Back in Bangalore

So, after a whirlwind tour of Europe, I am now back in Bangalore where it's wet and windy and not at all pleasant! Despite the torrential rains in England, we managed to survive a whole week without rain; in fact, we actually got sunburnt at this year's Great Yorkshire Show, one of the only agricultural shows to go ahead this year because of the weather. It was a great change to see cows, goats and sheep in fields, vs. on the streets as they are in Bangalore! We were then lucky enough to have dinner at the fabulous Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, always ranked as one of the top restaurants in the world. It was quite an extravagance but worth every penny for the theater that accompanies each course, the fabulous food, and the stunning wine. We stayed over in Bray at Redroofs at Oldfield, which I believe will have been flooded shortly thereafter as the English rains headed south to Maidenhead. After that, I headed off to Paris for a couple of days (where it DID rain), then took the fabulous overnight train to Madrid, and finally onto the Costa del Sol where, as my friend Sue puts it, we stayed for a few days in 'a diamond in a pile of XXXX!' The weather was glorious, so it was down to earth with a bump when I got back to rainy, cold Bangalore. I can never remember how long the monsoon lasts here, as we get it once on its way north, and again on its way back. The only thing we can be thankful for is that, so far, we aren't having it as bad as the rest of South Asia where almost 20 million people have been displaced because of the rising flood waters. Let's hope it subsides - everywhere - soon.