Cleveland, I'm a little behind getting you caught up on what I've been doing! I've been hanging out with friends, and doing some shopping- not nearly as much as I would like because I'm having some sticker shock!! In the past two years, prices in Mumbai have risen quite dramatically, but there are a few things that remain a good value- jewelry, leather, and scarves! Lucky for me, I love all those things, so its not so bad : )

Monday night, I went to dinner with some girlfriends from high school. In Mumbai, we graduate from high school at 16, and then enroll in Junior College (for 2 years), at which point you pick the broad discipline of your major: Art, Science or Commerce. In any case, I hadn't seen some of these ladies in 15 years!! As soon as I booked my trip to Mumbai, I emailed my friend Shivani (who I try to see on every trip), and she organized a mini dinner-reunion at Olive Bar & Kitchen. I had never been to Olive before, but it has a really fun and relaxed atmosphere, and is reportedly a hotspot for the Bollywood crowd. Note: Mumbai is both the New York and L.A. of India. No, I did not see any celebrities, although I'm not sure that I would have recognized them anyway. 

I had SUCH a FABULOUS time with these ladies- loads and loads of laughs and catching up. And the best part was that we picked up right where we left off- it was like we'd never lost touch at all!!

Tuesday I spent the day hanging out with my mom; we had a fun time and I learned that in India, you can either exchange your gold for cash OR other jewelry at the same value!!  Tuesday night, I went to dinner with my parents to my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE seafood restaurant in Mumbai: Trishna. Trishna is a MUST-EAT when I'm in Mumbai, and although the tables are very close together (if you're 6' tall like N, you will be a little uncomfortable), the food is absolutely DIVINE!! Their specialty is the butter-pepper-garlic calamari, and it is TO-DIE-FOR (and not one bit spicy. The pepper is just black pepper). If you make it to Mumbai, Trishna should be your must-eat too!!!

As you can see, I'm enjoying some really great meals here. I'm sure I will pay for this when I'm back home and back on my bike! But in the mean time, I'm luuuurrrvvving EVERY SINGLE BITE!!