A Saturday Stroll to Koreagaon Park

Paul and I enjoy waking up Saturday morning and taking a walk from Kalyani Nagar to Koreagaon Park. Though, this is not a long, leisurely stroll like the old days when we would walk to Sweetwater Cafe for a coffee in the morning, it does somewhat replicate what we used to do at home.

We cannot take all the credit for this idea as it was not our original brainchild. To be completely honest and candid, we were a bit apprehensive to the idea of walking as a form of relaxing entertainment in Pune. Motorbikes, lack of sidewalks, the dog patrol, and autorickshaws can oftentimes make walking more of an obstacle course and a less enjoyable experience. However, our friends J and Cindy convinced us to go with them to German Bakery many moons ago, and since that day Paul and I really enjoy our little Saturday morning people watching excursion. We do not leave the house as early as we used to with them--they were really good at making us wake up early--but now we leave around 9 am for our little stroll to see all the morning business happening in our neighborhood.

We left the society and saw this woman and child outside the building, upon first glance you cannot easily tell what they are doing.

Then, we realize it's a newborn litter of pups playing in the grass . . .

We cross the bridge from Kalyani Nagar into Koreagaon Park and make our way down Lane 7 to see these cows meandering about . . .

We make our way up and down the lush, green canopied Lanes and encounter this interesting home delivery truck opposite the new Poonawalla "Mansion, Plantation, Estate, Whatever-You-Wish-To-Call-Their-Gigantic-Home" . . . Hmmm, Burger Mail? Sounds like something Paul would be interested in trying!

We continue on our stroll and finally arrive at the German Bakery for brunch. It really is not German at all, but we enjoy it for their terrible coffee, fresh fruit salads, strawberry and pineapple juices, eggs, and good hearty, dense bread. It's also a great place to go people watching and try to discern everyone's "story."

We leave German Bakery and make our way back to Kalyani Nagar with a quick stop at ABC Farms to purchase some lemongrass and tour, by happenstance, the new ayuvedic center. The lemongrass makes some excellent tea that our friend Adriana showed us how to prepare. Most importantly, it is quite refreshing in the Indian heat. Just boil a full kettle of water and pour over a handful of the lemongrass. Allow the tea to steep at least 5 minutes, and serve hot or cold. Now, the ABC Farms Ayuvedic Center was interesting, but probably not anything Paul and I will try soon.

We returned back home to greet a happy Lily at the door, who quickly became unhappy when she realized her fate was a bath that afternoon. Here she is all squeaky clean with her homemade haircut that is growing out badly . . .

Later that afternoon, Paul and I decided to go out for some grooming as well at the O Hotel. I was actually pretty impressed with the results. It was entertaining for Paul to watch me get my haircut when at the end 3 men were actually blow drying and straightening my hair. We went home, and then later that night back to the O Hotel for a yummy sushi dinner. Not a bad end to a lovely, relaxing day in Pune.